The 23 seconds that buried De Pasquale's JR Trophy hopes

For a time, Anton De Pasquale seemed a genuine chance at defending his Jason Richards Memorial Trophy win.

Then, disaster struck.

The Team 18 driver entered Saturday’s second race off the back of a sterling run to fourth in Race 8, only missing out on a podium with two laps to go after being passed by Ryan Wood.

The result helped De Pasquale vault to fifth in the championship, continuing his unbroken streak of top 10 race finishes since joining Team 18.

Come Race 9, and after starting ninth, the #18 DEWALT Chevrolet driver held position until passing both Tickford Racing drivers to sit seventh on lap 13.

On live points, De Pasquale was third in the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy points, behind Matt Payne and Chaz Mostert, who won both races.

The 29-year-old was up to second during the pit cycle before he was brought in on lap 20. However, a cross-threaded wheel nut on the left front led to a 23-second stop.

After showing good pace and being in outside contention for a podium, De Pasquale rejoined 18th, and came home 20th.

The 49 points for seventh would have seen De Pasquale leave Saturday fourth overall for the weekend, behind only Payne, Mostert and Will Davison.

However, where he could have been a red hot chance at 33 points down, De Pasquale is instead 69 points away, and 12th for the weekend. Payne leads Mostert by 33 points.

“A couple races here at Taupō and we had some really good pace, so there's pace for the podium in both races, which is really cool, really positive for everyone,” said De Pasquale, who dropped back to seventh in the championship.

“I just got caught out in the first one, which pushed us back to fourth. So a bit shattered not to be on the podium there. I think we definitely could've been.

“Last race, different tyre and a very different style of race. It was looking really good, fighting into the top five area and then just had a bit of a mishap in the pits, and then she's all over."