Slade's 'tough' ride back to Mount Panorama

2 years ago 389

It could person been the cleanable accomplishment to the Supercars Championship for newcomers, Blanchard Racing Team.

With operator Tim Slade poised to walk third-placed Will Davison, the squad looked acceptable to unafraid their maiden podium successful the play opener astatine Mount Panorama.

However, a mid-shift mistake with 5 laps remaining meant the gears connected Slade's CoolDrive Ford Mustang didn't prosecute properly, causing his rear tyres to fastener and a dense collision with the factual wall.

With the car damaged truthful severely successful the mishap that it was incapable to beryllium worked backmost into signifier successful clip for competition, Slade recovered himself eliminated from Saturday's contention and unfit to instrumentality portion successful Sunday's 2nd event.

Appearing heartbroken aft the crash, Slade admitted to Wide World of Sports helium felt haunted by the "missed opportunity" for a abbreviated clip afterwards.

"It could person been a fairytale archetypal contention for the team, and conscionable due to the fact that I've been determination since time dot, I cognize however overmuch enactment went into it each successful the lead-up to that contention from a squad that started from scratch with nothing," helium said.

With lone a fewer weeks' turnaround to the adjacent contention successful the series, determination was plentifulness of enactment to beryllium done backmost astatine Blanchard Racing's basal successful Melbourne with a program hatched for a beardown comeback.

"It was ace pugnacious fixed the guys had conscionable fundamentally worked non-stop since this clip past twelvemonth putting the squad together, and past the chassis had to beryllium repaired," Slade said.

"So, we had a spare car sitting determination that needed gathering from the crushed up. It wasn't successful immoderate benignant of authorities to spell racing consecutive distant truthful the guys worked non-stop successful betwixt Bathurst and the adjacent contention astatine Sandown successful similar a 2 oregon three-week interruption successful between.

"It was a immense workload connected them, but the spare car that we turned up with astatine the pursuing circular was perfect.

"I conjecture it conscionable shows however overmuch of a bully occupation that the guys bash astatine putting the cars together."

Returning to Mount Panorama for this weekend's season-ending Bathurst 1000, Slade isn't placing excessively overmuch unit connected himself to replicate his erstwhile feat astir the circuit.

"I don't truly person immoderate expectations, you cognize the car was accelerated present astatine the commencement of the twelvemonth and hopefully it's the aforesaid this weekend," helium said.

"I cognize we raced present astatine the commencement of the year, but it's a overmuch antithetic contention - you cognize the 1000 compared to the 2 250s that we did astatine the commencement - and it's our archetypal Bathurst 1000 arsenic a team. So, there's a batch much that goes into the 1000km contention and a batch much that gets thrown astatine you passim the day.

"You ne'er cognize what your car's going to beryllium similar until you deed the way again, but fixed that we're successful the aforesaid year, though a antithetic clip of the year… I'm hoping it's going to thrust the same."

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