Anton De Pasquale wins Darwin finale

Anton De Pasquale ended Chevrolet’s winless run in the Supercars Championship with victory in the final race of the weekend at Hidden Valley Raceway.

Taking a similar approach to the one that had seen Kai Allen take victory in race two, De Pasquale played the strategy game in perfect fashion to carry Team 18 to the top of the podium, although Cam Waters emerged from the weekend as winner of the Darwin Triple Crown.

Waters had qualified on the front row of the grid alongside Matt Payne, with Waters leading in the early stages of the race from his fellow Ford driver.

De Pasquale slotted into third but couldn’t keep pace with the pair ahead, who swapped places on lap 16 when Payne took the lead at turn one.

Team 18 brought De Pasquale in ahead of the front pair and it meant the Chevrolet jumped both of his rivals to take the lead, with Payne slipped back to third after a slow stop.

Payne fought his way ahead of Waters back into second spot but De Pasquale had raced clear and even when he then had to take on more fuel in his second stop, De Pasquale had enough in hand to remain out front until the race was neutralised due to the engine on Chaz Mostert’s engine letting go.

That put the race under caution until the flag, with De Pasquale victorious ahead of Payne and Waters, with Will Brown taking fourth from his Triple Eight team-mate Broc Feeney.

Feeney remains out front in the standings despite a challenging weekend for the points leader, who will head to Townsville next month with a reduced advantage over Payne at the top.