Ford’s Mustang has taken an unassailable lead in the manufacturers category of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
It’s also holding down first and second places in the driver’s championship, with 12 races to go.
Bear in mind it’s only a three-horse race, with the Mustang, Holden’s ZB Commodore and the Nissan Altima taking part.
The win at the Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint came from series leader Scott McLaughlin, who drove his Shell V-Power Mustang Supercar from pole position to set a lap record and secure the title for Ford.
The Supercars Manufacturers’ Title is based on the number of victories in a championship season.
With six Mustangs in the 2019 field, the #17 Mustang fittingly sealed the title by posting Mustang’s 17th race victory.
The Ford Performance Mustang Supercar was homologated for the 2019 season, and is the first two-door model to compete in Supercars since the series inception in 1993.
Tickford Racing’s speed at the Ipswich round was apparent immediately, with Will Davison and Chaz Mostert swapping lap times in qualifying before converting that into a strong performance during Saturday’s Race 19.
Davison finished a season-best second place, his first podium at the wheel of the 23Red Racing Tickford Mustang, while Mostert finished closely behind in third place.
It was Tickford Racing’s second double-podium of 2019, after Mostert and Waters’ two-three finish in Race 4 at the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 in March, which saw Mostert win the Larry Perkins Trophy as the overall winner of the event.
“For the investment that Ford has made in coming back into the sport, there’s no better way to reward everybody in the US and Australia than to win the Manufacturers’ Championship,” Tickford Racing team manager, Tim Edwards, said.
“It’s no mean feat. This is a real testament to the effort that Ford has put in to get us to this point of winning the title.”
Scott McLaughlin leads the Drivers’ Championship in the #17 Mustang, with 2438 points, ahead of Shell V-Power Racing teammate Fabian Coulthard (2005 points). Chaz Mostert sits in fourth place (1898), Cameron Waters in seventh (1600), Will Davison eighth (1523) and Lee Holdsworth tenth (1383 points).
Shell V-Power Racing leads the Teams’ Championship on 4383 points, with The Bottle-O/Supercheap Auto Tickford Racing third (3231) and Monster Energy Racing fifth (3043).
Round 10 of the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will take place August 23-25 with the OTR SuperSprint at Tailem Bend, South Australia.
TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP
| Position / Team | Penalty | Points | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
60 | 4383 | 0 |
|
2
|
140 | 3576 | -807 |
|
3
|
50 | 3231 | -1152 |
|
4
|
30 | 3065 | -1318 |
|
5
|
80 | 3043 | -1340 |
|
6
|
0 | 2698 | -1685 |
|
7
|
60 | 2279 | -2104 |
|
8
|
50 | 2256 | -2127 |
|
9
|
0 | 1864 | -2519 |
|
10
|
30 | 1575 | -2808 |
|
11
|
60 | 1171 | -3212 |
|
12
|
30 | 1024 | -3359 |
|
13
|
0 | 717 | -3666 |
|
14
|
30 | 712 | -3671 |
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