IN THE HALL OF THE mountain kings

5:47PM, SATURDAY October 12. It’s the day before the Bathurst 1000, and the entire Mount Panorama circuit is subdued with a tense silence.

The peace is shattered by a feral, mechanical howl. It’s Scott McLaughlin at the wheel of his DJR Team Penske Ford Mustang, its 485kW 5.0-litre naturally aspirated race engine screaming like a bombing siren as it’s put to work for the most important solitary lap of the year, tearing down the pit straight with furious intent.

There’s a crackle as the 26-year-old Kiwi bangs down a couple of gears, before propelling himself up the mountain.

The silence returns.

It’s only broken when McLaughlin reappears, precisely 2:03.3783 minutes later. He’s just completed the quickest lap by a Supercar in Mount Panorama history, and the team erupts into suitably joyous celebrations.

Sitting still and silent just behind the pit garage is a bright green Ford Mustang road car, at the head of the line of numerous other Mustangs. A quick glance would have you fooled that there isn’t anything particularly important about this car, but let