De Pasquale wins finale, Waters takes out Darwin Triple Crown

An undercut during the first round of pit stops proved the difference as De Pasquale usurped Tickford Racing’s Cameron Waters and Matt Payne of Grove Racing.

Payne got by Waters on Lap 16 but suffered a slow pit stop to drop back to third.

The #19 Penrite Mustang eventually took second place back from the #6 Monster Mustang and looked like he would challenge the #18 DeWalt Camaro for the win but ultimately came up short.

The race finished under the control of the Safety Car when Chaz Mostert’s #1 Walkinshaw TWG Toyota Supra suffered an engine failure.

It’s the first win for De Pasquale and the Chevrolet Camaro since the season-opener at Sydney Motorsport Park.

“We won it in the pits, which is awesome,” said De Pasquale.

“The boys really stepped up when they had to. We had to do a good stop to get in front and they did it. Then the car looked after its tyres.

“It’s awesome to be back on the podium and obviously another win. It shows all the work everyone is doing, it’s amazing.”

Payne, meanwhile, said he did not have the ultimate speed to hunt down De Pasquale.

“I had my work cut out for me,” he said.

“I was trying to push back through and then chase him in the last stint but just didn’t quite have the pace.”

Finishes of first, second, and third across the three races earned Waters the Darwin Triple Crown, which is decided on combined points.

“That’s unreal. If you told me that going into the weekend I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Waters.

“Just a massive thank you to my whole team for digging deep and not giving up.”

On the opening lap, Waters led Payne led out of Turn 1 as the field made its way through the first sequence of corners without drama.

Behind them, De Pasquale was third followed by Chaz Mostert, Broc Feeney, Will Brown, Cameron Hill, Jack Le Brocq, Kai Allen and Andrew Heimgartner

Declan Fraser found himself facing the wrong way on Lap 2 when Brodie Kostecki’s fill-in Todd Hazelwood got into the side of the #777 PremiAir Racing Camaro. That incident was investigated but did not warrant a penalty.

Hazelwood went on to finish 12th despite battling a clutch issue.

Fellow ring-in Mark Winterbottom was 22nd as the replacement for Thomas Randle. The #55 Castrol Mustang stalled during its first pit stop and lost a ton of time sitting in the lane.

After his lowly qualifying effort of 12th, Kai Allen made up three places to ninth by Lap 5. He was the first of the top 10 runners to pit on Lap 13. His undercut efforts ultimately netted him sixth in a similar vein to De Pasquale.

Much like the preceding race, Payne began to pressure Waters towards the end of the first stint. On Lap 16, Payne made the pass for the lead on Waters entering Turn 1.

Mostert lost time on his in-lap when he went off the road at Turn 1 on Lap 17. He settled in between Allen and PremiAir Racing driver Jayden Ojeda once he completed his pit stop.

Third-placed De Pasquale pitted on Lap 18 and short-filled his Camaro.

Waters pitted out of second on Lap 19 and dropped in behind De Pasquale, whose undercut, combined with slightly less fuel than Waters, netted him a place.

Payne reacted to Waters and pitted on Lap 20. He was initially told to wait to leave his pit bay with a slow change on the left front tyre, which meant he baulked and lost crucial time.

On the rejoin Payne lost a place to De Pasquale and Waters to slip into a projected third.

Matt Stone Racing driver Zach Bates spun on his own entering Turn 1 trying to pass Ojeda on Lap 26, which dropped him down the order.

As the half-race distance approached, De Pasquale led Waters to the tune of two-and-a-half seconds while Payne was another half-second back.

Will Brown passed Chaz Mostert at the final turn on Lap 33 with a forceful move. Mostert tried to return serve into Turn 1 as he rattled the rear bumper of Brown’s car to no avail.

There was deja vu on Lap 36 as Payne lunged Waters into Turn 1 to take second away.

Payne made his second stop on Lap 43 and De Pasquale reacted a lap later. After the pit stops, just a second split them with the #18 Camaro heading the #19 Mustang.

Waters ran long and pitted on Lap 47 and rejoined just in front of fourth-placed Feeney.

On hot tyres, Feeney tried to slip up the inside at Turn 7 and got into the side of Waters.

That forced the Waters wide, though Feeney decided to give the place back straight away.

The Triple Eight driver eventually faded and let his teammate Brown by in the final stanza.

Bates was given a five-second penalty for getting into the back of Rylan Gray at Turn 1 and shouldering him out of the way exiting the corner. Bates was classified 21st.

De Pasquale and Payne were streaks ahead of the field in the closing stages, 10 seconds clear of Waters in third with 15 laps to go.

However, any thoughts of a late race battle were dashed with four laps to go when Mostert’s engine expired at Turn 1 and sent smoke pouring from the exhaust of the #1 Toyota Supra.

That dumped him out of eighth position and brought the Safety Car out. The race ended under yellow.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship betr Darwin Triple Crown, Race 3