V8 Supercars Fan Group News Editor ‘Rahul’ caught up with a young and upcoming racing driver to find out his first experience with a V8 Supercar, his future plans and what is on his IPOD!

RAHUL: Can you tell us a little bit about who Scott Mclaughlin is?  

SCOTT: I am 16 years old, I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. But now I currently live on the Gold Coast. I love my motorsport and have raced go karts for 10 years now and hopefully can reach my goal of V8 Supercars one day, apart from my motorsport I play rfactor on my Hyper Simulator where I enjoy racing on the EA Outlaws server, I love my watersports such as wakeboarding and also love having a blast on our Jet Ski. Also I love to have a game of rugby from time to time.  

RAHUL: How and why did you get involved in motorsport?

SCOTT: My mum and dad used to race karts before I was born so it has always been in my blood. But myself and dad were at a motor show one day in Hamilton, New Zealand (where we ended up moving after I was born) and I saw a kart and from that day on all I wanted to do was start racing karts.

RAHUL: Could you tell us the journey you have been through to get to his point in time, career wise?

SCOTT: I started my career when I was 7 at the Hamilton Kart Club in New Zealand. After a few years I won my first NZ title in 2002 and in 2003 we decided to move to Melbourne, Australia. From 2003 on I have won 3 state championships, finished 3rd at the Australian Championships and managed to win 3 City of Melbourne titles in a row (a very prestigious race for karting in Melbourne).  

RAHUL: Whom do you aspire to be like, who is your racing hero?

SCOTT: My racing hero is Greg Murphy, Murph is huge in NZ motorsport and I've always wanted to one day be as successful as him in the V8 Supercar series. I also admire Shane Van Gisbergan, to be so young in the championship but to still mix it up with the most experience guys in the main game, I take my hat off to him.

RAHUL: Not too long ago you had your first taste of a V8 Supercar, could you describe the experience?

SCOTT: I could not wipe the smile off my face all day when I was driving around the Queensland Raceway circuit. I have always dreamed to drive one and I finally had that chance. The grunt they have is unbelievable, I remember going down the straight on my first out lap and going half throttle then putting the pedal to the floor, that just gave me tingles up my spine!!

RAHUL: By looking at the time sheets you adapted very quickly to the car, recording times just over a second slower than the SBR season regulars, was this a easy task or a challenge?

SCOTT: It is never an easy task but the boys at SBR helped me adapt to the car fairly quickly, never ever putting pressure on me throughout the day and just letting me adapt to the car at my own pace. We set goals each session, braking points, being smooth on the wheel and the throttle etc. I only did 5 lap stints all day which I enjoyed because it let me think about what I needed to do to go quicker and quicker each session and I think that was what helped me adapt quickly to car.
 
RAHUL: Ross and Jimmy have taken you under their wing, can you tell us how they are helping you and how this will help you pursue your racing career?

SCOTT: As we all know SBR are one of the most successful teams in the whole series, Ross and Jimmy know what it takes to win and become a successful racing driver. I am so grateful they have taken me under their wing. I have been lucky enough also to be offered a fabrication apprenticeship which I will start on Monday. So no matter what happens in my racing career, I still will have the opportunity to be involved with the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

RAHUL: Where do you hope to you see yourself in 5 years time, career wise?

SCOTT: I am definitely hoping to be a main game driver for SBR, but no one knows what the future holds, I guess we will just have to wait and see.

RAHUL: Are you any clearer on your plans for this year?

SCOTT: We have a few cards on the table but at the moment I cant say anything until late January of what my future holds.

RAHUL: Some fans believe you had a bad experience with the electric gate at Bathurst, would you like to explain what happened?

SCOTT: **Laughing** I was in the Ute with Shane VG driving home from the track and we pulled up to a house which we thought was where we were staying and i got out and tried to open this gate. It looked like a normal farm fence so I just pushed it open and it didn’t help the fence at all. I was so embarrassed!! I wouldn’t say that was the smartest thing I've ever done that’s for sure. The worst part about it was that we were actually staying at the house next door!

RAHUL: When you’re not racing or training, what do you do to keep yourself occupied?

SCOTT: Like I said earlier I love jumping on my jet ski and going for a blast and also don’t mind grabbing a rugby ball from time to time either. I also love my wakeboarding. I find its pretty good for my upper body strength so I try to get out on the water as much as possible. It is probably the funniest part of my training! I love playing rfactor with the guys on the server EA Outlaws, it definitely helped me learn the track for my V8 test, but not many people like my driving on there so sometimes I get in a little bit of trouble!  

RAHUL: What is currently on your IPOD?

SCOTT: A little bit of everything, we got a bit of Hip Hop, RnB, Pop, Rock etc. Don’t like the goth stuff though I stay away from that.

Copyright - V8SFG 2010 | Author - Justin