De Pasquale led the lion’s share of the contest from pole position, though it was a close-fought conclusion to the 52-lapper.

The #18 DeWalt Camaro came home just 0.3627s clear of Brodie Kostecki in the #17 Shell V-Power Mustang after a come-from-behind drive by the Dick Johnson Racing driver.

Kostecki, who started second, elected to run long in a bid to pull off an overcut that nearly came good, turning an eight-second deficit into just a few car lenths.

For Team 18, it’s just the second race win in the Repco Supercars Championship after Mark Winterbottom’s breakthrough at Hidden Valley Raceway in 2023, breaking a 70-race drought.

“We’ve been building for it,” said De Pasquale.

“I had an amazing car, obviously I was under pressure at the end there, but it’s good to be back in the winner’s circle.

“It’s a first time for a lot of people on car #18, so I’m rapt for them more than anything.

“I knew [Brodie] was going to be quick, but I was doing the rough calculations and he was going to get to me I think.

“The car looked after its tyres really well. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t stressed, but about two laps to go I felt I had it in the bag.”

At the start, Kostecki got the jump on De Pasquale, but the #18 DeWalt Camaro got the holeshot with the inside line.

At the back of the field, there was wheel-to-wheel contact. Declan Fraser in the #777 PremiAir Camaro and the #11 Objective Mustang of Jackson Walls went off into the grass while secondary contact between Walls and Macauley Jones forced the #96 AlphaTheta Supra off.

Walls came out the other side of Turn 1 with a puncture to his right front tyre, while Fraser and Jones continued unabated.

On Lap 3, Cameron Hill and Zach Bates resumed their battle, more than six months on from their clash at Queensland Raceway. The pair went wide out of Turn 5, and threatened to cause a crash when they interlocked wheels.

The pair ploughed through a styrofoam brake marker, sending debris everywhere. Ojeda made the most of their squabble to slip up the inside into 14th. Bates was something of a punching bag for the first half of the race. Eventually, he finished 18th.

On Lap 10, the Safety Car was called when Andre Heimgartner’s #8 R&J Batteries Supra expired in the final sector. At the same time, the sister #96 Supra was brought into the garage to repair damage to the right front corner.

The pit lane quickly came alive as the field completed its first scheduled pit stops.

At the time of the Safety Car, it was De Pasquale who led Kostecki, Payne, Cameron, Waters, Randle, Wood, Golding, Reynolds, and Feeney.

There were chaotic scenes in the pits, headlined by Ojeda losing his right rear wheel as he tried to leave his pit box.

It was a double dose of drama for Triple Right. Feeney copped a 15-second penalty to be served at his next stop after an unsafe release into the path of Golding. Moments later, Brown spun his rear wheels while airborne, and was given a 15-second penalty for his error.

“There was contact there. Can’t complain,” said team principal Jamie Whincup of the Feeney incident.

“I feel a bit unlucky because the contact happened when we were in the fast lane

“The stewards have said ‘no, you were still in the merge lane’.

“It is what it is. We made a mistake. We’ll try to make up as much ground as we can.”

De Pasquale resumed the race lead ahead of Payne and Cameron. Kostecki suffered a slow stop and fell to fourth. Waters remained in fifth ahead of Wood, Feeney, Golding, Reynolds, and Randle.

There were wild scenes on the Lap 15 restart as De Pasquale elected not to speed up out of the final corner, which left Payne looking left and right to get an overlap on the #18 DeWalt Camaro.

At the half race distance, De Pasquale led Payne by 1.8 seconds. Kostecki was 3.4 seconds back, having rounded up Cameron on the restart.

Payne was the first driver inside the top 10 to pit for the second round of stops on Lap 30, followed by Reynolds and Brown.

De Pasquale covered and pitted from the lead on Lap 31 while Kostecki continued. Eventually, on Lap 37, the #17 Shell V-Power Mustang pitted.

That cleansed the field. De Pasquale led Payne by 1.9 seconds while Kostecki was third and eight seconds in arrears of the lead.

Reynolds was fourth while Cameron was under attack from a pack led by Wood, Allen, and Waters. Le Brocq was ninth while Randle was 10th with a five-second penalty hanging over his head for track limits.

Waters turned eighth into fifth in quick time, passing Allen at Turn 5, Wood at Turn 2, and Cameron at Turn 5.

Kostecki’s tyre advantage started to pay dividends towards the end of the race. On Lap 46, he cleared Payne for second place entering Turn 1.

Ultimately, the Dick Johnson Racing driver only got within a few car lengths. De Pasquale clinched victory, Kostecki was second, and Payne was a distant third.

Feeney was the surprise packet in sixth, despite his 15-second penalty. Brown wasn’t so fortunate, ending up 15th.

Results: Repco Supercars Championship Dunlop Sydney 500, Race 2