Rain smiles on De Pasquale to claim shock Shootout pole
Anton De Pasquale claims surprise pole for Team 18
DEWALT Camaro survives topsy turvy weather in Top Ten Shootout
Broc Feeney and James Golding copped the brunt of weather
Anton De Pasquale has claimed his first pole for Team 18 in what was a topsy-turvy Boost Mobile Top Ten Shootout at the DUNLOP Sydney 500.
In Team 18's first weekend as Chevrolet's homologation team, the DEWALT Camaro found a perfect gap in the weather to claim the team's first pole since David Reynolds' Shootout efforts at Townsville last year.
De Pasquale will start on the front row tonight alongside the man who replaced him at Dick Johnson Racing, 2023 Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki.
It marks De Pasquale's ninth career pole at Sydney Motorsport Park, moving him to within one pole of Scott McLaughlin's all-time record of 10 SMP poles.
Teams were frantically trying to figure out if the rain that was lingering around Sydney Motorsport Park would arrive in earnest as Ryan Wood trundled out for a historic moment.
Wood had the honour of completing the first ever Top Ten Shootout run for a Toyota in Supercars, and in drizzly conditions laid down an impressive 1:28.3554s as the rain got just that little bit heavier at the end of his lap.
The Kiwi's childhood mate Matt Payne was next in the #19 Penrite Ford, and was down two tenths to the first sector, but clawed back a tenth in the middle of the lap, before pipping the Mobil 1 Truck Assist Supra by just 0.0531s.
Off the back of a bold qualifying gamble, Aaron Cameron was next in the LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Ford, and went within millimetres of having his lap struck from the record for track limits at Turn 5. However, as the rain continued to get heavier, Cameron put down the fastest final sector to go third, his time just 0.0861s off Payne in what was a remarkably tight opening to the session.
Thomas Randle was next out in the #55 Castrol Ford as the rain continued to threaten, and he skated on the rears entering Turn 6. Randle could only muster a 1:29.0952s, providing an indication of how a used tyre compared to a new tyre, and the conditions only got worse for Broc Feeney.
On slick tyres, all the Race 1 winner could do was minimise the damage, with his time some three and a half seconds down as he lost a second in the middle sector alone.
Rookie Zach Bates was handed a daunting task in his first Top Ten Shootout as a full-timer, but the 21-year-old settled into a fine fifth in the Bendix Chevrolet.
Cam Waters was next as the rain began to ease, and although it was an improvement on the times of Feeney and Bates, he was still more than six tenths off Payne on a used tyre.
Kostecki was next up, and his first sector was up on Payne's by a tenth of a second, with his middle sector the best of all, and his cumulative topping Payne by just over a tenth on a 1:28.1707s.
De Pasquale was the penultimate runner, and after all but matching Kostecki to the first sector, set the fastest second sector despite a moment at Turn 6. In Team 18's first event as homologation team, De Pasquale set a 1:28.0180s just as the rain began to fall once again for the final runner, James Golding.
The rain fell too quickly for the CoolDrive Ford, who ended up stuck at the bottom of the pile in 10th.
Payne and Wood will share the second row of the grid, with the rest of the 10 rounded out by Cameron, Waters, Randle, Bates, Feeney, and Golding.
Race 2 of the 2026 Repco Supercars Championship begins at 7:35pm local time. Fox Sports, KAYO Sports, Seven and Sky NZ will take live coverage. International fans can watch on SuperView.
