Before coming to the United States, Scott McLaughlin was a three-time champion in what is now known as the Repco Supercars Championship. He had 56 victories by the age of 26. But he wanted a new adventure.
At the time, he was driving for DJR Team Penske (now once again Dick Johnson Racing), which was partially owned by Roger Penske. During the four years driving for The Captain, McLaughlin formed a strong relationship with the rest of the Team Penske organization. They were supportive when McLaughlin expressed a desire to expand his horizons.
He tested a Dallara IR18 at Sebring in early 2020 with an eye toward debuting at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the GMR Grand Prix. The COVID-19 pandemic put the kibosh to those plans, but he ultimately debuted later that year. In 2021, he made the full-time move to the NTT IndyCar Series. In 34 starts, McLaughlin has three career wins and finished fourth in points last year.
The Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona also saw McLaughlin make his prototype racing debut in an ORECA 07-Gibson for Tower Motorsport alongside Team Penske teammate Josef Newgarden. While there, McLaughlin sat down with Frontstretch‘s Phil Allaway.
Phil Allaway, Frontstretch: It is your first race weekend in an LMP2 car. How have you had to adjust your style to the ORECA 07?
Scott McLaughlin: It’s been a little bit different. It has some similarities with the Supercar that I used to race [in Australia], obviously one being that there’s a roof over my head.
At the same time, the car is a little bit heavier than an Indy car.
Note: The ORECA 07 currently weighs 950 kilograms, or 2094.39 pounds, in IMSA. The Dallara IR18 weighs 735 kilograms, or 1620 pounds.
As a result, you have to be a lot smoother with your driver inputs and less aggressive as compared to the Indy car.
It’s been a lot of fun learning. I first got to drive the car [last week during the ROAR Before the 24]. So far, I feel good in it.
Being part of an endurance race reminds me of being in Bathurst. I definitely have a lot of experience in those races.
McLaughlin is a past winner of the Bathurst 1000, winning in 2019 with co-driver Alexandre Premat. He also finished third in 2018 and has two fifth-place finishes as well.
Allaway: Space-wise, the ORECA 07 is a much tighter car inside than the Volvo S60s and Ford Mustangs that you raced in Supercars. What kind of changes to drive-change motions does that result in?
McLaughlin: I’m…
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