Burgess Frustrated by Near Misses but Bullish on Team 18’s Progress at Taupō
Team 18 boss Adrian Burgess has walked away from Saturday at Taupō with mixed feelings — frustrated by what might have been in both races, but encouraged by Anton De Pasquale’s pace and the team’s progress after a major off-track announcement.
Race 1 – Strategy Without Reward
In the opening race, Team 18 looked set for a major result. Burgess said the team made all the right calls strategically, including splitting their pit stops under the safety car to avoid congestion and protect De Pasquale’s position.
“We had a bloody good car all day,” Burgess said. “Anton was good, and we made the right call on the safety car… to stop one car at a time and make sure he had a clean pit lane. That worked.”
De Pasquale was in the hunt for a podium throughout the final stint, but was ultimately overhauled by the end of the race.
“We just couldn’t hold on. Woody got to us before we got to Cam [Waters], but we were going to get him if Woody hadn’t been there. We could have been second,” Burgess said. “Not to have a podium after yesterday’s announcement — it would have been good timing.”
The team was left empty-handed, despite being arguably the second-fastest car on track.
“We’re ready to get silverware, and that race looked like the one,” he added.
Race 2 – Pit Stop Woes Cost the Team Again
If the first race was lost on track, the second was undone in the lane. De Pasquale once again showed strong pace early, but a pit stop error ruined any hope of a result.
“In the second race, we probably had the quickest car, great tyre life. That first stint, he was flying,” Burgess explained. “Then we bungled the bloody pit stop — crossed the left front nut. That happens every now and again, unfortunately.”
With only eight tyres allocated, the team had no choice but to bolt the damaged rubber back on and hope for the best.
“You don’t have anything else to put on,” he said. “That left front had to do the whole race… he couldn’t turn right after that, the tyre was past its sell-by date.”
Despite another missed opportunity, Burgess was pleased with the overall car speed and De Pasquale’s form.
“It’s disappointing because we felt we were on for a crack at a podium again… but there are positives. We’ve got some car speed, good tyre life, and Anton’s doing a ripper job.
“I just feel like we didn’t come away with a result. We’re happy with the fourth, but you’re never happy with fourth when you’ve been running third for 20 laps. So yeah, podium would have been nice, but we’re confident going into tomorrow. Hopefully, we’re in a good position to have a good day tomorrow.”
On Qualifying Format and What Lies Ahead
Burgess also praised the challenge of the soft and super soft back-to-back qualifying format, which mixed up the grid and demanded flexibility from teams.
“You’ve got to quickly understand what change you want to put in the car,” he said. “The direction we went from our soft car to our super soft car bodes well for Tassie.”
David Reynolds at Taupo. Image: Supplied
Reaction to Homologation Team Announcement
With Team 18 announced as GM’s new homologation team from 2026, Burgess said the reaction from fans and commercial partners has been largely positive.
“Our partners have been fantastic — including Toyota Forklifts, which everyone thinks is a problem. It’s not,” he said. “Charlie [Schwerkolt] has been looking after Chevrolets for years.”
Burgess confirmed the team will expand its technical capacity but insisted the focus is less on building racing capacity and more on regulating.
“We’re not building or designing a new plane — we’re flying the current one,” he said. “It’ll be more about making sure we’re involved in what’s going on with the introduction of the Supra, or another Mustang, and making sure parity is maintained.
“People feel a bit surprised, but if you look at the skill sets and experience, it’s clear why GM gave us the job,” he said. “Some people don’t think we’re good enough — we think we are. So does GM.
“In motorsport, you get measured every time you hit the track. That’s just how it works.”
Taupo Super440
Practice 1 – 1: A. Heimgartner 1:26.8830 2: Anton De Pasquale +0.0258 3: Matt Payne +0.0830
Practice 2 – 1: Ryan Wood 1:25.9778; 2: Brodie Kostecki +0.0435; 3: Thomas Randle +0.0838
Race 8 Qualifying – 1 Matt Payne 1:25.7006; 2 Brodie Kostecki +0.0705; 3 Cameron Waters +0.1646
Race 9 Qualifying: 1 Brodie Kostecki 1:26.3482; 2 Chaz Mostert +0.0712; 3 Broc Feeney +0.1939
Race 8 (37 laps) 1 Matt Payne 2 Cameron Waters 3 Ryan Wood
Sun 8.35-9.05: Supercars Race 10 Qualifying
Sun 10.50-11.35: Supercars Race 10 Top 10 Shootout
Sun 13.05: Supercars Race 10 (61 laps)
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