Reynolds vows to fight back after Sydney 'disaster'

David Reynolds vows to fight back after Sydney "disaster"
Reynolds leaves Sydney in 22nd overall after finishes of 15th, 22nd and 22nd
Team 18 driver sat equal fourth after opening round 12 months ago

David Reynolds is determined to put a shocking Sydney firmly in the rear vision mirror, with the Team 18 driver suffering his worst start to a season in 12 years.

After rolling out second in Practice at the Thrifty Sydney 500 - Opening Round, Reynolds returned finishes of 15th, 22nd and 22nd across the three races.

The results left Reynolds 22nd in the championship with 61 points, his worst haul since a 20th and DNF left him 23rd overall with with 45 points after the 2013 Adelaide 500.

It was a stark contrast to the last two seasons, when Reynolds left Round 1 in fourth overall.

Reynolds cut an optimistic figure after Sunday's race, but put it bluntly: "The first round of the year was a disaster for me — there’s no other way to put it.

"So many things went wrong on our side of the garage, and unfortunately, we just couldn't catch a break.

"We rolled out first and second in practice, but we knew that wasn’t a true reflection of our pace. When qualifying started, we realised we had some work to do.

"The team did an amazing job analysing everything, and we made big gains on Sunday morning, which got us into the Shootout.”

Reynolds began Saturday's Race 2 from the pit lane after an O-ring in his TRADIE Energy Chevrolt's fuel system needed replacing just minutes before the race began.

It got worse when Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Ryan Wood stalled on the grid, meaning Reynolds had to wait until the WAU Ford raced by pit exit before he could leave.

After qualifying ninth in Sunday's Shootout, Reynolds struggled with car balance throughout the race, and battled even more as rain began to fall in the closing laps.

"In the races, it just didn’t come together. I finished 15th in the first one, and then basically last in both of the others," the 2017 Bathurst winner continued.

"We had a stack of issues that I won’t even begin to explain, but the good news is that I love working with this team. They’re an awesome bunch of people, and we’ll bounce back.

"The Grand Prix is up next, and I can’t wait to put this one behind us and push for a much better result."

Team 18 teammate Anton De Pasquale had a much brighter weekend, ending up seventh overall.