De Pasquale 'had a crack' in opening-lap overtake attempt

A third podium in four races moved Anton De Pasquale further up the points standings, but the Shell V-Power Racing Team driver was sceptical he could match the pace of Andre Heimgartner.

De Pasquale finished third in the OTR SuperSprint opener in mixed conditions, with Heimgartner dominating from pole position.

With David Reynolds retiring from the race, De Pasquale moved into seventh overall, and is just 59 points adrift of sixth-placed Mark Winterbottom.

Race 9 could have been even better for De Pasquale, who led on the opening lap, albeit for a matter of seconds after he bowled a wide at Turn 6.

WATCH: FIRST LAP DRAMA

Looking back at his first-lap error, De Pasquale admitted holding the lead could have sealed his fate towards victory, but conceded Heimgartner was in a league of his own.

“All going pretty hard into [Turn] 1, through 3, then it continued through to 6,” he said.

“Got to the lead for about two seconds, that was good fun.

“It’s always hectic when it’s on mixed or not fully wet conditions; we had a little bit of grip, but not much, so we were having a crack. It’s what we want to see.

“I probably didn’t have the pace of Andre; being at the front is an advantage, it helps with aero wash.

“Whether we had the pace, I don’t know, I’m not too sure. It made my day a little bit harder.

“But we’re still here, and we’re happy, too.”

De Pasquale was forced to defend late on from Nick Percat after a clever strategy play from Brad Jones Racing saw the 2011 Bathurst winner split the #11 Shell Ford and Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters, who eventually pipped Percat for fourth.

WATCH: RACE 6 RECAP

It marked De Pasquale’s third podium in four starts dating back to the start of the Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint.

With the Shell squad boasting an enviable record at The Bend, De Pasquale remains a threat to clinch victory on Sunday, and bring up win No. 400 for Ford.

However, De Pasquale remained coy on his chances, instead focusing on incremental gains as he continues to come to grips with his new car and team.

“Obviously that’s a lot of race wins,” he said.

WATCH: HEIMGARTNER CELEBRATES VICTORY

“It’d be cool to do it and get my first with the team, but we’ll worry about that when it comes.

“We’ll work on what we’ve got, try and get better day on day and see what we’ve got.”

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return on Sunday for Race 10 qualifying at 9:40am AEST. Check out the full weekend schedule here.

The OTR SuperSprint will be broadcast live on Foxtel and will be streamed on Kayo with highlights on 7 and 7 Plus.