DE PASQUALE EIGHTH IN SUPERCARS SEASON OPENER UNDER LIGHTS

MEDIA RELEASE/Team 18 – Photos: Velocity Magazine

DEWALT Racing’s Anton De Pasquale kicked off his Team 18 career with a strong eighth-place finish in Race 1 of the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park, while TRADIE Energy Racing’s David Reynolds battled to 15th.

The day began on a high with De Pasquale and Reynolds topping the timesheets in opening practice, finishing first and second, respectively. Adding to the excitement, Reynolds took on Sunrise host and former Olympic sprinter Matt Shirvington in a 30-metre sprint down the main straight—just edging him out in a photo finish.

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However, qualifying proved to be a challenge, with both drivers unable to extract the ultimate pace. De Pasquale and Reynolds were eliminated in Q1, starting the race from 15th and 17th.

As darkness fell over Sydney Motorsport Park, De Pasquale found himself in a heated midfield battle on the opening lap, while Reynolds was the first to pit on Lap 5. De Pasquale followed a lap later, with the crew executing a lightning-fast 2.7-second stop—the second fastest of the race—allowing him to jump Bryce Fullwood in the lane.

De Pasquale found his rhythm in the latter stages, charging forward to claim P8, while Reynolds made steady gains to finish 15th.

Team 18 returns to the track tomorrow with Qualifying at 2:35 PM, followed by the Top 10 Shootout at 4:35 PM, before Race 2 gets underway at 7:30 PM—a 52-lap, 200-kilometre battle under lights.

Anton De Pasquale – #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“First race with Team 18 done under lights in Sydney!”

“We started the day strong in practice, but qualifying didn’t go our way, and we had to fight from the midfield. The race itself was really positive—we had an awesome strategy and an amazing pit stop from the crew, which set us up for a strong undercut. 

“The car looked after its tyres well, and we made up good ground to finish inside the top ten. Hopefully, we can keep building on that tomorrow.”

David Reynolds – #20 TRADIE Energy Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“I got a reasonable start and spent the first few laps trying to get past Will [Davison], but he settled in and found his pace again.”

“The boys nailed a good stop, and we threw on two tyres to keep pushing forward. I just found my tyre degradation a little higher than expected, which made things tricky in the second half.”

“Overall, it was a solid day. We showed strong pace in practice, but qualifying hurt us, losing around a second somewhere, so we need to figure that out. If we can crack that, it’ll be a big step forward for the races ahead. We just need to manage our tyres better and keep learning.”

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