Bridesmaids no more: historic career-firsts in Darwin

Hidden Valley Raceway, the venue of this weekend’s Merlin Darwin Triple Crown, has been the scene of some significant career-firsts.

As recently as last year did a driver score his first ever win in the Top End.

Can another driver claim a first pole position or victory this weekend?

Supercars.com has listed six instances a driver brought up a career milestone at Hidden Valley.

1998: Maiden pole for Bright

Four months before his breakthrough Bathurst 1000 win, Jason Bright claimed his first championship pole.

In Darwin’s first ever championship round, Bright sailed to pole in his rookie season.

His weekend, however, didn’t go to plan; he was excluded from the Race 1 results, and failed to see the chequered flag in the following two sprints.

1999: Bright’s first win

Pic: AN1 Images

Bright only needed to wait 12 months before he redeemed himself, claiming his first championship race win.

His Bathurst win, while significant, wasn’t a points-paying event; the Bathurst 1000 only became a championship event in 1999.

2009: JR’s emotional pole

A decade later, a future Brad Jones Racing teammate of Bright claimed his first and only pole position.

The late Jason Richards converted his quick qualifying effort into a maiden ARMOR ALL Pole Position in the Top 10 Shootout.

Last-man-out Richards pipped Jamie Whincup to pole by the barest of margins, but could only managed seventh in the race.

2009: Caruso’s day in the sun

The next day belonged to Garry Rogers Motorsport and Michael Caruso, who claimed his first ever main game win.

Caruso and GRM nailed the strategy, with the second-year driver running an assured race.

With Alex Davison and Craig Lowndes breathing down his neck, Caruso needed all the guile in the world to pull off the win, GRM’s first since Lee Holdsworth in 2007.

2010: Davison senior claims maiden pole

Davison wouldn’t have to wait long for a breakthrough of his own, stunning the field aboard his Stone Brothers Ford on the Sunday after managing just 25th on the grid the previous day.

The margin to Whincup in second was a miserly 0.0002s.

Unfortunately for Davison, he eventually had to retire from the race with an electrical problem.

2015: Reynolds’ solo breakthrough

Five years later, David Reynolds scored his first solo race win, two years after he combined to win on the Gold Coast with Dean Canto.

Reynolds’ Bottle-O Falcon was on the money, and despite his upset stomach, the popular driver held out stablemate Chaz Mostert to win.

He famously celebrated on the podium with a ‘shoey’ and the rest is history.

2020: Anton aces chaotic race

In the first of last year’s Darwin doubleheader, Anton De Pasquale escaped the chaos to claim his first career win for Erebus Motorsport.

Now driving for powerhouse squad Shell V-Power Racing Team, De Pasquale vaulted from sixth as those around him crumbled.

Notably, both Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup were slapped with penalties, dropping them out of contention.

De Pasquale, who has a rare chance to match Mark Skaife’s pole record this weekend, won his first race in Shell colours at Tailem Bend last month.

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to the Northern Territory this weekend for the Merlin Darwin Triple Crown. Tickets are available here.

The event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo, and will be broadcast live and free on Seven.