Scott McLaughlin is preparing for a quick turnaround between the Bathurst 1000 and his debut IndyCar race at St. Petersburg.
The defending Supercars champion will join Team Penske’s driver line-up for the IndyCar Series finale held on the Florida street circuit on October 25. The date is just one week after the conclusion of the 2020 Supercars season which will also act as the Bathurst 1000.
Last week McLaughlin revealed he was in discussion with the Australian Government to be granted a travel exemption which will allow him to leave the country and return after the event.
Now, the Kiwi is beginning to make his plans more transparent with details emerging of how he will schedule out his week between Bathurst and St. Petersburg.
“At this point I’m flying over on the Monday [after Bathurst],” McLaughlin revealed to Motorsport.com.
“I’ll go straight to Mooresville, North Carolina [Penske’s home base], to the team and see them. I’ll probably go through a new seat fit as I’ve lost weight since [testing]. I’d lost weight before then, and then I’ve lost more since. So we’ll see how it is. I might do another pour.
“They use that seat insert in the simulator that I go to, so I’ll spend a day or so in the simulator to learn the track and learn all of the functions again. And then I’ll head to St Pete. I don’t know when; it will depend on the schedule.
“It’s all pretty exciting, it’s going to be a whirlwind week. Hopefully I’m not too jet-lagged, because I’ll need to get on with it.”
McLaughlin was initially set to contest a race for Penske earlier in the season at Indianapolis but had his plans shelved when a calendar reshuffle for both IndyCar and Supercars saw too many events clash.
He instead partook in the virtual IndyCar Series which saw him win the simulated Indy 500 and be crowned the unofficial champion.
The Kiwi has also frequently suggested he intends to drive full-time in the American open-wheeler series, with the possibility this year might be the last of him in Supercars.
IndyCar has one more round before the St. Petersburg finale with the Harvest Grand Prix from the Indianapolis road course over October 2-3. Fellow Kiwi, Scott Dixon currently holds a 72-point lead in the championship standings.
