• Latest
  • Trending

McLaughlin learnt ‘a tonne’ in rookie Indy 500

May 31, 2021

Respect and Rivalry: Zilisch vs. Van Gisbergen on NASCAR’s road courses

July 18, 2025

Cassidy backs Lawson: “People in motorsport have short memories”

July 18, 2025

Douglas heads to Toronto for penultimate round of USF Pro 2000 season

July 18, 2025
#88: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Red Bull Chevrolet

Motorsport Diary: Kiwis racing overseas this weekend

July 18, 2025

Ben Stewart impresses in debut Australian Toyota GR Cup weekend at Townsville

July 17, 2025

McElrea denied podium in rollercoaster IMSA race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park

July 17, 2025

Liam Lawson beats WRC Champions in impressive rally debut at Goodwood

July 16, 2025

Bamber back on the podium as Toyota endures tough São Paulo return

July 15, 2025
#88: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Red Bull Chevrolet

“Nobody Can Run With Him”: Denny Hamlin and Co. hail SVG’s road course dominance after Sonoma victory

July 15, 2025

Consistent Hedge claims third-straight P6 at Iowa Speedway

July 15, 2025

Chaos and heartbreak for Kiwis in Porsche Sprint Challenge in Townsville

July 15, 2025
Saturday, July 19, 2025
VelocityNews
Subscribe
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard
No Result
View All Result
VelocityNews
No Result
View All Result

McLaughlin learnt ‘a tonne’ in rookie Indy 500

by Zane Shackleton
May 31, 2021
in IndyCar, International, News
2

Scott McLaughlin says he learnt “a tonne” over the past two weeks after easing home to a 20th place finish in his rookie Indy 500.

The flying Kiwi was running comfortably in the midfield, and at one stage, was nestled inside the top ten.

Unfortunately, he was dealt a drive-through penalty for pit lane speeding, which demoted him to the rear of the field.

Despite the costly error, McLaughlin still managed to finish the 500-mile race on the lead lap.

It was a stout effort from a driver who only experienced his first go at oval racing earlier this year and only re-acquainted himself with single-seater racing this season.

“I felt like I’ve learned a tonne this whole month,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it.

“It’s been more positive than a negative month for me.

“I’ve done every lap I possibly can. It bodes well for me the rest of the season, at least for next year when I come back here.”

McLaughlin finished the race as the highest-placed rookie, with the only other debutant in the field, Pietro Fittipaldi, in 25th.

“I’m pretty stoked to get the Rookie of the Year,” McLaughlin said. “That was the main goal.

“At the same time, I had a really good car today. It’s just a little, like I said, bittersweet.”

Reflecting on his penalty, McLaughlin says it was merely a basic mistake resulting from trying too hard.

“One mistake just eats you,” McLaughlin said. “You can’t make mistakes here.

“I just made a simple mistake. I didn’t quite pump my brake pedal up enough.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform at a very high level. That’s probably why I’m so p….d off right now.”

Should the pitstop drama had not occurred, McLaughlin believes he still didn’t have the pace to be within a chance of winning the race.

“I think we were semi in the front pack.

“I don’t think we quite had the pace to be where Helio [Castroneves] and [Alex] Palou were.

“I think a good solid top-five probably was begging. But like I said, I’ll learn from that.

“I’ll turn the negative into a positive. [I have] a long time in this sport hopefully.”

Comments 2

  1. John ward says:
    4 years ago

    Well done Scottjo

    Reply
  2. Drew Napier says:
    4 years ago

    You did well very well mate, you weren’t the only one caught out by lost brake pressure, its only a matter of time till your on the top step, keep it straight and loud and do us proud, proud aussie supporter 🤙🤙🤙

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact Us

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.

No Result
View All Result
  • International
    • Formula 1
    • Formula 2
    • Formula 3
    • Formula E
    • Esports
    • Super GT
    • Super Formula
    • TCR
    • WEC
    • GT
    • Porsche Carrera Cup
    • BTCC
    • DTM
    • IMSA
    • IndyCar
    • Road to Indy
    • NASCAR
    • WRC
    • MotoGP
    • Motorcycle Racing
    • Historic Racing
  • New Zealand
    • Toyota Formula Regional
    • Toyota GR86 Championship
    • Rally
    • Speedway
    • Drifting
    • Formula Ford
    • Formula First
    • TCR NZ
    • TransTasman V8 Series
    • V8 Utes
    • GT New Zealand Championship
    • GTRNZ
    • Central Muscle Cars
    • Pirelli Porsche
    • Mazda Racing Series
    • NZ Endurance Championship
    • NIERDC
    • SIERDC
    • Pro8 South Island Series
    • SsangYong Utes
    • Kartsport
    • NZ Historic Racing
    • NZ General
  • Australia
    • Supercars
    • Super2
    • Australian V8 Touring Car Series
    • Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
    • Porsche Sprint Challenge
    • S5000
    • Australian GT
    • TCR AU
  • Features
    • Features
    • Opinion
    • Profile
    • Race Cars
  • Circuit News
  • Velocity TV
  • Performance Cars
  • Jobs
    • Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Job Dashboard

© 2022 VelocityNews - Independent New Zealand and International Motorsport news.