Anton De Pasquale opens up about humble beginnings on way to Supercars chance

Two years ago Anton De Pasquale was working on a vegetable farm as one of two jobs funding his career in Australia’s Super2 second-tier race series. Now he thriving in the Supercars Championship where his humble beginnings drive his desire to excel in racing.

TWO years ago Anton De Pasquale was working on a vegetable farm as one of two jobs funding his career in Australia’s Super2 second-tier race series.

At 4.30am on a dark and freezing cold morning in the small farming region of Werribee, west of Melbourne, De Pasquale would be on the truck with his hands full of dirt on his family’s property.

Now he has his grip firmly around the steering wheel of Erebus Motorsport’s Holden Commodore ZB in the Supercars Championship where his humble beginnings drive his desire to excel in racing.

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“I did it because I wanted to get (to Supercars) so bad,” De Pasquale said.

“While I was doing it I realised it wasn’t what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be a driver.

“I was basically working full-time between that and another place where I’d be trying to sell house and land packages. I was out there trying to hustle money together.

“My dad is a market gardener so I was helping him a fair bit, trying to get as much as we could together to go racing.”

Penrite Racing driver Anton De Pasquale at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 track in Sufers Paradise. Picture: Jerad Williams

The 24-year-old’s journey to the pinnacle of Australian racing is a unique one.

He wasn’t lined with cash and didn’t have the backing of big commercial sponsors, resulting in numerous road blocks despite his obvious talent.

De Pasquale started out in karting like many champions, winning a national title in 2011, and got his chance at Formula Ford level thanks to his performance at a testing day on the back of winning a state championship.

He went on to win the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2013 for Sonic Motor Racing before taking a chance at international racing in Europe.

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Another title followed in 2014, this time in the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC in his first season overseas but he hit another financial snag in 2015 when he stepped up a category.

“That’s where it gets a bit more expensive and difficult. I realised we were going to run out of cash quickly,” De Pasquale said.

He was forced to put aside his disappointment and return to Australia, linking up with Norwell-based Paul Morris Motorsport.

“Over Europe it’s every kids dream and to come back from that was a big reality check,” De Pasquale said.

“You realise how much of a small fish you are in a huge pond.”

De Pasquale didn’t have a car to race in Super2 but Paul Morris dusted one off to give to him, backing him in when others didn’t.

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He stood on the podium twice in 2016 and won two races in 2017. De Pasquale wasn’t a co-driver for any team from the Supercars series that year, opening the door for his chance to do a test drive with Erebus who happened to be losing their driver at the end of 2017 and needed a replacement.

“I was in the right place at the right time,” De Pasquale said.

De Pasquale has secured two podium finishes this year but is still searching for his maiden Supercars win ahead of the Gold Coast 600.

“Gold Coast is one of the harder tracks and I haven’t had many laps around there so I’m excited to get back and give it a go,” De Pasquale said.

“Anywhere there are walls is punishing and you are going pretty fast”

Supercars and Penrite Racing team driver Anton De Pasquale at the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 (GC600). Picture: Jerad Williams

De Pasquale will be debut a brand-new car after having his last one written off due to a crash at Bathurst on October 13.

The throttle jammed on lap 127 of Bathurst and sent him into the wall.

Supercars teams are starting to put more of a focus on the next generation of drivers, scouting them out early and opening up the amount of opportunities for their development.

Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup owns a 15 per cent share in Triple Eight Racing and voiced his desire to identify and nurture young talent when he steps away from racing.

“I’ll definitely get involved with that in the next few years,” Whincup said.

“I’d love to be able to grab, once I move into team ownership land, kids out of karting and bring them through and give them my drive in the Supercars series.”

Holden Commodore driver Anton de Pasquale races past the tram during a practice session for the Gold Coast 600 Supercars race, held at the Surfers Paradise street circuit. PICTURE: BRENDAN RADKE

Supercars also linked up with Karting Australian in July to launch a new junior development program that will be led by Morris who will guide them through each racing category.

“What you are finding is with karting being at such a high level now that everyone is getting through at a lot younger age,” Morris said.

“The experience you would normally have in your early 20s you now have as a teenager.

“Unfortunately or fortunately it’s a sport that you’re just not buying a tennis racquet of golf clubs.

“It needs a lot of money.

“Where I think this pathway that Supercars and Karting Australia have got, it will highlight and put support mechanisms around the drivers who are succeeding and help them to get that commercial support.”