De Pasquale laments shock early crash

Anton De Pasquale has lamented crashing out of his maiden race appearance for Dick Johnson Racing.

De Pasquale, who claimed provisional pole for the race, crashed his #17 Shell V-Power Racing Mustang out of third on lap 7.

The 25-year-old was running on his own at the time of the accident, chasing leaders Cameron Waters and Shane van Gisbergen.

All it took was a wider entry into the Cutting, with De Pasquale suffering a similar fate to that of Jamie Whincup during last year’s Bathurst 1000.

He managed to return the car to safety, but De Pasquale was out, marking a bruising start to life with DJR.

"I was pushing a bit hard and made a mistake," he told the broadcast after returning to the garage.

"I just got that tyre width wide on the entry, had a little moment.

"In where no one else goes all weekend and then you can’t bring it back."

He wasn’t the only big name to strike trouble, with pole winner Cameron Waters dropping out of contention following a suspected power steering drama.

It did little to alleviate De Pasquale’s disappointment, with teammate Will Davison recording a podium in the race, which was won by Shane van Gisbergen.

"It wasn’t a big hit, but obviously you pay a big price for it," he continued.

"No good. Bad way to start the year. I feel really bad for everyone here.

"But we’ll come back tomorrow and have another crack."

The Repco Supercars Championship field will return to the track for ARMOR All Qualifying at 10:05am AEDT on Saturday for ARMOR ALL Qualifying. Tickets are on sale now.

This weekend’s event will be broadcast live on Foxtel and the Seven Network, and will be streamed on Kayo. Check out the full TV schedule here.