Team 18 2024 season review: Good on paper only means so much
As 2024 winds down, Supercars.com is looking over all 11 teams and their performances in this year's Repco Supercars Championship, continuing with Team 18.
At the start of the year, Team 18 finally looked like they had struck a winning formula, with David Reynolds joining the squad off the back of a stunning run of form to end 2023 and his tenure at Grove Racing.
Adrian Burgess also joined the squad as Team Principal, whilst Dr Geoff Slater joined as Technical Director, and with incumbent Mark Winterbottom coming off the back of a race-winning campaign last season.
Fast forward to December, and Team 18 have had their worst performance as a two-car team, finishing 10th in the teams' standings, whilst Winterbottom was unceremoniously dumped before the enduros.
It was a curious decision, with Winterbottom by far the team's most successful driver, and having picked up the only two trophies the team won this season. The way in which the news was broken was messy, and the whole situation left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths.
In saying that, the back end of the year showed signs of promise, especially for Reynolds. The 2017 Bathurst winner had front-running pace, but threw it all away with two monumental qualifying shunts at Bathurst and Adelaide.
One lap pace was the team's biggest weakness, with Reynolds having the 16th-best qualifying average in the field, and Winterbottom the 23rd-best.
Team 18: 2024 season results and head-to-heads
Drivers' finish: David Reynolds 12th, Mark Winterbottom 15th
Teams' finish: 10th
Best result: 2nd (Mark Winterbottom, Melbourne Race 4, Darwin Race 11)
Qualifying head to head: David Reynolds 15, Mark Winterbottom 9
Race head to head: David Reynolds 12, Mark Winterbottom 12
What’s next in 2025?
Having been the last bastions of placing two experienced campaigners in their full-time roster this year, next year will be a new look for Team 18 with the signing of Anton De Pasquale.
Having failed to meet the lofty expectations set by predecessor Scott McLaughlin in Stapylton, De Pasquale makes a curious move to a team that also haven't performed to the level they could be, with the move on the surface appearing to be a sideways step at best.
However, qualifying master De Pasquale could be just what the team needs to reverse their one lap blues, with the 29-year-old having the sixth-best average starting position in 2024.
On the flip side, a shift to Camaro from Mustang, a reunion with former Erebus teammate Reynolds, and a move back to a Victorian team could also be what the Melburnian needs to go the right way at this career crossroads.
It could potentially be an important season for all involved at the team, with on-track performances potentially playing a big part in the future of Team 18 from 2026 and beyond.
Team owner Charlie Schwerkolt's links with Toyota through his Waverley Forklift empire has seen Team 18 linked to the Supra program almost as soon as it was first announced.
