Team 18 completed an action-packed Saturday at the Ipswich Super440, with Snowy River Racing’s David Reynolds charging from 19th to eighth in Race 27 as both Team 18 main game cars finished inside the top 10.

Qualifying for Race 26 saw DEWALT Racing’s Anton De Pasquale narrowly miss the top ten and secured 12th with Reynolds close behind in 15th.

Attention then turned to qualifying for Race 27, where De Pasquale advanced to the second phase and secured seventh on the grid with Reynolds 19th.

De Pasquale was shuffled back to 15th on the opening lap of Race 26, just ahead of Reynolds, with both cars struggling for balance through the race.

Reynolds stopped for four tyres on Lap 18, with De Pasquale following one lap later for his own four-tyre service. De Pasquale recovered to finish 13th, while Reynolds crossed the line in 20th.

Both drivers made clean starts to Race 27 before Reynolds was turned around by Ojeda at Turn 6 during the opening phase, dropping him towards the rear of the field.

De Pasquale remained in the top 10 and completed a four-tyre stop on Lap 18, while Reynolds extended his opening stint before a safety car on Lap 27 when Gray was beached at Turn 3.

Reynolds stopped for fresh tyres under the caution and emerged in 15th position, ten places up from where he pitted.

De Pasquale restarted in eighth, while Reynolds immediately moved forward and passed Hill despite receiving a hit to the rear of the Snowy River Racing Chevrolet.

A second Safety Car was called when Gomersall became stranded at Turn 6. With six laps remaining at the final restart, Reynolds used his fresher tyres to charge past Le Brocq, De Pasquale and Randle, climbing into eighth position after starting 19th.

De Pasquale finished tenth to secure a double top ten result for Team 18 and providing the team with a more promising direction for Sunday.

Sunday’s action begins with qualifying for Race 28 at 10:55am, followed by the Top Ten Shootout at 11:40am and the 200-kilometre Race 28 at 3:20pm. All the action can be viewed live on Fox Sports and Kayo.

RESULTS & QUOTES

Anton De Pasquale, driver #18 DEWALT Racing Chevrolet Camaro

Race 26 Qualifying: P12 (1:08.5495)

Race 26: P13

Race 27 Qualifying: P7 (1:08.7799)

Race 27: P10

“It was a very busy Saturday with two qualifying sessions and two races across the Soft and Super Soft tyre compounds.

“We didn’t have the pace we were looking for today on either tyre, so we tried several different things to bring the car into a better window.

“I think we found a little bit of direction during the final race, which gives us some more things to try tomorrow. We’ll review everything overnight and look to finish the weekend strongly.”

David Reynolds, Driver – No. 20 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Race 26 Qualifying: P15 (1:08.6391)

Race 26: P19

Race 27 Qualifying: P19 (1:09.0914)

Race 27: P8

“It was a very busy day with two qualifying sessions and two races across the two tyre compounds.

“We qualified reasonably well for the first race, but we didn’t have the pace we needed and it was a fairly average result.

“There was plenty of chaos at the start of Race 27 and I was turned around, so we switched to an alternate strategy and stayed out as long as possible hoping for a Safety Car.

“It came at the perfect time, allowing us to pit and gain around 10 positions. We had much fresher tyres than the cars around us and were able to carve our way through the field, which was heaps of fun.

“It was great to recover with a strong result and finish the day on a high. Hopefully we can improve the car again overnight and continue moving forward tomorrow.”