"That in-lap was pretty impressive, I've never seen so many people cheering us on.
"I'm really proud of the team at Shell V-Power Racing, far out this car is a rocket ship and it just hooked up in those conditions. I'm just pumped.
"Coming down the hill, I was pretty fast and thought 'jeez, I've just got to hold on to the thing'.
"We've got one big one to get tomorrow, that's what I'm focused on a lot more, but we've qualified now and we're starting from the best possible position."
Chaz Mostert will start from second, after finishing 0.41 seconds behind McLaughlin.
"That was a lot of fun. It's been a while since I've had that sort of confidence in a car in the Top 10 [Shootout]," he said. "I did the best job I could, but we got smoked."
Cameron Waters finished third after an impressive performance.
"All over the top I was using the throttle to turn it and it actually helped me," he said, having ended up third. "Sometimes it'll end up you're in the fence and sometimes it actually helps you, and luckily it helped me."
Jamie Whincup claimed fourth, saying he was "very, very happy", while Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen will start from the third row of the grid.
"I drove it okay, but just missed a few spots and probably could have been a bit braver. But it's all good, a straight car," van Gisbergen said.
With the full grid now set, all eyes turn to the 161-lap race from 1.30pm tomorrow.
