A Bathurst lap record set by Ford gun Scott McLaughlin may never be broken according to Supercars star Chaz Mostert, who claims qualifying will be “boring” next year due to technical changes.
Supercars series leader McLaughlin smashed his Mount Panorama lap record to claim pole position for Sunday’s Bathurst 1000, clocking a blistering two minutes, 03.37 seconds.
It quickly earned comparisons with Supercars great and fellow Kiwi Greg Murphy’s legendary 2003 “Lap of the Gods” effort which set the early benchmark for Bathurst qualifying heroics.
And Mostert reckoned McLaughlin’s effort may never be equalled after Supercars announced 2020 changes that are set to cut lap times.
Under regulation tweaks to be introduced next year, Supercars engines will drop 15 horsepower – much to the frustration of 2014 Bathurst champion Mostert.
“It’s slightly disappointing for me,” said Mostert, who qualified second fastest for the Great Race.
“Last year I was unlucky not to get into the top 10 (qualifying) but I went and watched as a fan at the top of the hill.
“As a fan on the fence you want to see cars going faster and faster every year, records getting broken.
“We’re not going to quite have that any more. It will be slightly boring when it comes to qualifying.”
Even McLaughlin admitted his record may yet stand the test of time due to the looming changes.
“I would say so. You take grip away and less engine power, it’s obviously going to go slower,” he said.
“We all try and go the fastest we can with whatever we have.
“Whether it stays like that for ages or whether it doesn’t, I don’t really care.
“I just want to know that on the day I’m the fastest and we’ve got the best possible position to start the Great Race.”
Four-time Bathurst champion Jamie Whincup admitted McLaughlin’s mark may only be threatened again if the legendary Mount Panorama circuit received a re-surface or layout change.
“Until the re-surface or something like that happens or we decide to go straight at The Chase, that lap will stand for a while I believe,” Whincup told speedcafe.com.
“For sure (it was quite impressive). From what I could see the homework had been done before the lap (by McLaughlin’s Ford team).
“He’d done a great job with the engineers to make the car fast and it was just a matter of executing that car.
“In saying that, even if you’ve got the quickest car you’ve still got to execute it and he delivered well.”
It marked the third time in as many days McLaughlin had broken the Bathurst lap record.
He took pole 0.41 seconds ahead of Mostert with fellow Ford driver Cam Waters third fastest in qualifying and Whincup fourth.
McLaughlin – who holds a staggering 598 point championship lead – is now tipped to claim his maiden Bathurst crown on Sunday.