Supercars in 2013 welcomed two new young drivers to its ranks and both were to become mega stars.
Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert were both in the infancy of their careers, but managed to put their experienced rivals on notice by winning races at Round 8 of the 2013 International V8 Supercars Championship, the Ipswich 360 at Queensland Raceway.
McLaughlin was in his maiden full-time campaign with noted young driver mentor Garry Rogers Motorsport, while Mostert had been thrust into the seat prior to Round 4’s Perth 360 at Dick Johnson Racing in replacement of New Zealander Jonny Reid.
Victory on home turf at Pukekohe had already risen McLaughlin’s stock prior to Queensland Raceway and Mostert had dominated the opening round of Super2 in Adelaide to ensure he was always in discussions to be the next graduate from the second-tier.
McLaughlin had achieved nine top 10 finishes up until Queensland Raceway and Mostert post-Perth had made a reasonable start to have a best finish of seventh.
The opening race at Queensland Raceway was won by Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Jamie Whincup, who later went on to secure another title, but he was soon moved out of the way for the two stars of the younger generation.
McLaughlin made the best jump from second on the grid in the second race at Queensland Raceway to lead Whincup during the early stages before negotiating a safety car restart and inclement conditions to take the win.
“How can you say anything – I’m speechless!” McLaughlin exclaimed.
“It’s something that you work towards for your whole life, you get one win you’re surprised and to get two, it’s awesome.
“And to be in front of Jamie Whincup at the end and I held him off the whole race, it just shows how good our car was and – not to blow wind up my arse – but how I feel I’m driving at the moment.”
Then, it was Mostert’s turn in the finale.
Mostert also got a better start than an experienced driver from front-row, this time it was Will Davison.
It was an impressive performance in damp conditions by Mostert to lead a Ford 1-2-3, with FPR teammates Davison and Mark Winterbottom completing the podium.
In fact, Mostert was racing at Dick Johnson Racing with FPR support ahead of him joining the team in 2014.
Both drivers went onto win many races and are now title winners, with McLaughlin dominating Supercars for three straight seasons before entering the world of IndyCar from 2021.
As for Mostert, he is a multiple Bathurst winner and broke through to take an elusive title last year, while being acknowledged as arguably the most popular driver on the Supercars grid.