De Pasquale on SVG clash: "The move was half on"

A race-long battle between the pair came down to the final corner of the race when De Pasquale made an ambitious play for the win.

However thanks to a locked front tyre it resulted in an awkward clash that sent van Gisbergen into a spin.

De Pasquale did his best to try and redress the situation on track, however van Gisbergen was clever enough to follow the Shell Ford across the line in the hopes that a penalty might dump him down the order.

In the end it was only a five-second time penalty for De Pasquale which meant he was classified second anyway.

Speaking after the race, De Pasquale defended his decision to fire down the inside of the van Gisbergen.

He said the move was "half on" and he may have pulled it off had he not locked a brake.

"I think the move was half on," he told Fox Sports.

"If I got a little bit further up I could have pulled it off. I just locked the brake a bit early in the stop and that's why I got into him.

"It was alright. We were catching him, we had a big gap to third so I thought I'd have a dip at it."

Despite van Gisbergen initially rebuffing De Pasquale's attempts at an apology after they got out of the car, De Pasquale played down any tension between the two title rivals.

"I'm sweet. I think everyone is just having a crack," he said. "He's the guy to beat and we're trying to beat him.

"There's still a lot of respect. Even afterwards we had a chat and he said, 'good move, thanks for having a crack'.

"I said, 'sorry mate, locked a brake and had you off'."

Van Gisbergen, meanwhile, said while he didn't feel the move was on, he did appreciate him having a crack.

"I didn't expect it. I didn't even cover. He was 50 car lengths back," he said.

"I appreciate him having a go but it was a bit ambitious.

"I didn't even look in the mirror. He was locked from a long way back. I don't mind if it you're having a go. I'd be angry if we lost the race but I want everyone to be having a crack. That makes a good show."

As for initially ignoring De Pasquale as they got out of their cars the Kiwi said: "I'm angry a him but I wanted to celebrate with the guys. I went and congratulated him, and said, 'good on you for having a go, but what were you thinking?'."

As for the five-second penalty, van Gisbergen was satisfied that it was sufficient for the contact.

"I don't think our system should discourage people having a go," he said. "That's the right call by [driving standards advisor Craig Baird]."