De Pasquale fastest, Mostert best of Finals Drivers at Sandown
Anton De Pasquale tops opening Sandown practice
Team 18 stablemate David Reynolds finished third in strong start for incoming GM homologation team
Chaz Mostert top Finals Driver in second, leader Broc Feeney 19th
Anton De Pasquale has got one up over the seven remaining Finals Drivers, topping the opening practice session of the 2025 Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
De Pasquale, who was bumped out of Finals contention by a controversial penalty on the Gold Coast, was the only driver to dip into the 1:08s in a session that saw several Finals Drivers buried deep in the pack.
The session also marked the first running for Jayden Ojeda at his new home in PremiAir Racing, thge 26-year-old wasting no time in testing the limits and having a wild slide between Turns 3 and 4.
Whilst Ojeda was able to keep the #62 Camaro in a straight line, Matt Stone Racing's Cameron Hill wasn't able to, harmlessly looping his new-look Sherrin Rentals Camaro.
Early in the session it was the Team 18 Camaros that flexed their muscle, De Pasquale going fastest with a 1:08.9632, and teammate David Reynolds slotting into third.
They were split by Chaz Mostert, who continued his strong Finals form slotting into second, comfortably the fastest of the seven remaining Finals Drivers.
The session was briefly halted just past halfway for debris, and when the session resumed lap times didn't markedly improve as would usually be expected.
Notably, Mostert's WAU teammate Ryan Wood used the final minutes of the session rehearsing giving the #25 Mobil 1 Optus Mustang a tow down the back straight, a potential hint at what may be to come in Boost Mobile Qualifying this weekend.
De Pasquale, Mostert, and Reynolds remained the top three throughout the session, with Brodie Kostecki and James Courtney rounding out the top five.
Cam Waters was the next of the Finals Drivers in ninth, ahead of Tickford teammate Thomas Randle in 10th. Will Brown was 11th for Red Bull Ampol Racing, with Matt Payne 12th for Penrite Racing.
Points leader Broc Feeney and rookie Kai Allen rounded out the championship contenders in 18th and 19th.
“Rolled out, car’s really good, felt alright,” De Pasquale said.
“Obviously very different to where we’ve come from, tyre life’s going to be a big issue come the race. That’s where the brain’s going now.”
On his approach after being eliminated, De Pasquale replied: “Much the same. We go to every weekend with the same level prep, same level effort, and same goal.
“It doesn’t change a lot, but you have a little more freedom with risky changes without worrying about points."
Practice 2 at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 begins at 3:55pm AEDT.
