Anton De Pasquale ended a long victory drought with a controlled win in the final race of the Darwin Triple Crown at Hidden Valley — yet the headline prize of the weekend went to Cameron Waters, who banked the Triple Crown trophy on combined points.
The win, in the #18 Team 18 Chevrolet Camaro, was De Pasquale's first since the season-opener at Sydney Motorsport Park. It was built on an early undercut that vaulted him ahead of Waters and Grove Racing's Matt Payne during the first round of pit stops.
"We won it in the pits, which is awesome," De Pasquale said. "The boys really stepped up when they had to. We had to do a good stop to get in front and they did it. Then the car looked after its tyres." He added: "It's awesome to be back on the podium and obviously another win. It shows all the work everyone is doing, it's amazing."
Payne recovered to second in the #19 Penrite Mustang after a slow stop dropped him back, but never had the speed to challenge for the lead. "I had my work cut out for me," he said. "I was trying to push back through and then chase him in the last stint but just didn't quite have the pace."
Waters completed the weekend with finishes of first, second and third — enough to claim the Triple Crown, which is decided on aggregate points across the three races. "That's unreal. If you told me that going into the weekend I wouldn't have believed you," said Waters. "Just a massive thank you to my whole team for digging deep and not giving up."
The race finished behind the Safety Car after Chaz Mostert's #1 Walkinshaw Toyota Supra blew its engine at Turn 1 with four laps to go, smoke pouring from the exhaust. That neutralised any prospect of a late battle between De Pasquale and Payne, who had pulled clear of Waters in the closing stint. Payne's podium nonetheless trimmed his deficit in the championship standings.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/de-pasquale-wins-darwin-finale-as-waters-takes-triple-crown). Visit for full coverage.*