Anton De Pasquale, David Reynolds again lead Camaro charge
Team 18 drivers the only Camaros in top 16 for the Ipswich round
De Pasquale finished sixth, Reynolds ninth in the Ipswich finale
It was a case of too little, too late in Ipswich for Team 18, which again carried the General Motors fleet at Queensland Raceway.
On a weekend dominated by Fords, Anton De Pasquale was sixth for the round, with teammate David Reynolds the only other Camaro driver in the top 16 for the weekend.
Matt Stone Racing, PremiAir Racing and Erebus Motorsport all struggled. Cooper Murray was a standout, qualifying in the top 10 for both Saturday races, but didn’t convert in the races.
Results fell by the wayside along the way in the GM camp; on Sunday, Murray also missed out on a top 10 after he ran out of fuel on the last lap. On Saturday, Reynolds benefited from a Safety Car in the Saturday race to fly up the order, only to be demoted via a time penalty.
De Pasquale and Reynolds gained five positions each in the finale to finish sixth and ninth, but by then, the horse had bolted. It was a head-scratcher, given De Pasquale ended Friday practice in fifth.
It comes after De Pasquale scorched to two podiums in Perth, where Team 18 Principal Adrian Burgess declared his team was happy with parity, telling media: “The car is probably better than it was before [the aero change], but we don’t have any more or any less than what the other two [cars] have."
Despite the quiet Ipswich weekend, De Pasquale — who can mathematically qualify for the Finals at The Bend — believes the Sunday result gives his team a platform.
“Sunday was a much better day for us and we found some more speed in the car,” said De Pasquale, who arrived on the back of four podiums in seven starts.
“We’re still a fair way behind the leading cars, so there are plenty of areas for us to look at, but finishing sixth gives us a positive direction to build from.”
It was a stranger day for Reynolds, added: “To move from 14th to ninth was a good result considering where we were yesterday.
"We improved the car across the weekend and finished on a positive note.”
The General Motors fleet is also set to be bolstered by former Penrite Racing, Walkinshaw and Triple Eight technical guru Grant McPherson, who is set to start in his role ahead of The Bend.
De Pasquale and Reynolds will be joined by Lee Holdsworth and James Courtney respectively for the enduros.
