Team 18 heads to the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 this weekend, with Cub Cadet Racing’s Anton De Pasquale aiming to keep his championship challenge alive as the 2026 Repco Supercars Finals Series begins.

Following the conclusion of the Enduro Cup at Bathurst, the championship returns to single-driver competition on the streets of Surfers Paradise, with two 250km races opening the three-round Finals campaign.

De Pasquale enters the Finals seventh in the standings following the points reset. With the championship field reduced from 10 contenders to seven at the end of the weekend, the leading Chevrolet driver will be targeting a strong points haul to secure his passage to Sandown.

Returning to the Forge Grey Cub Cadet Racing livery, De Pasquale will look to improve on his 2025 Gold Coast campaign and build on the speed demonstrated at Bathurst, where he and Lee Holdsworth challenged for victory before their final-lap heartbreak.

While the disappointment remains, De Pasquale takes confidence from the team’s progress over the past 12 months and its ability to compete at the front throughout the Great Race.

David Reynolds returns to one of his most successful circuits aboard the No. 48 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro, continuing with the electric blue livery introduced at Bathurst to celebrate Snowy River’s MY27 caravan range featuring 48-volt technology.

Surfers Paradise holds special significance for Reynolds, who claimed his maiden Supercars victory at the venue in 2013 before returning to the winner’s circle in 2023.

Although outside the Finals field, Reynolds will be chasing a strong finish to the season, with the Gold Coast providing an opportunity to bounce back after tyre blistering hampered his Bathurst campaign.

This year’s event features a revised schedule, with qualifying for Saturday’s race moving to Friday afternoon following two 25-minute practice sessions. Saturday’s Top Ten Shootout will determine the first five rows ahead of Race 31, while Sunday features qualifying and a second Shootout before Race 32.

Both races will cover 85 laps, with Saturday’s race starting at 3:15pm AEST and Sunday’s at 2:45pm. Every Supercars session will be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports, with live and free coverage on Seven and 7plus across Saturday and Sunday.

QUOTES

Anton De Pasquale, Driver – #18 Cub Cadet Racing Chevrolet Camaro

“The Finals give us something to look forward to, and we’re excited to be part of it. We’re on that cut line now, so hopefully by the end of the weekend we’re still in it and heading to Sandown, with our eyes on the final four.

“The mood is what you’d expect after Bathurst. The guys got into preparing the cars really quickly, and we reset our goals as quickly as possible towards this weekend. Everyone still has their eyes on winning some surfboards and having a good weekend.

“We’re feeling good. I think a lot will come down to the weather, and there’s plenty that could change over the week, so we’ll stay flexible and see how we go.

“Bathurst and the Finals are two separate things. It’s not about redemption. We’ve reset, and our eyes are on the championship.

“There were a lot of moments throughout Bathurst that we can still be proud of. To be in a position to win that race, compared to where we were 12 months ago, and to execute throughout the day with the drivers and crew, shows the progress we’ve made.

“We don’t have the result to show for it, and ultimately that’s what we went there for, but there are still good things to take from the weekend.

“We’ve got a team full of people who love being at the racetrack. They’re all racers and have grown up around it, so getting to the next track and focusing on the next goal isn’t a problem.

“We lost the biggest race of the year, and that’s going to hurt for a long time, but we’re able to separate that from what we’re here to do this weekend.”

David Reynolds, Driver – #48 Snowy River Racing Chevrolet Camaro

“Gold Coast is one of my favourite events of the year, it’s got good vibes. It’s a great track although it’s very hard to pass, so qualifying will be very important. It’s very high risk, high reward.”

“Anton’s obviously in the finals, so I’ll try and help him out where I can, but my main focus will be winning the race on my side of the garage.”

“I’ve done pretty good there before, and it’s a fun track, but the weather can make it torture because of the heat up in Queensland, or if it rains the rain makes it one of the most diabolical tracks in the world. It’s a massive rollercoaster of fun and fear.”

“It all comes down to our car speed in qualifying. If we can qualify well, we can stay out of trouble in clean air and do pretty good.”

SCHEDULE
2026 Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500
All Times AEST

Friday 23 October
11:45am, Practice 1 (25 mins)
1:50pm, Practice 2 (25 mins)
4:05pm, Qualifying – Race 31 (30 mins)

Saturday 24 October
12:35pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 31 (35 mins)
3:15pm, Race 31 (85 laps/250km)

Sunday 25 October
11:20am, Qualifying Part 1 – Race 32 (12 mins)
11:40am, Qualifying Part 2 – Race 32 (12 mins)
12:05pm, Top Ten Shootout – Race 32 (35 mins)
2:45pm, Race 32 (85 laps/250km)