DEWALT Racing’s Anton De Pasquale has delivered a pair of strong recovery drives at Ruapuna Raceway, finishing sixth in both races on a challenging Saturday for Team 18 at the ITM Christchurch Super440.

Qualifying for Race 11 proved difficult for the team, with De Pasquale and Snowy River Racing’s David Reynolds lining up 17th and 21st respectively on the Soft tyre.

A switch to the Super Soft tyre for Race 12 qualifying saw a significant turnaround for De Pasquale, progressing through to Part 2 and securing a strong fifth on the grid.

In Race 11, Reynolds’ race was compromised early after contact at Turn 4 on Lap 4 while attempting a move on Stewart and Hill. The incident resulted in a 15-second stop-go penalty, served during his compulsory pit stop, with Reynolds finishing 21st.

De Pasquale, meanwhile, was the biggest mover of the race. Charging forward from 17th on the grid, he made up four positions early before pitting on Lap 10 for two tyres. The undercut strategy proved effective, jumping him into seventh in the pit cycle and later sixth after Payne dropped back. He held off late pressure from Waters to secure sixth place.

Race 12 saw De Pasquale bog down off the start, losing two positions, while Reynolds was involved in early contact after being hit by Bates at Turn 4 on Lap 11.

Both drivers completed their pit stops in the middle phase of the race, with De Pasquale stopping from seventh on Lap 13 for two rear tyres, followed by Reynolds a lap later. De Pasquale briefly gained track position on Golding through the pit cycle, however Golding’s four-tyre strategy paid off late, leaving De Pasquale to take the chequered flag in sixth once again.

Reynolds fought through to 19th in Race 12 as the team continues to work through car balance issues ahead of Sunday’s finale.

Sunday’s action features Qualifying from 11:50am NZST, followed by the Top Ten Shootout at 12:45pm and the final 200km race at 3:05pm. All the action can be viewed live on Fox Sports, Kayo and Sky Sports NZ.

RESULTS & QUOTES

Anton De Pasquale, driver #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Qualifying (Race 11): 17th (1:21.83)
Qualifying (Race 12): 5th (1:21.52)
Race 11: 6th
Race 12: 6th

“Pretty busy day here in Christchurch, Ruapuna. A few qualifying sessions and a couple of races, so a mixed bag for us.

“We struggled on the soft tyre this morning but were quite good on the super soft, which we half expected with the way our balance is.

“We raced okay on both tyres. Had a really good race on the soft, made a heap of positions and had a good strategy. The guys made a really good call there.

“We were racing around the same guys in the super soft race and tried to replicate the race before, but that tyre had a bit too much deg for that strategy, so it didn’t work as well.

“We’re back on the soft tomorrow, so we need to fix that qualifying and go again.”

David Reynolds, driver #20 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
Qualifying (Race 11): 21st (1:22.15)
Qualifying (Race 12): 23rd (1:22.45)
Race 11: 21st
Race 12: 19th

“Still trying to work my car out a bit. There’s some funny stuff going on in the front end that we’re trying to work out what it is first before we can fix it.

“I missed the race yesterday, so it made this morning a bit difficult, not in the rhythm like the other guys. Just didn’t have the pace in either session. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the back row. I can’t remember the last time, it’s a bit depressing.

“I think once we figure out what’s going on with our car, we can start making it better. It’s just very inconsistent to drive, difficult to drive. Not making much grip, just makes it a very long race.

“We got a 15-second penalty in the first one for not much and everyone’s still a bit perplexed about what happened there.

“Tomorrow’s a new day and Geoff and I will go through the car tonight and make sure we can figure out what’s going on and attack it again.”