Ambrose: How De Pasquale is learning from McLaughlin
Consistency and lessons learned from Scott McLaughlin will aid Anton De Pasquale’s title bid, says Marcos Ambrose.
De Pasquale is just 12 points from the championship lead heading to this weekend’s event in Tasmania.
The Shell V-Power Racing Team driver spent much of 2021 playing catch-up despite demonstrating raw pace.
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De Pasquale surrendered over 800 points last year due to poor reliability and accidents, with 2021 bookended by Bathurst DNFs.
He won six races and claimed a season-high 11 pole positions. However, he only finished sixth overall, behind teammate Will Davison.
Whether the Dick Johnson Racing squad has genuinely closed the gap to Triple Eight will be put to the test in Tasmania.
For two-time series champion Ambrose, De Pasquale will be learning from the best in his quest to add to DJR’s championship tally.
“Anton will have been looking at Scott’s data to see where he’s at,” Ambrose told Supercars.com.
“He will have been adjusting his skillset, and he may have learned a thing or two from Scott’s data.
“Anton has proven his raw speed… it’s hard to win championships, but they’re so easy to lose through errors.
“Anton and Will have done a great job to keep the fire burning at DJR. They’re definitely title contenders."
De Pasquale’s 2021 season improved over time, and his efforts came to a head in the Sydney Motorsport Park quadruple-header.
The 26-year-old scored seven ARMOR ALL Pole Positions and five race wins across the four weeks.
He has also retained the decorated Ludo Lacroix, who famously steered McLaughlin’s early efforts in Shell colours.
McLaughlin’s trajectory in his early days was centred on raw speed, before he nailed down consistency and walked away with three titles.
'Anton will have been looking at Scott’s data to see where he’s at'
No stranger to title fights, Ambrose detailed how De Pasquale’s own pace must be matched by meeting the chequered flag at every turn.
“It’s a game of consistency,” said Ambrose, who will return to the microphone this weekend.
“To win a championship, you have to have consistency to go with raw speed.
“When I won championships, I just tried to go into every single race to win that race.
“If you present speed in every race and eliminate mistakes, it’ll start to go your way over time.
“If you minimise mistakes and have good reliability, you’ll be in the fight.”
For Ambrose, McLaughlin’s recent IndyCar success validates how competitive Supercars is.
Ambrose and McLaughlin in 2019
However, Ambrose couldn’t hide his satisfaction in IndyCar points leader McLaughlin’s own performance.
“Scott’s success in the US shows that the level in Supercars is very high,” Ambrose said.
“For Scott be contending for wins after 12 months shows how good he is, but also how tough it is in Supercars.
“When Scott was here, he was winning races and championships, but he didn’t have it all his own way.”
Ambrose will join the commentary team for this weekend’s NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint.
The 28-time race winner will also take to the wheel of a Gen3 prototype at Symmons Plains.
Every session of the NED Whisky Tasmania SuperSprint will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and streamed on Kayo.
The Seven Network will broadcast highlights on Saturday and Sunday.
