Team 18 has wrapped up the ITM Taupō Super440 with a top-ten finish, as extreme weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s final day of racing.

DEWALT Racing’s Anton De Pasquale led the way for the team, charging from 15th on the grid to finish eighth in Race 8 before adding 10th place in the 200km feature race later in the day.

Snowy River Racing’s David Reynolds also secured a top-ten finish in the opening race, climbing from 16th to 10th despite late-race alternator dramas, before a challenging second race saw him finish 19th.

Following the deterioration of conditions associated with Cyclone Vaianu, Supercars in consultation with Government officials made the decision to cancel Sunday’s event, citing safety concerns for all involved.

Race 10 has now been rescheduled to Friday at the Christchurch Super440, creating an expanded opening day for the South Island event, where Reynolds will now bring up his 500th Supercars Championship start.

RESULTS & QUOTES

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

Qualifying (Race 8): 15th (1:27.7014)
Qualifying (Race 9): 7th (1:26.2209)
Race 8: 8th
Race 9: 10th

“It feels a bit weird doing this wrap on a Saturday evening, but we had a couple of really eventful races today.

“We moved forward really well in the first one. We had great tyre life and probably qualified out of position, so it was good to make those spots back up.

“In the second race we had some dramas in the pit stops and got out of sync, which cost us some time and made it a tougher race.

“Both races in the top ten is okay, but not exactly what we want. We’re chasing a bit more speed heading into Christchurch.

“It’s pretty cool we get to race back-to-back in New Zealand. Unfortunately we don’t get to race tomorrow with the cyclone coming through, so to everyone around here, stay safe and we’ll see you in Christchurch.”

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

Qualifying (Race 8): 16th (1:27.7186)
Qualifying (Race 9): 13th (1:26.7792)
Race 8: 10th
Race 9: 19th

“If you haven’t heard, there’s a bit of a cyclone coming and they’ve cancelled Sunday entirely, so we did both races today.

“The Super Soft race wasn’t too bad. We started 16th and had a few dramas in the race. We had a failing alternator, or it failed, so the car wasn’t charging. In the Gen3 era there’s a lot more electronics than Gen2, so once the battery starts draining, everything begins to shut down.

“In the last five laps I was struggling just to drive in a straight line. The car was cutting out, my cool suit stopped working, everything stopped working. That’s just a function of these new cars being fly-by-wire. We ended up 10th, so all in all not too bad a result.

“Then onto the Soft tyre race and I don’t really know what to say about it. I just didn’t have a lot of pace. Had a few dramas, but nothing to write home about, the car was just pretty slow and we ended up 19th.

“I had no rear grip. It felt like someone was spilling oil on the tyres on entry and exit, so it made it super difficult to drive and not a lot of enjoyment in that last one.

“The Super Soft race was good, the Soft race not so much. Hopefully we can learn a lot and fix it for the next round.

“Onto Ruapuna, no one’s been there in a Supercar, but I raced there about 17 years ago. It’s a cool little track, kind of reminds me of Winton or Wakefield. It should be good for some highlights, so we’ll see how we go.”