QR acid test for resurgent De Pasquale

The Repco Sprint Cup finale in Ipswich stands as a pivotal weekend for Anton De Pasquale’s title hopes, as Team 18 goes deeper into uncharted territory.

The General Motors homologation team gained even more firepower for its critics in Perth with its fourth consecutive trip to the podium, while De Pasquale recorded a six-year first for the team.

De Pasquale’s Perth podium double was Team 18’s first dual-trophy weekend since Scott Pye’s efforts at the second Hidden Valley round in 2020.

“Two in a weekend is always a good feeling,” De Pasquale told media after charging to podium No. 5 for his season, and fourth in the last seven races.

“It feels good. The team’s excited. It’s good to back it up consecutive rounds. Probably still not as consistent as we want to be, but a lot more consistent than we have been. It’s all looking good.”

The Charlie Schwerkolt-owned team entered 2026 under the microscope after taking charge of GM’s hopes, in place of Ford-bound Triple Eight Race Engineering.

Wins in Sydney and Darwin silenced plenty of doubters, but the jury will remain out once De Pasquale arrives on the Gold Coast to avenge his 2025 Finals elimination.

The next test is the tricky and technical Queensland Raceway, where De Pasquale was eighth twice and fourth across last year’s three races. De Pasquale also completed testing at the circuit in May and July.

Given the deficit to pace-setters Matt Payne and Broc Feeney, De Pasquale — who claimed a career high 13 podium haul in 2021 with Dick Johnson Racing — insists there’s much more work to be done before thinking about Finals.

“I think we still need a little bit more speed to compete. There’s no substitute for lap time,” De Pasquale said.

“We still need to find a bit more lap time and do it every day, every track. We’re still a little bit up and down, but we’re honing in on that.

“Being able to get podiums in four rounds in a row as a team is a good sign. It’s something we haven’t done before.

“We just need to be a bit more faster. Obviously we’re there or thereabouts, faster at some tracks than others, but we’re excited. There’s a lot of things to look forward to.

“We’re trying a heap of things, we’re learning a lot and it’s slowly coming together. Hopefully that comes together at the right time of year.”

Track action at Queensland Raceway commences on Friday August 21.

Team 18: Most podiums in a season

*Season ongoing