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Slade ready for ‘different challenge’ in S5000 debut
TIM SLADE will return to his racing roots when he makes his S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship debut at AWC Race Tasmania this weekend.
The Queensland-based driver will make his S5000 debut driving a Form 700 / ALABAR-backed entry run by Team BRM – a team Slade has plenty of prior experience with.
Now a highly-rated regular contender in Supercars racing, like so many other professional drivers, Slade’s career began in open wheel racing as he honed his craft.
Slade’s stint in Formula Ford saw him finish runner-up to S5000 regular John Martin in the 2006 championship, prior to progressing to what is now the Super 2 Series.
Prior to that, he also had a brief stint in Australian Formula 3 driving with BRM. He was a race winner in a one-off appearance at the end of the 2004 championship at Mallala, and returned for a partial campaign the following season.
He will drive a Form 700 / ALABAR entry similar to the one unveiled for reigning Gold Star winner Joey Mawson last week, as part of a three-car BRM squad that includes Kiwi, Kaleb Ngatoa.
Slade will hit the track on Thursday for the official AWC Race Tasmania test day, prior to practice on Friday.
Qualifying and Race one will be held on Saturday, with two further races Sunday.
Qualifying and all three races will be broadcast exclusively live on Stan Sports on Saturday and Sunday, with Race 1 and Race 2 also live on the 9Network.
TIM SLADE
“Any time you get an opportunity to jump into a cool racing car, you grab it!” Slade said.
“The guys at Team BRM and I go back a long way so it’s great to be able to put this together and get back in an open wheel car. It’s been quite a while but I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
“S5000 has been very competitive and the guys at the front are all strong so I’m looking forward to getting amongst it.
“The team won the championship last year so I know they are up to the job, and I’m not going to there to just drive around. I want to race, be competitive and contend so that’s the goal.”
MARK RUNDLE – TEAM BRM
“It’s great to have Tim back in a Team BRM car, we go back a long way and with our South Aussie connection we’ve always remained in touch,” Rundle said.
“It’s definitely the longest time we’ve gone between a driver being in one of our cars, but it’s exciting to have someone of his experience racing at a very high level join the team.
“We’ve got no doubts in his ability to get up to speed quickly and be a factor across the three races in Tasmania.
“As a team we have to thank Form 700 and ALABAR for continuing their support and helping us put this program together, it’s the start of big things ahead for season 2022.”