De Pasquale wary of make-or-break Enduro Cup

A stunning turnaround from a mid-season slump has seen Anton De Pasquale surge back into Finals safety, but he knows the job is only just beginning.

Moving from Dick Johnson Racing to Team 18 in the off season, De Pasquale starred in the opening three rounds of the season, and was fifth in the points standings after Race 9 in New Zealand.

However, difficult weekends followed in Tasmania and Perth, dropping him back to 12th in points, before steadying the ship in Darwin to climb back inside the Finals bubble despite nagging clutch problems.

A Darwin podium was followed by another last time out in Townsville, where an aggressive De Pasquale impressed to finish the weekend with the fifth-highest points score.

As a result, the 29-year-old is now seventh in the standings, 120 points clear of Cameron Hill in 11th, however he is fully aware of how important the Enduro Cup will be in determining the 10 drivers who will compete for the championship in the Repco Supercars Finals Series.

"For sure we want to be in there, there's no lie about that," De Pasquale said on The Formation Lap.

"Obviously everyone wants to be in there, we're on that bubble. We've got a little bit of a gap, but it's not a comfortable gap, so we have to execute the next few rounds.

"Having two endurance races in that, it's big consequences as well if something goes wrong, or you get caught up in something."

De Pasquale will be joined by rookie Harri Jones in the #18 Camaro for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend and the Repco Bathurst 1000, with two-time Carrera Cup champion Jones making his first start in either tier of Supercars.

Pressure on 26-year-old Jones will undoubtedly be mounting given his inexperience and De Pasquale's Finals situation, however the 16-time Supercars polesitter is eager to enter Bathurst with as little points pressure as possible.

"In an ideal world, you get to Bathurst and you know you've got a little bit of a buffer because that is it's own beast.

"You want to be able to go there with no consequences and just have a send and go for the big one.

"But if it gets to the point of the race where you have to take your eyes off the win if you're not fast enough or whatever, we'll work that out.

"But in either world you go to Bathurst looking for the big trophy, that's just always the goal, and if you get that, you'll be in the Finals anyway."

2025 Supercars Finals Focus: Anton De Pasquale

Championship position at end of each round, gap to safety