Lacroix back after Townsville absence

The return of engineer Ludo Lacroix couldn’t come at a better time for Anton De Pasquale.

Lacroix will reunite with De Pasquale for the forthcoming OTR SuperSprint.

The decorated engineer returns in time for Tailem Bend, where Mustangs have won 10 of the last 11 races.

De Pasquale scored a win and two poles last May, and led the finale before being sidelined by an engine failure.

The experienced Lacroix was absent for Townsville as he made a long-overdue trip to see family in his native France.

Mark Fenning engineered De Pasquale, but Lacroix kept lines open with the team from afar.

It came after Fenning substituted for Will Davison’s engineer Richard Harris in Darwin.

Fenning helped De Pasquale to second on the Townsville Sunday, but the driver said his speed came "a day loo late”.

De Pasquale bounced back from sixth on Saturday to fight for victory 24 hours later.

Speaking in Townsville, De Pasquale said he and Fenning had to go down a “different path” to unlock speed in the #11 Ford.

However, given how quick he was in Sunday’s race, De Pasquale was pleased with the outcome.

"Obviously you have a little bit of language difference between engineers and engineers,” De Pasquale said.

"We all spoke together last night, we ended up going down a different path we thought we had to.

"We had to dig deep, which is fine.

"We were probably a day too late to get to where we needed to be.”

De Pasquale benched 48 points to title rival Shane van Gisbergen, who won Saturday’s Race 19.

De Pasquale won Race 10 at The Bend last May

The deficit was only 12 points come Sunday, but De Pasquale took the fight to victory down to the wire.

It came to a head at the final corner when De Pasquale turned van Gisbergen, leading to a dramatic climax.

Having closed the gap to van Gisbergen overnight, De Pasquale knows he needs to be on the front foot from the get-go.

“It’s so tight. A couple of quick changes and you're right at the front,” De Pasquale said.

“It's a credit to have one of the faster cars today.

“Considering everything and where we were yesterday, everyone at the team is pretty happy.”

De Pasquale trails van Gisbergen by 274 points heading to Tailem Bend.

The 2022 season will resume at the OTR SuperSprint on July 30-31. Purchase your tickets now.