Anton De Pasquale to challenge for first title, just days after Bathurst
De Pasquale, Team 18 missed out on Bathurst victory in final lap heartbreak
De Pasquale was eliminated from 2025 Supercars Finals on Gold Coast
Anton De Pasquale isn't expecting a Bathurst hangover for Team 18, despite admitting the scenes of a heartbreaking final lap was "pretty shit."
De Pasquale ran out of fuel on the final lap while leading, gifting victory to Brodie Kostecki and the Shell V-Power Racing Team. So short on fuel was the #18 DEWALT Camaro, that De Pasquale didn’t even make it around The Chase.
General Motors’ hopes largely rest on De Pasquale’s shoulders, but the Victorian is seventh and right on the bubble.
While insistent he and his team are “excited” to be part of the Finals, De Pasquale conceded the mood in the team is as “expected” after such a brutal result.
"The guys got into the cars really quickly and obviously, we reset our goals as quick as possible, which is obviously this weekend,” De Pasquale told media on Monday.
"Yeah, but the mood's not great, but everyone's still got their eyes on winning some surfboards here and still having a good weekend."
When asked if it was his redemption arc, De Pasquale replied: "There's no redemption or anything. It's a whole different thing and it always was.
"I think Bathurst and the Finals and the championship are two separate things. There's no redemption or anything. Obviously reset, and eyes on the final prize."
De Pasquale had the ignominy of stepping out of his car at The Chase as Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood celebrated victory, and didn’t mince his words when asked about the moment.
However, he insisted his team had come a long way in 12 months, with the #18 Camaro arguably the most consistent car all weekend, alongside the Kostecki/Hazelwood Mustang.
"It's pretty shit, it's exactly what you probably imagine it is," De Pasquale said of the last lap.
"Still obviously there's a lot of moments through the day, and as a team, you know, 12 months on to be in the position to win that race, and execute through the day, drivers and the crew and everything, is still something to be proud of.
"Obviously we don't have anything to show for it, but there's still a lot of good things to take from it, which is ultimately not what we went there for, but it's something which we can still be a little bit proud of."
As for lifting the mood in his team, De Pasquale maintained there won’t be an issue, given the Gold Coast round is so close to Bathurst.
“I don't think it's a problem. We've got a team full of people who love being at the racetrack and they're all racers and they've grown up around it,” De Pasquale said.
"We still lost the biggest race of the year, so that's still gonna hurt for a long time, but we're able to differentiate between that and what we're here for."
Track action at Surfers Paradise commences on Friday October 23.
