Scott McLaughlin has shown he can drive consistently fast for long distances.
Kiwi driver Scott McLaughlin has shown his versatility with a significant endurance victory in the United States.
With the IndyCar series on an early break, McLaughlin contested the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida at the weekend.
McLaughlin, sharing the Tower Motorsports wheel with John Farano and Kyffin Simpson, won the secondary LMP2 class.
And with the main GTP Hypercars class being decimated by crashes and breakdowns, McLaughlin and his co-drivers were also able to get on the main podium, finishing third overall.
“Proud of this one! Sebring 12 Hour – LMP2 winners!!,” McLaughlin said on social media channels.
“What a great job by Kyffin, John and the whole team at Tower. Ticked that one off the list!”
McLaughlin felt there were benefits for his IndyCar campaign after crashing out of the opening race while going for the lead in Florida earlier this month and with the second round beckoning in Texas on April 3.
“I have no doubt my experience in the IMSA championship has helped getting me up to speed, particularly in traffic. The traffic patterns are so similar. Highly recommended for any young drivers wanting to get a head start on practice for the big leagues,” McLaughlin said of his long stints behind the wheel.
There was heartache for Scott Dixon and his Chip Ganassi GTP entry which he drove with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande.
They had led 120 laps and were a comfortable second looking to make a push for victory over the final three hours when disaster struck, with the Cadillac catching fire in pit lane with fuel distribution issues.
"The car was really fast and I felt like everybody on the team did a tremendous job. We had some ups and downs, but ultimately, we were top-three most of the race and led a good majority of it,” Dixon said.
"Just bummed that it ended the way it did, and we didn't win the race. It's one that's eluded me, and it would have been great to take this one. But we had great speed, great teamwork and everybody did a hell of a job."
Britain’s Jack Aitken, with co-drivers Alexander Sims and Pipo Derani, stayed clear of the troubles to win the GTP class that had only two finishers in the end.
