Supercars 2023: Anton De Pasquale breaks Ford Gen3 drought, Triple Eight in team orders drama
Shane van Gisbergen has had the race of his life to finish fifth after starting from the back of the grid in Townsville – and it could have been even better. Re-live all the action here.
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Triple Eight team principal Jamie Whincup says the squad will sort out its “dirty laundry when we get home” after Shane van Gisbergen was left unimpressed by team orders late in Sunday’s final race in Townsville.
Van Gisbergen was unhappy on the team radio when he was told he would have to hand back fourth position to teammate Broc Feeney nearing the finish if he could not chase down third-placed Andre Heimgartner for a spot on the podium.
If the team could not secure a podium finish, Triple Eight had wanted to ensure young gun Feeney could secure the round win on points.
The triple Supercars champion, who started from the back of the grid, passed Feeney for fourth late in the race, but was frustrated when he told of the team’s plans over the radio if he could not catch Heimgartner.
Van Gisbergen eventually backed off before the chequered flag to allow Feeney to take fourth place at the finish.
Van Gisbergen later addressed the team orders situation on his social media.
“Tough weekend in the car but a good points haul overall,” van Gisbergen wrote on Instagram.
“When you’re in the heat of the moment behind the wheel it can be tough to swallow some things but I understand the team’s decision.
“I’ll support my team all the way.”
Whincup acknowledged there had been a situation where van Gisbergen was not happy, but claimed van Gisbergen had misinterpreted the team communication.
“‘Dutto’ (team manager Mark Dutton) did a great job, the comms were really clear all the way through that last stint,” Whincup said.
“And that was ‘Guys, protect what we’ve got, we’ve come from 13th and last, we’re fourth and fifth, Broc’s got an opportunity to win the round. That’s what’s going on, do not fight each other, do not kill each other, let’s get maximum points for the whole team.
“So that was the communication and that’s the way it finished.
“You win the round and that’s a big thing in our game to be the round winner. “(Van Gisbergen) did not interpret the communication the same as what the engineers and what was going on in the garage.
“I’m sure once he goes through the communication again, he will be on board with everybody else.
“There is no denying we had a situation where we had a driver (who) wasn’t that happy, it’s not the first or the last time....we will sort out the dirty laundry when we get home.”
Van Gisbergen had started from 25th place on the grid after a qualifying shocker, while Feeney started from 13th after also missing the top-10 shootout.
The defending Supercars champion, who stunned the motorsport world with his debut NASCAR win last week, was then spun on the opening lap, further hurting his chances.
But Whincup said he did not want the team orders drama to detract from the team’s fightback.
“What’s critical for me is (that) it doesn’t put a dampener on the performance today,” Whincup said.
“We should have been in big trouble, but we came out with a fourth and a fifth, so let’s make sure we’re all high-fiving and understand how good a job we did.
“I feel like we got out of jail there a little bit starting P13 and last.
“We thought it was going to be a tough day, but to finish fourth and fifth, it’s a get out of jail.”
MUSTANG’S TOWNSVILLE DROUGHT OVER
Ford finally broke through for its first chequered flag of Supercars new Gen3 era after Anton De Pasquale ended the Mustang’s drought in the 17th race of the year to put the Blue Oval on the top of the podium in Townsville.
After months of debate about parity, an official Supercars review and aerodynamic changes to the Fords for the round in Townsville, De Pasquale put an end to the winning streak of the Chevrolet Camaros with a commanding victory on Sunday.
The Camaros had crossed the finish line first in every race this year before the Dick Johnson Racing driver’s breakthrough win ahead of Erebus Motorsport’s title contender Brodie Kostecki and Brad Jones Racing’s Andre Heimgartner.
De Pasquale brings it home for @ShellVPowerRT!#RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/XkQdrywwr9
— Supercars (@supercars) July 9, 2023
Cam Waters had been the only Ford driver with a win to his name this year, but his victory was awarded after Triple Eight was disqualified from the opening race in Newcastle.
After his stunning NASCAR win last week, triple Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen produced one of the performances of the day to finish fifth after starting last on the grid following a qualifying disaster in his 500th race start.
On track for a finish one place higher, van Gisbergen slowed before the finish line to hand fourth place to teammate Broc Feeney after team orders from the garage.
De Pasquale was one of only two Fords to finish in the top 10, along with Tickford Racing’s Thomas Randle, who was eighth.
De Pasquale took advantage of a strong tyre bank to claim his first win in Townsville after bouncing back from a DNF on Saturday due to electrical issues.
Celebrating the Mustang’s first win with some epic burnouts, De Pasquale said it was a relief to get Ford’s first win of the year.
“It’s awesome to be sitting up here again and to get a trophy for the whole team, the Shell V-Power Racing team have been working hard,” De Pasquale said.
“We haven’t had a great start to the season, but we have slowly been turning it around and today everything worked out for us.
“Big credit to everyone behind me, they have done awesome. It’s good to get this one done for the year and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.
“The car was really pacey today in all the stints, which was awesome.”
The win was De Pasquale’s first victory since Darwin in 2022 and the DJR squad’s first since New Zealand in September last year. Sitting 16th in the championship, De Pasquale’s best result this year was previously a fifth place at Albert Park.
After building up a big lead on the field, De Pasquale re-emerged from his final pit stop with 24 laps remaining holding a 16-second buffer and held on to win by five seconds.
The driver standings remain the same after Sunday’s race with Will Brown, who was sixth, still leading ahead of Kostecki, Feeney and van Gisbergen as the championship battle between Erebus and Triple Eight intensifies.
Kostecki emerged in front after a late-race battle with Heimgartner for second place, bouncing back after finishing 19th on Saturday when he battled a transaxle issue.
Now Kostecki gets a slice of the action!
— Supercars (@supercars) July 9, 2023
He side drafts past pit lane and goes down the inside into Turn 2! #RepcoSC#Supercarspic.twitter.com/RqLg0L5Mey
Erebus team principal and chief executive Barry Ryan was determined to keep his drivers out in front.
“We are in a big fight with Red Bull at the moment, it’s a bit of fun,” Ryan said.
“We want to make sure we kick their a*se for the rest of the year.”
The third placing was Heimgartner’s fifth podium finish for the year, continuing his strong campaign for BJR.
After earlier taking his second pole for 2023, Cam Waters struggled with an electrical issue to finish 15th.
Van Gisbergen started from last place on the grid for his 500th race start in Supercars after an earlier qualifying disaster left him in 25th position after striking trouble on his flying lap late in the session when he locked up his Camaro at turn 11.
The defending champion’s luck didn’t change at the start of the race when he was spun on the opening lap after contact with Declan Fraser, pushing him even further back, but fought his way back for a top-five finish.
After a brilliant drive on Saturday to take third place on the back of a three-stop strategy, Chaz Mostert’s race was over on the second lap after suffering a power steering issue.
FORD STAR TAKES POLE IN TOWNSVILLE
Ford star Cam Waters is targeting a breakthrough win for the Blue Oval after taking pole for Sunday’s final race in Townsville as a qualifying disaster left Shane van Gisbergen at the back of the grid for his 500th race start in Supercars.
Waters claimed his second pole position for the year – and his fourth in Townsville – to edge out Matt Stone Racing’s Jack Le Brocq in the top-10 shootout.
In a strong result for Tickford Racing, Waters’ teammate Thomas Randle will start from third on the grid for Sunday’s 250km race.
After earlier taking provisional pole in qualifying, Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki was fourth in the shootout, with Grove Racing’s David Reynolds fifth.
In an earlier shock, van Gisbergen was left in last position after striking trouble on his flying lap late in the qualifying session
Van Gisbergen, who looked frustrated talking to the Triple Eight crew just minutes earlier about the car’s handling in the pits, locked up his Camaro at turn 11 and ended up in the run-off area.
His Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney also missed the top-10 shootout, getting bumped to 13th late in the qualifying session.
A two-time winner in Townsville previously, Waters is now hoping his qualifying pace can translate to race pace for a drought-breaking Ford win.
“I just tried to hit my marks and do a nice clean lap. I knew if I had everything half OK, I would be up there or in the mix,” Waters said.
“The car is great over one lap, we just need to make sure it’s good over 88.
“I think we have found a little bit of a direction with the race pace. We weren’t bad, but just wasn’t quick enough to win it.
“We’ve done a few changes and hopefully it’s in the right direction and we can get some trophies this afternoon.”
As the parity debate continues to rumble, there were six Fords inside the top-10 for the shootout.
New championship leader Will Brown qualified ninth after his Saturday race win.
Chaz Mostert was forced to back off his shootout lap midway through after suffering damage to his Mustang when he clipped the wall and will start from 10th.
DEFENDING CHAMP’S QUALIFYING DISASTER
Triple series champion Shane van Gisbergen will start from the back of the grid for his 500th race in Supercars after a Sunday qualifying disaster in Townsville.
As Brodie Kostecki took provisional pole ahead of the top-10 shootout, van Gisbergen was left back in last position after striking trouble on his flying lap late in the session.
Van Gisbergen, who had looked frustrated talking to the Triple Eight crew about the car’s handling just minutes earlier in the pits, locked up his Camaro at turn 11 and ended up in the run-off area.
His Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney also missed the top-10 shootout, getting bumped to 13th late in the qualifying session.
Kostecki edged out Ford’s Cam Waters for provisional pole as Chaz Mostert, David Reynolds and Jack Le Brocq rounded out the top five.
As the parity debate continues to rumble, there were six Fords inside the top 10.
It was a turnaround for Erebus Motorsport’s Kostecki, who finished 19th in Saturday’s opening 250km race after battling a transaxle issue.
Kostecki’s teammate and Saturday race winner Will Brown claimed the final spot in the shootout after recovering from a power steering issue.
After his stunning debut NASCAR win last Monday, van Gisbergen finished fourth in the opening Townsville race.
KOSTECKI’S CATASTROPHE GIVES RISE TO NEW SERIES LEADER
Erebus Motorsport star Will Brown has emerged as the new Supercars championship leader after converting from pole to win the opening race at the Townsville 500.
Surviving a 250 km battle at the Reid Park circuit to continue Ford’s winless run, Brown stole the series lead from his teammate Brodie Kostecki after taking his fourth win for the year.
Having earlier put his Camaro at the front of the grid when he claimed a third pole for the season in the top-10 shootout, Brown continued his strong 2023 campaign to lead home Triple Eight young gun Broc Feeney and a powerful finish from the Walkinshaw Andretti United Ford of Chaz Mostert, who capitalised on a three-stop strategy to storm to third.
But parity changes announced this week for the Fords following a Supercars review did not deliver a dramatic turnaround in results for the Mustangs with Mostert unable to dislodge the Cameros from the top of the podium.
Brown had trailed Kostecki by 59 points in the championship leading into the Townsville round, but his teammate lost ground after a transaxle issue impeded his race.
After qualifying 15th, Kostecki then struck trouble and was unable to get second gear, having to nurse his car through the race to a 19th place finish.
Brown now holds a 43-point lead over his teammate in the standings, with Feeney closing to within one point of second-placed Kostecki.
It is the first time the Toowoomba pilot has held the championship lead in his career.
“It’s pretty cool to be leading the championship at nearly the halfway point,” Brown said.
“But it’s pretty hard, you have guys like Broc and he is right behind me and he is doing a fantastic job and who knows (what happens), I still have to race tomorrow.
“I’m not really thinking about that right now, we had a super fast car then.
“It is cool, not that I didn’t think we would have the championship lead at this part of the year, but it’s pretty cool to have it that’s for sure and be in this situation.
“I had pretty good tyre life later in the stint, my car was pretty good on the tyres.”
It was the third time this year Brown had converted from pole position and his victory drew him level with Feeney for the most wins this season.
Brown was in the race lead when a late safety car was deployed on lap 69 after sparks flew from underneath Todd Hazelwood’s Mustang and he was forced to a stop on track.
But the Erebus driver held on – and then edged away – from Feeney after the restart with 16 laps to go to take his team’s sixth win for the year.
Despite Mostert hunting him, Feeney held on to take second place and his sixth straight podium finish.
Walkinshaw’s bold strategy move helped Mostert to his first podium since the opening round in Newcastle after he pushed through the field from ninth after the safety car restart.
After his stunning debut NASCAR victory in Chicago on Monday, triple Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen finished fourth with Tickford Racing star Cam Waters rounding out the top-five.
Feeney said was lucky to come away with second after “burning” his tyres early in the race.
“I suppose it wasn’t as smooth sailing today ….it was pretty lucky for us,” Feeney said.
“It’s awesome to come away with second. In that first stint, I did a horrible job and I don’t know how the team saved me, but great strategy, as always, in these long races and I think the track came to us a little bit.
“I burnt the tyres up so bad, I thought I was cruising. I mean we were driving around like three-and-a-half seconds off the pace and I still burnt them up quite a lot.
“Overall pretty stoked, sixth to second and good points.”
Van Gisbergen was still reporting an issue with the steering gremlins, which also plagued him in Darwin.
“We still have the steering problems and they have been working around the clock to fix it,” van Gisbergen said.
“But my steering is still different every time I’m on the straight and every time I hit the kerbs – it’s moving a lot, which is really frustrating.”
Behind Mostert, there were three other Fords in the top 10 – Waters (fifth), his Tickford Racing teammate James Courtney (ninth) and Dick Johnson Racing’s Will Davison (10th).
There is another 250 km race in Townsville tomorrow.
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Originally published as Supercars 2023: Anton De Pasquale breaks Ford Gen3 drought, Triple Eight in team orders drama
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