Anton De Pasquale caught Thomas Randle on critical in-lap
De Pasquale fumed over team radio as Randle remained ahead
De Pasquale missed out on crucial win by just 0.7 seconds
Anton De Pasquale has stopped short of declaring that an awkward moment with Thomas Randle cost him a win, and with it a Grand Final berth, on Sunday at Sandown.
De Pasquale was one of the strongest cars throughout Sunday's action in Melbourne, having entered the day needing to find 38 points on the cut line.
Qualifying second was a major boost to De Pasquale's chances, though Matt Payne was a major roadblock, seeming as though he would deny the Chevrolet spearhead the opportunity of a win and you're in.
However, his path was also literally blocked by Tickford driver Randle, as De Pasquale was on an in-lap ahead of his final stop. In an awkward exchange, a lapped Randle moved to the inside of the back straight in front of De Pasquale, before squeezing the #18 Chevrolet at the back straight kink.
The exchange cost De Pasquale the best part of a second, with the Team 18 star lighting up on the radio: "What the f**k is this guy doing? Where's the f***ing blue flags?"
A two-time race winner in 2026, De Pasquale was much more measured post-race: "Yeah, it was just a bit confusing.
"It would've been good not to have that, because we could have come out a lot closer to Matt, and then we would've put him under pressure halfway through the stint, rather than at the end.
"Just a bit confusing, I thought he was letting me go, but obviously he was up to something else."
Ironically, lapped traffic brought De Pasquale back into the fight right at the end of the race, as Payne got held up behind a fierce rear of field battle, allowing the Chevrolet to close to within a second.
However, Payne would hold on, with Team 18 left with a hollow feeling for the second time in three rounds, though proud to be in the fight right until the bitter end.
De Pasquale was further asked whether or not he felt the Randle moment had cost him the win, and he was emphatic in his response: "No, I think that's pushing it a bit.
"Naturally it costs you a better chance, because I still would've had to pass Matt, which is hard to do. It's a very fast car and a very good driver.
"It would've just gave me a longer opportunity to be behind him and possibly give me a chance, but I think that's impossible to say.
"I think it's still really hard to pass a fast car either way."
