David Reynolds finished Race 1 of the Adelaide 500 in a solid fourth place, while teammate Anton De Pasquale was first of the rookies across the finish line.

Reynolds paused momentarily on the start as the rest of the front runners got away, but the second row starter quickly got into a rhythm and slotted in to fifth.

Behind him De Pasquale, starting from position 21, got away quickly and put pressure on the field around him, moving up two spots before the end of the opening lap.

The race settled as teams completed their first round of pit stops, De Pasqaule as early as lap six, while Reynolds held off until lap 20.

Reynolds steered his all-new Holden down the inside of Jamie Whincup, with the seven-time champion subsequently spinning around. With more than enough room left for his opponent, he was sent off in pursuit of a podium.

Both drivers took on new tyres and a tank of fuel from lap 39, the result was Reynolds emerging in P4 and De Pasquale in P20 as the stops played out.

There was little action in the first half of the race but debris ended a 52-lap run without interruption to start a flurry of safety car periods.

With 16 laps remaining on the third and final restart, Reynolds pushed hard to chase down Scott McLaughlin but couldn’t close enough to mount a meaningful attack, finishing in fourth.

With De Pasquale first of those making their debuts this weekend, he crossed the line 19th, 1.8-seconds ahead of the next.

DAVID REYNOLDS, Finished: 4th, Started: 4th

“Super happy with today’s result, that’s the best I’ve had here by a mile. I probably had enough pace for a podium; maybe strategy could have got us there but I had a bad start off the line, got heaps of clutch slip and wheel spin and didn’t go anywhere.

“My first couple of laps were challenging, the car wasn’t its best but as the fuel burn come off I got into a good rhythm, and started making good spots. I went for a pretty committed dive down the inside at turn 9, I think Jamie saw me and gave me enough room but maybe changed his mind so it was a bit weird but I don’t think he expected me to pass him.

“I’m extremely happy with the entire weekend so far, we’ve tuned the car really well to get fourth in the shootout and then fourth in the race.”

 

ANTON DE PASQUALE, Finished: 19th, Started: 21st

“It was exciting to make my debut today; everyone got off the line similarly so it was pretty tight going into turns 1 and 2 and through the first lap. I had a great first couple of laps and got into a bit of a rhythm early on. I had a few battles along the way which was a lot of fun and I’m very happy to have brought the car home clean for the guys and girls.

“The biggest thing for me right now is learning as much as I can as quick as I can. I had a moment where I was in the middle of everyone elses race which was good to race in and around the front guys, and that’s the best way to learn what they are doing.

“We get to hit the reset button tomorrow and qualify again before the last race so hopefully I can take away a bit from today and go a bit better.”