Schwerkolt: De Pasquale the 'No. 1 Chev driver', Team 18 the 'real deal'

Team 18 owner Charlie Schwerkolt believes Anton De Pasquale is in career best form, in what is a timely boost for General Motors fans.

De Pasquale kicked off his second season with Team 18 in brilliant form, winning from pole in the second Sydney race to lead the championship.

It was his first win since 2023, when he raced for Dick Johnson Racing. Before Saturday, De Pasquale had two wins in four seasons.

While a clash with Will Brown in the finale cost De Pasquale the lead, Schwerkolt had seen enough from his star to prove that GM has a bonafide star in its ranks.

Critically, De Pasquale made an emphatic statement amid questions over whether he was the driver to keep GM in the hunt for championship glory.

"Anton's in his element. He loves the place, and I think he’s driving as good as he's ever driven,” Schwerkolt told Supercars.com.

“He’s loving being the No. 1 Chev driver in Supercars. It really makes me happy. Anton is an incredible person, I've come to know him very, very well.

"I don't think he was treated exactly right at DJR, so for him to come over here, he's found his home. This is where he wants to be. We want him here. He's really delivering well and there's no hassles.

"He'll just go and do the job and I’m confident he will just keep performing. It’s hard work as we know, it's the hardest category in the world, but we will all keep pushing hard.”

De Pasquale used his smarts to deny a rapid Brodie Kostecki on Saturday, delivering a major shot in the arm for himself, Schwerkolt’s team and GM.

Schwerkolt said it was proof that a fired up De Pasquale and Team 18 won’t stand still this season.

“Brodie was pretty aggressive on those first few laps, but he just kept his cool and knows how to drive,” Schwerkolt said of De Pasquale.

“He just held him where he needed to hold him and let him catch up and held him back. He deserved the win.

“It showed he has got fire in the belly. Yes, there are more Mustangs than Chevs, but we are going to push hard. Push us, and we are going to be very aggressive. Watch this space."

The weekend meant a great deal to Schwerkolt, given many doubted whether Team 18 had what it took to keep Camaros in the fight after Triple Eight departed for Ford.

The feeling was mutual across the team, with Team Principal Adrian Burgess firing a shot at doubters of the Melbourne squad after the win. De Pasquale, meanwhile, shot down further questions over GM's 'star driver' pursuit.

Crucially, De Pasquale backing it up on Sunday — running in the podium positions before being taken out by Brown — was proof to Schwerkolt that there are no more flukes with Team 18.

“There’s a lot of vindication that put a few people on a few things to rest that we are the real deal,” Schwerkolt said.

“We're a top five team. We represent General Motors and all our partners really, really well. There's doubters out there, questioning if we are doing the right thing, if GM is the real deal. We are. I know we are.

“To all the fans out there, just stick with us. You watch us keep performing and we are going to deliver some results for you.

"It's a such a shame we couldn't back it up on the Sunday. A podium was there for the taking. We wouldn't have got Broc, but we would've finished second or third.

“Unfortunately Anton was taken out. But we had the speed, we had the pace and no one can take that away from us. I’m really excited to get to the Grand Prix to continue on that march and show that we've got the pace.”

De Pasquale trails Broc Feeney and Matt Payne by 62 points heading to Melbourne on March 5-8.