DE PASQUALE SECOND AS TEAM 18 FINISHES FRIDAY STRONGLY AT THE BEND

MEDIA RELEASE/Team 18 – Photos: Velocity Magazine

Team 18 has made an encouraging start to the AirTouch 500 at The Bend, with DEWALT Racing’s Anton De Pasquale and Snowy River Racing’s David Reynolds finishing second and fifth respectively in Friday’s final practice session.

The opening day of the 2026 Ryco Enduro Cup featured three 30-minute practice sessions around the West Circuit, including a dedicated co-driver session for Lee Holdsworth and James Courtney.

De Pasquale began the weekend with the 14th-fastest time in Practice 1 while completing a series of race runs. Holdsworth took over the DEWALT Chevrolet for Practice 2, completing 14 laps on used tyres as he and the team worked to improve the car’s balance over longer runs.

De Pasquale returned for the final session and produced a 1:16.5410 on his final lap to finish second, only 0.0708 seconds behind the fastest time of the day.

While encouraged by the car’s performance over a single lap, De Pasquale and Holdsworth believe there is further work required to improve its race balance ahead of Sunday’s 500-kilometre race.

After Reynolds struggled with the balance of the car during the opening session, Courtney provided further feedback in Practice 2 before a setup change delivered an encouraging improvement. Courtney finished 17th during the dedicated co-driver session, completing 13 laps in his first official Supercars session since concluding his full-time driving career.

The Snowy River Racing crew continued their progress in Practice 3, with the car responding strongly when Reynolds fitted a fresher set of tyres to end the day fifth.

Team 18 will review the data from all four drivers overnight before returning to the circuit on Saturday with Qualifying at 2:45pm and a Top Ten Shootout ahead of Sunday’s 500km enduro. All the action can be viewed live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

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Anton De Pasquale, Primary Driver – #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Practice 1: P14 – Anton De Pasquale (1:17.8550)

Practice 2: P22 – Lee Holdsworth (1:18.7044)

Practice 3: P2 – Anton De Pasquale (1:16.5410)

“It was an okay first day for us at The Bend, with two sessions for myself and one for Lee.

“We did plenty of race running early in the day, and Lee did a lot of the grunt work on the older tyres during the co-driver session.

“We ended the day in a good position after fitting a better tyre late in Practice 3. Our one-lap speed seems okay, but we still have a little bit of work to do with the race car.

“It’s a long weekend and it’s difficult to know exactly where everyone stands at this stage. We’re working through our program, trying a few things and, so far, everything has gone well.”

Lee Holdsworth, Co-Driver – #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“I’m looking forward to jumping on some better tyres tomorrow, but today was still really positive.

“We’re continuing to search for a good balance, particularly for the race rather than qualifying, because the car was clearly quite strong over one lap.

“There is still a bit of work to do, but we have a few more sessions to improve it before the race.

“Tomorrow will be about continuing our preparation and making sure we set ourselves up well for Sunday.”

David Reynolds, Primary Driver – #20 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Practice 1: P20 – David Reynolds (1:18.0084)

Practice 2: P17 – James Courtney (1:18.3485)

Practice 3: P5 – David Reynolds (1:16.6469)

“In Practice 1, I felt like I was miles off the pace and the car wasn’t making sense. It was difficult to drive and neither end of the car felt particularly good.

“James then jumped in and confirmed that we weren’t where we needed to be. The team made a small change during his session which brought the balance back, and he produced a good lap.

“We didn’t fully understand where we stood until Practice 3, when we fitted new tyres and the car came alive. The balance returned, so it appears the tyres we rolled out on were simply past their best.

“I’m very happy with James. He’s a highly accomplished driver, and his experience and feedback are already proving valuable.”

James Courtney, Co-Driver – #20 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

“It was good to get back out there and have a proper go today.

“The test day felt quite strange after being out of the car for a long period, so it was valuable to have some time to think about it before coming back today.

“As Dave touched on, the car was pretty lively to begin with. Geoff (Slater) made a significant change which gave us a good direction, and the team continued down that path for Dave’s final session.

“It was a good step forward for the car and the team’s morale. It’s nice to have both cars inside the top five and a positive direction for the rest of the weekend.”

Saturday 12 September

9:50am, Practice 4 – Additional Drivers (40 mins)
12:00pm, Practice 5 – All Drivers (40 mins)
2:45pm, Qualifying – Race 29 (30 mins)
5:00pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 29 (30 mins)

Sunday 13 September

10:15am, Warm-up (20 mins)
1:45pm, Race 29 (147 laps/500km)

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