The first of four consecutive Repco Supercars Championship rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park has been completed with a thrilling day of racing complete. 
  
Following a welcome return race last night after a 104-day hiatus, won by Anton De Pasquale, two races awaited the championship contenders on Sunday at Eastern Creek. 
  
And once again, De Pasquale was at the centre of drama on day two. 
  
During the morning’s two qualifying sessions, the 26-year-old showcased his newfound confidence behind the wheel, securing pole on both occasions. 
  
Unfortunately, a sluggish start off the line saw De Pasquale lose half a dozen places on the opening lap, however he bounced throughout the race and fought his way back into third. 
  
Under a heap of pressure from Brad Jones Racing’s Nick Percat and Erebus Motorsport’s Brodie Kostecki, the Victorian did his best to hold onto his position, but ultimately lost out to two drivers, crossing the line in P5. 
  
Ahead of the three-way fight for the final podium spot was another intriguing battle for the outright lead between De Pasquale’s Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) teammate Will Davison and championship leader Shane van Gisbergen.  
  
Click here to view full results from race 21.

Having started the race on the front row alongside his teammate, Davison had done everything right in the first half of the race and was on track for his first Supercars victory in almost six years. 
  
However an electronics issue for the Mustang pilot allowed van Gisbergen to pass him in the pit lane and the Triple Eight Racing Star ended up charging home to grab his 12th win of the season. 


In another blow to what was already a forgettable outing for DJR, De Pasquale had his fifth place finish and points stripped post-race after it was found the team mistakenly fitted one of Will Davison's tyres onto De Pasquale's car during the pit stop. 
  
None of those dramas would affect the team when it came to the final race though as De Pasquale converted his pole position to another race win. 
  
Despite having an advantage of up to 10 seconds at one point in the race, it didn’t come easy for him as Will Brown produced a mammoth final stint, closing the gap to within a second. 
  
Fortunately for De Pasquale, he was able to hold off the fast-charging rookie and picked up his second win for the weekend. 

Click here to view full results from race 22. 
  
“Will was pushing me quite hard,” De Pasquale said.

“The idea, I had a bit of tyres in hand so I pushed quite hard for the first one and then one of the tyres delaminated or something.

“So, I sort of had to pit quite early and then do a really long stint, which we didn’t want to do but in the end it worked out alright.

“I knew Will was coming so I saved a little bit of tyre for the battle, because I knew it was going to happen, so lucky to come through. It was good.”


A fair way behind De Pasquale and Brown were both Triple Eight Racing cars with Jamie Whincup claiming the final podium spot at the expense of van Gisbergen. 
  
Although he didn't get the podium, the Kiwi ended the round with a 328-point advantage on the standings ahead of Whincup, while Davison jumped an underperforming Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters to go third on the standings. 
  
Despite his two wins, De Pasquale finished the weekend in the overall standings where he started as a result of the disqualification in sixth. 

The Repco Supercars Championship continues at Sydney Motorsport Park next weekend with the ARMOR ALL Sydney SuperNight on 6-7 November.