Last night saw Kiwi Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin score his third Barry Sheene Medal at the post-season awards gala.
The medal is awarded to the best and fairest driver across the entire season, with McLaughlin become the second most successful driver to win the prize as he added it to his 2014 and ’16 honours.
Earlier in the day, McLaughlin was unable to defend his Bathurst 1000 crown from last year successfully. The DJR Team Penske driver instead crossed the line home in fifth after he and co-driver Tim Slade were caught out by the unlucky timing of a safety car.
Instead, McLaughlin celebrated his championship title which he had already sealed one round earlier at The Bend. But the Kiwi says winning the medal last night also had him beaming with pride.
“It’s a proud moment. It’s obviously a medal that is very highly regarded within the category,” McLaughlin said.
“Barry was a great man, although I didn’t meet him, but to display the qualities that obviously I’ve heard about and stuff like that is a very proud moment for me, my family and the team.”
Supercars also presented McLaughlin, teammate Fabian Coulthard and the DJR Team Penske team the 2020 teams’ championship.
The outfit ended the day with a comfortable 200-plus points margin over the Red Bull Holden Racing Team who were hurt by the early retirement of Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes. It is the team’s second successive team championship, backing up last year’s crown.
The other prize-getter at the ceremony was Cam Waters who was awarded Drivers’ Driver just hours after he claimed a maiden Bathurst 1000 podium with a hard-fought runner-up result.