Motorsport: Kiwi feels heat at testing track

Scott McLaughlin is 10 points off the championship lead as he attempts to break his podium duck at Townsville this weekend.

Kiwi Supercars driver Scott McLaughlin will need to overcome the heat, tyre wear and the closest thing to a hoodoo he has faced at Townsville this weekend.

The impressive DJR Team Penske driver lies 10 points off the championship lead but will attempt to break his podium duck at the unique Reid Park circuit that combines parkland and street course landscape.

Despite succeeding at almost every circuit on the Supercars calendar, McLaughlin's returns in the Townsville heat are limited.

"I have had a pole there before but I have never had a podium there so hopefully we can sort this out this weekend," the 24-year-old told Radio Sport.

"It is pretty warm up here but it is great to get out of the winter down in Melbourne and I will enjoy it while I can. It is definitely hotter. It is always a good event."

The venue is notorious for producing exciting racing. Because of the mix of fast, flowing parkland combined with the tighter and bumpier street surface it is harder to set a car up to perform in an optimum manner on all parts of the track.

That, coupled with a good layout, has led to loads of passing but McLaughlin knows he will have to be patient and ensure he doesn't burn through tyres too quickly by being overly aggressive early in the race.

"It is a good track for passing so you can win from anywhere here," he said. "The tyre life is a big thing. It is very hard on the rear tyres throughout the lap and so you want to look after your tyres and leave yourself something to fight with at the end.

"We have been pretty strong with our tyre wear but there is a little bit of concern but not to the point where they will blow up - I think they will be fine around here and won't be dangerous but it is just hard on the tyre life and chewing up the rubber.

"If we can get on top of that quickly it will help a lot".

The former Volvo driver has hit top form in the past couple of rounds after being a little slow out of the blocks with his new team this year.

He has slowly reined in his Shell V-Power Ford teammate Fabian Coulthard and now trails his fellow Kiwi by only 10 points. McLaughlin thinks the two Kiwis are working well together and even nominated Coulthard as "the best teammate" he's ever had.

Although they are likely to end up racing each other for the championship later in the season, McLaughlin said the directive from the team is pretty simple and both drivers are happy to abide by those rules.

"It is one of those things where you have to do right by the team. We want to race as hard as we can without scraping paint. We have a healthy amount of respect between the two of us. I am looking forward to battling it out at the end with Fabs."