McLaughlin seals maiden IndyCar win

Scott McLaughlin has claimed his maiden IndyCar victory after winning from pole position in the Grand Prix of St Petersburg in Florida.

The Kiwi driver’s flying start to his second full season in the series comes after he was the 2001 rookie of the year when he finished 14th overall.

The 28-year-old, a three-time Supercars champion, is driving for Team Penske Chevrolet and took out the season-opening race in style after fending off late pressure from defending champion Alex Palou.

McLaughlin will be hoping history repeats because the winner of the first race in the last three IndyCar seasons has gone on to clinch the title in the same year.

“What a day, I’m out of breath... really struggled those last couple of laps to keep my head, save fuel and all that stuff,” he says. “I can’t believe it.”

His fellow Kiwi, Scott Dixon, had to settle for eighth place after being forced to use one more costly pit stop than McLaughlin.

The next action in the series is at Texas Motor Speedway on March 21.