Supercars: De Pasquale claims pole in Perth

Anton De Pasquale has soared to a maiden Perth pole in an enthralling qualifying session that saw fellow Championship contenders Shane van Gisbergen qualify third and Chaz Mostert qualify in 23rd at the back of the grid.

De Pasquale needed one lap to make it count, and fired in a 53.598s to score a 14th career pole.

The 26-year-old Gold Coast-based De Pasquale has never won in Perth and is yet to win in 2022 despite two previous pole positions before today.

Less than a second separated 1st to 25th on the grid across three qualifying sessions.

De Pasquale driver will share the front row with another Ford Mustang driver, Cam Waters in front of a strong crowd that has filled in Wanneroo Raceway for this evening’s opening race of the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight.

Points leader Shane van Gisbergen will start third alongside Brodie Kostecki.

Mostert and Will Davison, who are third and fourth in the points, endured a torrid session.

Mostert and Walkinshaw Andretti United teammate Nick Percat were knocked out in the first part of the three-part qualifying session.

Davison, who topped Practice 2, made an error on his flying lap in Q2 and qualified 12th.

It was the first time in 2022 that Davison failed to qualify in the top 10.

It was a far brighter story for De Pasquale, who scored his third pole of the season.

“I was pushing quite hard there, it’s so tight around here,” De Pasquale said.

“You’re on a fine line of putting a good lap together.”

Mostert and Percat were early casualties in Q1 alongside Jack Smith, Bryce Fullwood and Lee Holdsworth.

Where Davison failed to make it past Q2, van Gisbergen dodged a bullet as he waited in pit lane.

‘It’s a disaster for us and it’s on me’: Davison said.

David Reynolds and James Courtney qualified fifth and sixth ahead of Andre Heimgartner and Broc Feeney.

Ford Rookie Thomas Randle impressed to ninth, with Will Brown 10th after setting an early time in Q3.

Qualifying Results

POS NO. DRIVER TEAM TIME GAP LAPS
1 11 A. de Pasquale Shell V-Power Racing Team 53.598 +0.000 9
2 6 C. Waters Tickford Racing 1 53.706 +0.108 10
3 97 Van Gisbergen Red Bull Holden Racing Team 53.835 +0.236 6
4 99 B. Kostecki Penrite Racing – Erebus 53.845 +0.247 9
5 26 Reynolds Penrite Racing 54.012 +0.414 9
6 5 Courtney Tickford Racing 1 54.163 +0.565 9
7 8 Heimgartner Brad Jones Racing 54.260 +0.662 9
8 88 B. Feeney Red Bull Holden Racing Team 54.335 +0.737 10
9 55 T. Randle Tickford Racing 2 54.349 +0.751 9
10 9 W. Brown Penrite Racing – Erebus 54.424 +0.825 12
11 35 T. Hazelwood Matt Stone Racing 53.861 +0.263 7
12 17 Davison Shell V-Power Racing Team 53.893 +0.295 7
13 3 Slade CoolDrive Racing 53.901 +0.303 10
14 34 J. Le Brocq Matt Stone Racing 53.906 +0.307 8
15 20 S. Pye Team 18 53.916 +0.318 7
16 18 Winterbottom Team 18 54.029 +0.431 7
17 76 G. Jacobson PremiAir Subway Racing 54.188 +0.589 11
18 56 J. Kostecki Tickford Racing 2 54.239 +0.641 9
19 96 M. Jones SCT Motor Sports 54.241 +0.642 10
20 22 C. Pither PremiAir Coca Cola Racing 54.329 +0.730 11
21 4 J. Smith SCT Motor Sports 54.213 +0.615 7
22 14 B. Fullwood Brad Jones Racing 54.226 +0.628 5
23 25 Mostert WAU Racing Pty Ltd 54.250 +0.651 5
24 10 Holdsworth Penrite Racing 54.417 +0.819 5
25 2 Percat WAU Racing Pty Ltd 54.436 +0.837 6