Life as Supercars' champion Scott McLaughlin's replacement at Dick Johnson Racing has got off to a bad start for Anton De Pasquale.
Saturday's season opener began well for the 25-year-old when he topped the timesheets in morning qualifying to earn provisional pole ahead of the top 10 shootout.
Things quickly turned sour however when a mistake on his flying lap in the shootout meant De Pasquale started the 250km season-opening race in fourth.
While that error was disappointing, it proved only a forerunner to what was to come in the 40-lap sprint event.
Having made a decent start alongside teammate Will Davison, De Pasquale lost control at The Cutting just five laps in and ran into the concrete wall.
That impact left his Ford Mustang wrecked on the side of the iconic Mount Panorama circuit, with De Pasquale unable to do anything other than hold his head in his hands in the driver's seat.
"Wasn't a big hit but obviously paying a big price for it," De Pasquale told Fox Sports.
"No good. Bad way to start the year."
The crash means De Pasquale's first start at DJR is a DNF and he will return for Sunday's second 250km race with zero championship points to his name.
"I feel really bad for everyone here," De Pasquale said.
"But we'll come back tomorrow and have a crack."
