THE car which powered Scott McLaughlin to the 2012 Super2 crown has been deemed repairable following a damaging accident at Sandown.
Driven by current owner Jason Gomersall, the SBR FG01 chassis was at the centre of a spectacular last-lap crash in Round 4 of the Dunlop Super2/Super3 Series.
Gomersall walloped the fence on the outside of Turn 3 and was later sent airborne upon being collected by Thomas Maxwell.
While Gomersall himself emerged unscathed, there were fears that the Stone Brothers Racing-built Falcon may never race again.
SLEUTHING: The ex-McLaughlin Triple Eight Commodore
Gomersall’s Matt Stone Racing crew appeared to have trouble even loading the Ford Falcon FG into the transporter to make the drive back to Yatala for further assessment.
On the damage report was right-front suspension and the need for the rear rails to be rebuilt.
However, MSR has confirmed to V8 Sleuth that the car will be able to take part in the penultimate round of the Dunlop Series next month at Bathurst.
FG01 debuted at the 2009 Adelaide 500 with IRWIN Tools backing in the hands of SBR’s Alex Davison.
It returned for a second Supercars Championship campaign with Davison before being handed down to McLaughlin for use in the final two rounds of the 2011 Super2 season.
McLaughlin stuck with the car into 2012, winning four races that year to beat Scott Pye, Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat to the title.
It has contested another 90 races since that point across Super2 and Super3 in the hands of Michael Hector, Shae Davies, Matt Chahda and Gomersall.
Gomersall has signalled his intentions to retire the car from Super3 action at the end of the year, although it may yet race on in the reborn V8 Touring Cars Series in 2023.
