While Shane van Gisbergen continues to lead the Repco Supercars Championship and likely to take the 2021 title, it is Shell V-Power Racing’s Anton De Pasquale who is making his mark on the Series. After nine consecutive races at the Sydney Motorsport Park over three race weekends, De Pasquale has won five and now sits sixth overall on the points table.
At the BP Ultimate Sydney SuperSprint over the weekend, De Pasquale won the first two races (Race 26 & 27) with Will Brown taking his maiden win in Race 28.
“Overall, a good weekend, two wins and a round win,” commented De Pasquale. ““To get Pole and a win (on Sunday) in the first race today was good. We went with the same strategy as yesterday and take advantage of that to get a win again.”
“Our car has been in a really good window and we just been trying to maximise that as much as we can. We’ve had a few results go missing through whatever reasons, but otherwise, it’s been awesome. I’m very happy, the car has been awesome to drive and I enjoy driving it.”
Leader Shane van Gisbergen continued to collect valuable points without a race win. The Kiwi driver finished on the podium three times (second and two thirds) and has a 337-point lead ovr Red Bull Ampol Racing team mate Jamie Whincup.
“A podium is always good and I’m happy for Will Brown to get the win,” siad van Gisbergen. “He’s had a tough time with pit stops but they’ve been fast. I felt like Jamie and I battled too hard and threw away a one-two for the team by choosing to battle. I thought I was quicker, and Jamie thought he was quick enough to catch the lead. It’s a real shame not to have won or got second.”
Both van Gisbergen and Whincup engaged in what could be described as an unnecessary battle in the final race of the weekend with Whincup admitting he “probably did the wrong thing,” defying team orders.
“I understand there were team orders from Dutto (Mark Dutton) that I didn’t adhere to, and I apologised to him for that,” said Whincup. “Not only do you have to race others on the track but you have to race your teammates as well. I was keen to keep him behind me, he was keen to pass me, and unfortunately that meant that none of our cars won on the day.”
The fourth and final consecutive race round in Sydney, the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, takes place this coming weekend before heading to the Repco Bathurst 1000 (Nov 30-Dec 5) for the final round of the season.
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