Anton De Pasquale responds to Matt Payne's "underdog" remarks
Camaros "certainly made a step at The Bend," says Ford star Payne
Payne snapped GM's two-year run of dominance at Bathurst
Anton De Pasquale says Team 18 will continue to "exclude any external stuff" heading to Bathurst, after reigning champ Matt Payne claimed the General Motors camp wants to be "underdogs."
Payne and Ford snapped a two-year run of dominance for the Camaro at Mount Panorama last year, combining with Garth Tander to win a rain-affected classic.
Ford has surged forward in 2026, winning 23 of 29 races heading to Bathurst. De Pasquale has delivered GM's two wins, which came at Sydney Motorsport Park and Hidden Valley.
Centre of gravity (CoG) and barometric engine testing has taken place since The Bend. Regardless, while unsure how the pecking order will look until cars hit the track, Payne believes GM will head to Bathurst quietly confident.
"There's a lot going on, on the Chev side that I think probably people might be underplaying a little bit, and it's probably to their liking. They probably wanna be a little bit of the underdogs, maybe," Payne told Supercars.com.
“The Chevs obviously haven't been in the spotlight this year, and they certainly made a step at The Bend. I think everyone can agree they were definitely a little bit quicker. Who knows what that's gonna present at Bathurst.
“We know in the past, everyone's felt like the Ford's been down a little bit in competitiveness and after the year we've had, potentially it might be a little bit better for us. I can't really comment too much on anything at the moment.
“You're not gonna see too much until you see boots on the ground. It's gonna be tough, but for sure I think the Chevs will be competitive as well. They are every year we go to Bathurst, so it’s gonna be a good close fight.
When asked about Payne's remarks, De Pasquale told Supercars.com: "I don't know if we're underdogs or whatever. We'll go in there and run our race, and we’ll exclude any external stuff, which is what we've done on Car 18 all year.”
The De Pasquale/Lee Holdsworth looms as GM's strongest hope for the Great Race, with De Pasquale by far and away the leading light for the Camaro camp this season. De Pasquale, though, maintains his crew still needs to do the job when it matters.
“We certainly hope so. We've been putting a lot of work and effort to understand what we want from the car," De Pasquale said.
"I think we were shaping up to have a decent car there last year as well, but obviously we never got to see how the race planned out.
“Hopefully we have a good run. The Mountain's all about that balance, so you can attack for the whole day, and have a car that looks after you and you can build into it. So that's the plan for us.
“Things are a little bit different than 12 months ago, so there's a small bit of the unknown, but we have plenty of practice time. Lee and I can bounce off each other really well. We should have a good chance.”
Track action at the Mountain commences on Thursday October 8.
