De Pasquale sets target before Team 18 switch
Anton De Pasquale will move to Team 18 in 2025
De Pasquale sits 10th in points heading to Bathurst
De Pasquale/Tony D'Alberto finished third in Bathurst last year
Scooping as many trophies as possible in his final rounds as a Dick Johnson Racing driver is the clear short-term goal for Anton De Pasquale, who will move to team 18 in 2025.
De Pasquale will replace Mark Winterbottom at Team 18 next season, following his fourth campaign with the Shell V-Power Racing Team.
The 29-year-old has claimed two podiums — both coming in New Zealand in April — in a rollercoaster fourth campaign for DJR. In 16 other starts, De Pasquale has seven top 10s, two DNFs at Albert Park and Townsville, and appearances in every Top Ten Shootout so far — the only driver to do so.
DJR boss Dr Ryan Story has given De Pasquale his blessing, saying he expects the nine-time Supercars race winner to "show everyone what he's got" at Team 18.
When asked by Supercars.com if it makes him hungrier to perform for DJR before he moves on, De Pasquale replied: “Try and get as many trophies as we can.
“Obviously it’s very difficult at the moment, but there’s a few good races up for grabs. We will put our best foot forward, obviously we're trying as hard as we can every race. That’s the short-term goal.
“We’ll get to next year when we get there.”
De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto raced from third to 14th at last month’s Penrite Oil Sandown, with race pace ultimately bringing the #11 undone.
The duo have form at the Mountain, racing to third 12 months ago on a weekend dominated by Camaros.
For De Pasquale, rolling out strong in Bathurst will only help, given the team has notably battled to hit the ground running at race weekends in the Gen3 era.
“Bathurst is an amazing place, obviously any time you stand on that podium, it’s awesome,” he said.
“We’ll try and do that again, as high up as we can go. Obviously it’s so tough though, at the same time. There’s so many elements that go into it.
“We rolled out really good last year, and we were towards the front from the start. That’s the plan. We haven’t been able to do that much this year.
“The plan is to roll out of the truck competitive and comfortable, and the week is a lot easier from that point onwards, rather than chasing our tail."
