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De Pasquale, Davison shrug off first-lap contact

18 Jun 2022
'I had to make sure we both got through'
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Anton De Pasquale and Will Davison have brushed off their first-lap contact as "good racing".

De Pasquale led Davison in a Shell V-Power Racing Team one-two in Race 16.

The Merlin Darwin Triple Crown victory was De Pasquale's first of the season.

It came after De Pasquale rounded up Davison at Turn 1 on the opening lap.

The two Fords made side-to-side contact on the run to Turn 5, and De Pasquale emerged in the lead.

De Pasquale's car appeared to jump left under braking.

He later ran away to career win No. 8, with Davison holding off Shane van Gisbergen.

Speaking after the race, De Pasquale claimed the cars were "sucked" together under brakes.

“We had a pretty even start,” De Pasquale said.

“I looked in the mirror, and there was a train down in the inside.

“I went for it, it was pretty nice, we were gonna run two-wide for the whole lap.

“We got sucked into each other at [Turn] 5.

“We must’ve braked at the same time, but we both got out the other side.

“It was good racing."

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Davison explained it was a "tricky" situation, but reiterated both drivers knew they had to get out the other side.

“Came down to Turn 1; for me, it was teammate on the outside,” he said.

“It was a really tricky one as to how hard I get into him.

“I had to make sure we both got through.”

Davison's 500th start went without victory, leaving the veteran "disappointed" not to convert a third straight Darwin pole.

However, Davison praised the team for the smart turnaround after a trying Winton.

“This is all for the team; the one-two’s for them,” Davison said.

“Obviously disappointed to be second, but not really; bigger picture is amazing comeback [after Winton].

“Shane coming on three [tyres], I was just going to see if I could hold him, a one-two is really important.

“I was gonna make sure I gave Anton a bit of a buffer. I wasn’t going to make it easy.

“When I saw him coming, I was hoping Anton had a bit left, we needed to get on with it.

“Another few laps would have been interesting.”

Cars will return on Sunday at 8:35am local time for dual ARMOR ALL Qualifying sessions.

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