DJR: We were fighting back all day
The Shell V-Power Racing Team was in constant fightback mode in Bathurst, says Team Principal Ben Croke.
Dick Johnson Racing’s historic 1000th race went unrewarded, with Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto seventh.
The #100 Ford was forced into early repairs after D’Alberto suffered damage on lap 1.
D’Alberto copped a bent steering arm amid the chaos on Mountain Straight.
The Safety Car helped D’Alberto, who clashed with Mark Winterbottom amid the lap 5 drama.
From there, De Pasquale and D’Alberto battled all day, but couldn’t make an impression on the leaders.
An early off for Alex Davison put the #17 on the back foot, before younger brother Will crashed late on.
The Davisons looked set to bring home a top 10 before Will found the Griffin’s Bend barriers.
With Red Bull Ampol Racing first and fifth, DJR all but ceded the teams’ championship.
Both drivers are out of title contention, with Triple Eight 671 points up the road.
“It was one of those days,” Croke said.
"We had one car in the garage for repairs after the first-lap carnage, another stuck in the mud, and then a problem right at the end.
“We were just fighting back all day. But we managed to get both cars into the top 10 after the early dramas and seventh was solid.
“It was a real team performance. Everyone did their best but it definitely wasn’t our day.
“Now is the Gold Coast, which is our home races but no one has been there for a few years so it’s a bit of a trip into the unknown.”
De Pasquale at least managed to finish, considering he was behind the wheel when his car died late in the 2021 race.
While frustrated to race from behind, De Pasquale praised his team for the quick first-lap repairs.
"It started off really badly, we got caught up in lap 1 incident, we were in the garage and the crew did an unreal job to keep the car on the lead lap,” he said.
"We carried a few wounds for the rest of the race, and it’s never good to have some wounds on lap one of 161.
“We pushed through, we got ourselves back to the lead pack with our pit stops and then straight back to the back after a slow stop.
"We had a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot of grinding to get all the way back up again.
“It wasn’t our day and wasn’t meant to be, but I still had an awesome time, and everyone put in a massive effort."
De Pasquale and Davison are third and fifth, 777 and 902 points behind, heading to Surfers Paradise.
