De Pasquale 'couldn’t care less' about critics
Anton De Pasquale "couldn’t care less" about "A-grade" debate
Team 18 driver raced to second win of 2026 at Hidden Valley
De Pasquale just 66 points from third in the championship
Darwin winner Anton De Pasquale has no time for the "A-grade" driver debate, insisting his results let him know where he stands.
The Team 18 driver powered to victory in Race 19 at Hidden Valley Raceway, helping himself, his team and Chevrolet to their first win since Sydney in February.
With Triple Eight moving to Ford, De Pasquale emerged as GM's spearhead, which he has more than delivered on courtesy of his two wins, and current championship position.
The grade debate initially kicked off with Cam Waters labelling Andre Heimgartner a "B-grade" driver following their clash in Taupō, before Ryan made his own comments.
De Pasquale has faced conjecture over his status among Supercars' elite, notably shooting down a question over GM's pursuit of Matt Payne after he won in Sydney.
In Darwin, the Victorian was again forthright.
"I think Cam started that, and it wasn't directed at me, and then obviously some people listen to Cam and use his analogies moving forward,” De Pasquale laughed.
“It's something that I couldn't really care less about, to be honest.
“You think you know where you stand, and ultimately results say that."
Commentary from Mark Skaife on either side of Darwin targeted Team 18, with Team Principal Adrian Burgess and owner Charlie Schwerkolt returning serve.
De Pasquale maintains that Team 18 is on an upwards trajectory, and that it was never going to fill the hole left behind by Triple Eight overnight.
"Even as a team, we're pretty realistic with where we are and where we wanna be.
“We don't think we're the best team in pit lane at this stage, but we're trying to be, and it's a long process. Everyone spends a lot of years trying to get there, and we're still pretty early in our path together, so it's not really something we're worrying about.
"We're aiming forward. We've improved a lot in 12 months. We've improved a lot in even six months. So, I don't really care too much about it."
The 2026 season resumes at the NTI Townsville 500 on July 10-12.
