DE PASQUALE & D'ALBERTO FINISH 7TH IN THE GREAT RACE
REPCO BATHURST 1000 - RACE 30Will Davison and Alex Davison – No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang GT
Warm Up – 1st (Fastest Time: 2m22.459s)
Race 30 – DNF (Fastest Time: 2m07.435s)
Anton De Pasquale and Tony D'Alberto – No. 100 Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang GT
Warm Up – 21st (Fastest Time: 2m25.552s)
Race 30 – 7th (Fastest Time: 2m07.543s)
Anton De Pasquale and Tony D’Alberto finish The Great Race in P7. Will Davison and Alex Davison were unable to finish following a late accident.
RACE 30 RECAP
The Repco Bathurst 1000 started with wet conditions for the final session before The Great Race. The team did their final preparations and pit stop practice before celebrating 1000 races for Dick Johnson Racing.
The sun started to shine as the cars rolled out to the grid for Race 30, and all cars started on the Hard Dunlop tyre compound. Alex Davison started in Car No. 17 from position 5 and Tony D’Alberto in Car No. 100 from position 11.
A. Davison and D’Alberto both got caught up in a turn 1 incident on the opening lap, causing steering arm damage to Car No. 100, while Car No. 17 was able to escape without damage. This incident caused the Safety Car to be deployed.
D’Alberto returned his car to pit lane where the crew quickly replaced the steering arm and returned the car to the track on the lead lap. Race 30 was restarted on lap 4.
D’Alberto came back into pit lane on lap 5 for a splash of fuel, before returning to the track at the back of the field, but still on the lead lap.
The Safety Car was deployed again on lap 6 following a major incident at The Chase. The race restarted again on lap 10.
A. Davison was able to get by Greg Murphy for P7 on lap 11, before Golding passed A. Davison on lap 13 for P7.
The Safety Car was once again deployed on lap 17.
A. Davison came in for his first of seven compulsory pit stops on lap 17. On exit of the pit lane, A. Davison was forced to brake to accommodate for an unsafe release of Car No. 97. Car No. 97 was given a five-second time penalty for this incident.
Race 30 was restated on lap 19.
A. Davison locked one of his front brakes at The Chase causing him to slide off the track and get bogged, causing the Safety Car to be deployed on lap 31.
D’Alberto comes in on lap 32 for four new tyres and fuel under Safety Car conditions and he rejoined the race in P11.
A. Davison was able to get Car No. 17 running and set out to get back on the lead lap. The Safety Car returned to pit lane on lap 34.
D’Alberto got by Pye for P9 shortly after his stop on lap 34.
The Safety Car was deployed on lap 42, prompting A. Davison to come in on lap 42 for a driver change, four new tyres, fuel and assessment of any damage that may have been sustained in the earlier off at The Chase. Will Davison got in for his first stint of the race.
D’Alberto followed on lap 43 for a driver change, four new tyres and fuel. Anton De Pasquale also jumped behind the wheel for his first stint of the race, rejoining in P13.
Race 30 was restarted on lap 45.
De Pasquale had gained three positions by lap 45 following his top, taking him up to P10. De Pasquale was then able to get by Matt Payne for P9 on lap 46.
Moffat got turned around at The Cutting on lap 46, promoting De Pasquale up to P7. De Pasquale was then able to get by Jones five laps later for P6.
A battle pack arose on lap 53, with De Pasquale, Mostert and Fullwood tangling for positions before De Pasquale was able to get by at turn 2 for P5.
De Pasquale continued to gain positions, with him up to P4 after Pye stopped on lap 55. The pit stop sequence saw De Pasquale get up to P2 following van Gisbergen and Percat pit stops.
The Safety Car was deployed on lap 57 for a car trapped in the sand trap at pit entry.
De Pasquale came in for four new tyres and fuel on lap 57, with W. Davison coming in on the same lap as well.
During the Safety Car, W. Davison was able to get back onto the lead lap, with W. Davison focused on gaining as many positions as possible.
The Safety Car returned to pit lane on lap 60.
Five laps after the Safety Car restart, W. Davison gained six positions to be in P12.
W. Davison came in on lap 74 for a driver change, four new tyres and fuel. While De Pasquale came in for a driver change, four new tyres and fuel on lap 81. Car No. 100 had a delayed stop with the left front brake and calliper taking longer than usual to be changed, causing D’Alberto to rejoin the race in P12.
With both co-drivers in the car, it was eyes forward for both drivers to complete their minimum number of laps.
A. Davison got by Car No. 14b for P9 on lap 91, which D’Alberto was able to gain two positions by lap 93.
A. Davison came in for a driver change, brake change, four new tyres and fuel on lap 99, with W. Davison rejoining the race in P13.
D’Alberto completed his minimum number of laps and came in on lap 104 for the final driver change, four new tyres and fuel. De Pasquale rejoined the race in P11.
The Safety Car was deployed on lap 119, with De Pasquale coming into the pit lane for four tyres and fuel. W. Davison came in on lap 20 for four new tyres and fuel. Following both pit stops, W. Davison was in P7 and De Pasquale in P8.
Race 30 restarted on lap 123.
W. Davison was able to get by Holdsworth for P6 on lap 140.
De Pasquale came in for his final pit stop of the race on lap 142 for four new tyres and fuel.
W. Davison came in for his final pit stop on the following lap for four new tyres and fuel. On W. Davison’s out lap, he made a small error causing him to hit the tyre rubber at turn 2, forcing him out of the race and deploying the Safety Car.
The Safety Car returned to pit lane with 15 laps remaining in Race 30. De Pasquale was in P7.
At the conclusion of the Repco Bathurst 1000, De Pasquale and D’Alberto finished in P7. Will and Alex Davison were unable to finish the race.
At the conclusion of Round 11 of the Repco Supercars Championship, Anton De Pasquale is 3rd in the Driver’s Championship and Will Davison is 5th. The Shell V-Power Racing Team is 2nd in the Team’s Championship.
DICK JOHNSON QUOTE
“The team did a fantastic job, we were down and out a few times right from virtually lap 1 and it just shows you the strength of the team to be able to get back up there and be in the lead pack nearly all day. But I think maybe 1001, we’ll be back, I can assure you.”
DE PASQUALE QUOTE
“The Repco Bathurst 1000 is done and dusted for another year. It started off really badly, we got caught up in lap one incident, we were in the garage and the crew did an unreal job to keep the car on the lead lap. We carried a few wounds for the rest of the race, and it’s never good to have some wounds on lap one of 161.
“We pushed through, we got ourselves back to the lead pack with our pit stops and then straight back to the back after a slow stop. We had a lot of hard work ahead of us and a lot of grinding to get all the way back up again.
“It wasn’t our day and wasn’t meant to be, but I still had an awesome time, and everyone put in a massive effort. I’m excited to come back next year.”
D'ALBERTO QUOTE
“We got caught up in some aggro on the opening lap and I thought it was all over then. But the team did a great job getting us back out on track, replacing the steering arm, we didn’t lose a lap and got ourselves back into the fight.
“Unfortunately, there was a slower stop during the day and that lost us some time and we couldn’t recover from there. Everyone did their best, it just wasn’t quite good enough today.”
W. DAVISON QUOTE
“So disappointed to not finish the race today. We worked so hard to get ourselves back in the fight after an early incident. Unfortunately, I made a slight mistake on cold tyres. I’m absolutely gutted that we couldn’t finish the race and keep battling.”
A. DAVISON QUOTE
“It was tricky conditions out there in the first stint, we were pretty competitive in those conditions. I lost a couple of spots off the start and the carnage at turn 1. Unfortunately, once the track dried out, I locked a front brake at The Chase, which greatly ruined our day. Fortunately, we were able to get the car out and get back onto the lead lap during a Safety Car.
“Will did an amazing job to gain all those positions and getting us back into contention. Unfortunately, Will had an off and that was the end of it.
“I feel bad that I put us in a position, where Will was having to push like hell and was under more pressure than we should have been. I’m pretty disappointed in myself for making that mistake. I’m very thankful for everyone in the team, they worked so hard all week and did an amazing job. Even the atmosphere after the race, everyone is so supportive of everyone else, I feel pretty privileged to be part of the team.”
- ENDS -