The standout stat in De Pasquale's Finals surge

It was a quiet day for Anton De Pasquale and Team 18 at last weekend's AirTouch 500 at The Bend, however an impressive recent run of form continued.

A finish of 10th alongside rookie co-driver Harri Jones mightn't have been as impressive as the podium runs that have come in back-to-back rounds at Darwin and Townsville, however it maintained a streak that's now the best in the field.

Following the refuelling drama that befell Broc Feeney's #88 Red Bull Ampol Racing Camaro, De Pasquale now has the longest streak of top 10 finishes of any full-timer, having finished 10th or better in the last nine races.

It well exceeds the next best drivers in the field, namely Matt Payne, Cam Waters, and Chaz Mostert, who are all on three-race top 10 streaks, whilst Feeney was on a remarkable 17-race streak entering The Bend.

De Pasquale's average finish during that time is among the best in the field, and is well clear of some of the category's biggest stars.

Dating back to the second Darwin race - De Pasquale's first podium with Team 18 - his average finish of 6.0 is only bettered by runaway Repco Sprint Cup winner Broc Feeney (3.9), and Sprint Cup runner-up Matt Payne (5.7).

Reflecting on his Sunday at The Bend, De Pasquale admitted that the speed wasn't there in the #18 DEWALT Camaro, and that once the field was spread out, he could do little to gain positions.

“500km done, and it was a pretty interesting race. No safety cars, very spread out in the end, so everyone just ran their own race and outright car speed really prevailed," said De Pasquale.

“For us, we floated around pretty much the same positions all day. Had a few little battles, but we just didn’t have the outright speed.

"It was strange not really being in a pack. I didn’t do the start, so when I got in it almost felt like a practice session, just turning laps.

“Harri did most of the heavy lifting at the start of the race and did a great job in his first Supercars race."

Jones, meanwhile, performed a steady role in his first Supercars start, keeping the car clean despite getting caught up in the early race battle pack that saw Garth Tander sink through the field after being caught out of position.

Despite his lack of experience, having never even started a Super2 race in his career to date, many were left impressed with Jones' performance, as he aims to become a full-time fixture of the grid in the future.

“It was a tough old slog today. I had a bit of a shocker off the start, unfortunately, but just had to deal with what we had. The first stint was pretty good. I was in a bit of a pack, tried to move forward and did what I could," said the dual Carrera Cup champion.

"In the second stint we had a good pit stop and I came out in some cleaner air, had some good little battles, and then handed the car over to Anton.

"I’m pretty exhausted now, it’s been a busy weekend juggling Carrera Cup and the Supercar, but overall it was a great experience. I’m looking forward to Bathurst.”

De Pasquale enters the Repco Bathurst 1000 with a 191-point buffer over the Finals cutoff line with 300 on offer at The Great Race. Four Finals berths are to be clinched at Mount Panorama from October 9-12, with the opening round of the Finals Series to follow at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 from October 24-26.

Tickets for all remaining events in the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship are on sale now.

Average finish in the last nine Supercars races