A VITAL piece of Scott McLaughlin history will be in action at the upcoming Adelaide 500.
The FG Falcon with which McLaughlin took out the hotly contested 2012 Super2 title will be driven by Super3 stalwart Jason Gomersall in the very colours it raced in exactly a decade prior at Homebush.
It was then and there that McLaughlin pipped Scott Pye, Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat to a series crown which would set him on the path to becoming a three-time Supercars champion.
What’s more is that Gomersall has tracked down the original car painter to revive the Fujitsu scheme – and McLaughlin’s engineer from that season Nathan Leech will be in the Matt Stone Racing camp.
Gomersall has driven SBR FG01 at Super3 level for the past four years.
The car was badly damaged at Sandown in August to the point where it was almost considered a write-off, but MSR managed to rebuild it in time for Bathurst last month where Gomersall finished third in class (still in its usual Unit livery).
Three-time IndyCar race winner McLaughlin will attend the Adelaide 500 on December 1-4, operating as part of the Supercars broadcast team.
“The fact that it will be exactly 10 years from when Scotty won the championship in that car at Homebush will be pretty fitting,” Gomersall told V8 Sleuth.
“And as it turns out, Scotty’s engineer from that season, Nathan Leech, I’m actually a business partner of his in a venture.
“He’ll be at Adelaide on (MSR Super2 driver) Aaron Seton’s car so it sort of all ties together.
“When I found out that Scotty is going to be there himself in a media capacity, I thought it could be a good opportunity to bring the car back to the fans.”
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SBR FG01 will be retired from Super3 after Adelaide and may even be placed on the market.
“In the right circumstances, I would offload it to a collector, but I’m not in a hurry because if Scott keeps doing what he’s doing in the US, interest in that car will only increase over time,” Gomersall said.
Gomersall, who has stepped down from his leadership capacity at MSR, is likely to race one of the Holden VF Commodores he owns next year.
