Erebus Penrite Racing’s David Reynolds has narrowly missed out on the podium, scoring fourth at today’s first leg of the Auckland SuperSprint.

A brilliant effort from both entries, although for Anton De Pasquale it was bad luck to be forced to double-stack and finish 19^th.

At the start, championship contenders Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen were off the front row but it was David who got away best from third. The #9 powered down to Turn 1 ahead of Chaz Mostert but as the two in front battled it out, David snuck in behind.

Anton got a good getaway as well, from tenth on the grid he emerged one place higher as the cars went around for a second time.

Behind them, a tangle with Lee Holdsworth and Richie Stanaway led to a huge hit for Fabian Coulthard at the final corner, immediately deploying the Safety Car.

It was peak hour in pit lane, with all bar two diving in. David made a quick stop for rear tyres only, while Anton double-stacked behind his teammate to take on a full set of rubber.

When the action resumed, David sat fifth behind Mostert who had made the jump in pit lane. With the field out of sync and strategies to play out, it wasn’t until the crucial second stops the order was revealed.

Anton stopped at the end of lap 32 to take on fuel and tyres, David following two laps later to emerge 19^thand 4^threspectively.

After 70-laps that was exactly how it ended, with David just behind the podium-getters and Anton unable to recover from his earlier mishap.

DAVID REYNOLDS – Started 3^rd, Finished 4^th:

“Qualifying went really well, we ended up third, but I think I could have been a chance of a front row start if we timed our run better. We missed out on our last run by a couple of seconds and I think that’s when the track was the best.

“My car was really good in qualifying trim and just as good in the race. I got a really good start, had nowhere to go so tried to make something happen into Turns 1-2 but couldn’t get it done and then settled into a rhythm until the Safety Car. We had one of the fastest cars on track and to end up fourth isn’t a bad result, there’s still some improvements to make so hopefully we can improve overnight and have a big dig tomorrow.”

ANTON DE PASQUALE – Started 10^th, Finished 19^th:

“Qualifying was alright, we’ve made a good habit of qualifying well so another top ten was a good result. I sat seventh right up until the final moments but tenth was still a good start.

“I made a good start off the line and got passed one of the cars. We were trucking around well but unfortunately when the Safety Car was called it meant for a double-stack so that put us a fair way back.

“We had good pace in the first stint when we were running in the top pack so we’ll tune her up tonight and see what we can do tomorrow.”