De Pasquale and DJR chasing the ‘next step’
Anton De Pasquale feels Dick Johnson Racing is getting close to taking the “next step” required to score a maiden win of 2024.
The famous Ford team is fresh from a solid Sydney round where both De Pasquale and Will Davison finished no lower than sixth.
The DJR Mustangs have been consistently fast in qualifying, especially De Pasquale, who has qualified in the top 10 in the last nine races.
But in the races the team have come close, but not quite enough to get regular silverware.
Since a special trip to Taupo where De Pasquale claimed the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy, DJR has 11 top 10s from 16 attempts, but has been unable to appear on the podium.
De Pasquale feels the team is on the right trajectory and is not far away from returning to the rostrum and challenging for a first win for a year.
“The season started down but it is on the up now which is really cool,” he said.
“We have shown glimpses of good race pace and one lap speed and getting both together is quite difficult but we are not far away.
“We have a pretty good base understanding of where we are going to be but a little bit of experimenting will take the next step.
“It is a group exercise and we are not standing still, trying to get faster every time we hit the track.
“We have had more consistency in racing and qualifying recently, but Tasmania is probably going to throw a spanner in the works
“We don’t know what to expect. It is very different to where we have come from in terms of the track, weather and tyre.”
De Pasquale has two podiums in Tasmania in 2021 and 2022 and is bracing himself for what is always a thrilling ride around the short, but busy circuit with the hairpin at the centre of his attention as always.
“There are some great races and it is always a crazy first lap because you come from sixth gear into first which is always a recipe for disaster at the hairpin,” he said.
“That corner in itself just promotes racing and your heart rate is up the whole time.
“There are only a few corners but they all mean something and every little bit counts.
“We don’t really know (we will be) which is quite exciting if you are on the couch but stressful when you are involved.
“I will just drive and hopefully we are on the right side.”
Image: Mark Horsburgh
Tasmania SuperSprint schedule
Practice 1: Fri 14.20-15.20
Practice 2: Sat 11.05-11.25
Qualifying: Sat 13.00-13.40
Race 17: Sat 16.10 (55 laps)
Practice 3: Sun 10.20-10.40
Qualifying: Sun 12.40-13.30
Race 18: Sun 15.05 (55 laps)
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