Supercars race winner Anton De Pasquale has confirmed his place on the grid for Bathurst’s lesser-known Great Race.
The Bathurst 6 Hour is the hallmark endurance race on the SpeedSeries calendar, which harks back to the golden era of touring car racing Down Under.
The six-hour race isn’t filled with sports cars or purpose-built race cars. Instead, its focus is on the roots of Australian motor racing with a grid of 60-plus production cars.
Stan Sport is the only place to watch the 2023 SpeedSeries. All the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand
De Pasquale will race a BMW M4 alongside car owner Anthony Soole and Adam Burgess come Easter (April 7-9).
In 2022, the Dick Johnson Racing driver finished third overall.
Winning the race isn’t the only goal for the team. Their other aim is to raise awareness for charity Destiny Rescue.
The organisation works to help children from sex trafficking and exploitation around the world.
So far, the organisation has freed 11,000 children, rescuing and reintegrating them into society.
“Destiny Rescue is a charity that I am very passionate about and would love to use my platform in racing to get their story out,” Soole explained.
“These guys are amazing. They are working to help free the over one million kids that are currently being sex trafficked around the world.
“Kids between the ages of five and 14 are being held and sold for sex. It sounds unbelievable and it is – it’s awful.
“I really want to help get their story out and if I can use my racing to raise awareness for this important cause then that can only be a good thing.”
Having De Pasquale onboard is part of that drive to raise awareness.
The Supercars driver is one of the most popular up-and-coming stars of the series, often likened to three-time champion Scott McLaughlin.
“Anton is first-class, he’s a superstar and one of the best young drivers in the country so it was a no-brainer to ask him back,” Soole added.
“He did a great job to qualify third last year and though the race didn’t go to plan he was still really impressive. It showed that if things go our way, we have the speed to be a contender.
“It’s always great to get back to Bathurst and compete in this race and I’m really looking forward to teaming up with Anton and Adam again this year.”
Stan Sport will carry live and ad-free coverage of the Bathurst 6 Hour on April 7-9.
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!
Sons-of-speed: The second and third-generation racers following in the footsteps of Australia’s legends
