Team 18 wrapped up a busy opening day at The Bend Motorsport Park as the Airtouch 500 got underway, with three practice sessions providing crucial mileage ahead of the first round of the 2025 Ryco Enduro Cup.
Mixed fortunes in opening runs
The day began with a 30-minute session that ended under rain. David Reynolds showed early promise in the TRADIE Energy Racing Camaro, logging the eighth fastest time before an electrical issue forced a steering wheel change.
“The first was shortened because of the rain, but I managed to get a couple of runs in. We had an electrical gremlin early on and had to change the steering wheel, which put us on the back foot, but overall I was reasonably happy with the car,” Reynolds said.
Meanwhile, Anton De Pasquale managed to slot into 14th in the DEWALT Racing Camaro. “The first couple of practice sessions were pretty short and I didn’t get a lot of laps in, but Harri got some good running as well. We worked through a few changes on the car and got more comfortable as the day went on,” he explained.
Co-drivers back in the mix
The second session was dedicated to the co-drivers. Lee Holdsworth impressed immediately on his return to Team 18, running inside the top five for much of the session before finishing seventh.
“In my session I was pretty happy with the balance of the car. I felt like I made more gains in my driving than we did with the car set-up, but it gave us a reasonable balance to work with and chip away at for the rest of the weekend,” Holdsworth said.
For Harri Jones, it marked his first competitive Supercars session. He placed 20th overall in the DEWALT Camaro while also balancing his Carrera Cup campaign. “It’s been a busy day with Carrera Cup and Supercars. The car feels good, Anton’s driving really well, and I’ve got a few things to work on myself. I’ll sleep on it tonight and come back stronger tomorrow,” Jones said.
Finding direction despite setbacks
The final outing of the day saw Reynolds’ progress halted almost instantly by another electrical gremlin that kept the TRADIE Camaro in the garage. He returned late to finish 22nd, but was encouraged by the potential of the car.
“It’s one of the better cars I’ve had around here. At The Bend you rely heavily on the car because the corners are so long and flow into each other. Small changes can deliver big gains here, so that gives us some direction. Unfortunately in Practice 3 we had another electrical drama from lap one, which wiped out most of our running,” he said.
Holdsworth echoed the frustration but remained positive: “Dave didn’t really get a proper run in, so his pace was much quicker than what we saw then, but I think we’ll be in good shape tomorrow. Anton’s car looks like it’s close to the window, so we’ve got something to go by for the rest of the weekend.”
De Pasquale finished the day strongly, going fifth fastest in Practice 3. “We’ve got a good base heading into tomorrow, so we’ll keep chipping away at it for the rest of the weekend,” he added.
Looking ahead
Saturday will see two further practice sessions—a 40-minute co-driver run at 9:50am followed by another 40-minute all-in session at 12:00pm. Qualifying is set for 3:05pm before the Top Ten Shootout at 4:50pm to lock in the grid for Sunday’s 500-kilometre endurance race. Fans can catch all the action live on Fox Sports and Kayo.
