De Pasquale keeps Sydney hot streak alive
After registering the fastest times in all practice and qualifying sessions, Anton De Pasquale has bagged his seventh pole in four weeks, and 11th in 2021, on his way to the front of the pack for Saturday's Supercars Race 29.
De Pasquale was the final driver to take part in the Top Ten Shootout and had to work hard in overcast and slippery conditions to pip Red Bull Ampol's Jamie Whincup.
He bested championship leader Shane Van Gisbergen by just over half a second in the opening qualifying, before trumping his teammate in cloudy conditions that slowed all cars battling for grip on the track.
"I was very happy I wasn't one of the first one's out because it looked like hard work," De Pasquale told Fox Sports.
"I got to watch the first few and adjust the driving and try and get a lap time, but yeah, all good.
"Jamie had a really good lap time down so I had to push quite hard. But obviously with those conditions it's so quickly you're loose and having a moment so yeah, just trying to manage all that."
The 26-year-old has now managed pole position across four weekends at Sydney Motorsport Park, the first time any venue has held four consecutive rounds in championship history.
Whincup, who's second in the championship, will line up alongside De Pasquale on the front row, while their teammates Van Gisbergen and Will Davison will start one back.
Van Gisbergen holds a 337-point lead over Whincup, heading into the 64-lap, 250km Sydney SuperNight race at 7.10pm (AEDT) Saturday.
If he can extend that margin to 450 points after Saturday's race or keep it over 300 points after Sunday's race, he will take an unassailable lead into the final round at the Bathurst 1000 to secure his second career championship.
Race 29 Top Ten Shootout results:
1. Anton De Pasquale (Shell V-Power Racing) 1:30.453
2. Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Ampol Racing) + 0.211
3. Will Davison (Shell V-Power Racing) +0.811
4. Shane Van Gisbergen (Red Bull Ampol Racing) +0.866
5. Brodie Kostecki (Erebus Boost Mobile Racing) +1.127
Supercars Championship standings:
1. Shane Van Gisbergen (Red Bull Ampol Racing) 2678 pts
2. Jamie Whincup (Red Bull Ampol Racing) 2341 pts
3. Will Davison (Shell V-Power Racing) 2149 pts
4. Chaz Mostert (Mobil 1(tm) Appliances Online Racing) 2083 pts
5. Cameron Waters (Monster Energy Racing) 1964 pts.
