Tim Slade
| Tim Slade | |
|---|---|
 Tim Slade signing autographs in 2014 | |
| Nationality |  Australian |
| Born | 3 August 1985 Hornsby, New South Wales |
| Supercars Championship career | |
| Car number | 3 |
| Current team | Blanchard Racing Team |
| Championships | 0 |
| Races | 333 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 17 |
| Pole positions | 2 |
| 2020 position | 30th (222 pts) |
Tim Slade (born 3 August 1985) is an Australian racing driver who competes in the Repco Supercars Championship. Slade currently drives the No. 3 Ford Mustang GT for Blanchard Racing Team.
Early career
Slade first appeared at a national level racing in the 2003 Australian Formula Ford Championship. During the 2004 Australian Formula 3 Championship, Slade, in his rookie season with Team BRM, won his first race when making a one-off appearance at the penultimate round of the series.[1] Slade returned to Formula 3 for the following season, beginning a long-running partnership with businessman James Rosenberg, who owned the car.[2] However, after having scored just 25 points after the first four races, compared to the 57 points of joint series leaders Chris Alajajian and Michael Trimble, Slade was dropped from the team.[3]
Taking a step backwards, Slade competed in his first full season at national level in 2006, racing for Sonic Motor Racing Services in the 2006 Australian Formula Ford Championship. Slade narrowly lost a season-long battle with John Martin for the title.[4][5]
Supercars Championship
Development Series
Turning his back on open wheelers, Slade moved into the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series for the 2007 season, starting the season with ANT Racing in a Ford BA Falcon. However, Slade's season was blighted by a team shift to MW Motorsport mid-season and he finished ninth in the points. The highlight of his season was a second-place finish in the reverse grid race at Queensland Raceway.
In 2008 Slade renewed his partnership with Rosenberg, who purchased Slade a Holden VZ Commodore from Perkins Engineering, which ran under the banner of 'Slade Sport'.[2] Early in the season Slade won the Wakefield Park round, but poor results at Queensland Raceway and at Mount Panorama, plus the limited resources available, restricted Slade to seventh in the series results.
Paul Morris Motorsport
Early in 2009, Slade was announced as the replacement driver for the retiring Paul Morris at his eponymous team to graduate into V8 Supercars.[6] The drive was once again backed by Rosenberg.[2] Driving a Holden VE Commodore sponsored by Supercheap Auto, Slade finished 23rd in the championship.
James Rosenberg Racing
In 2010, Slade moved teams to the newly formed James Rosenberg Racing, driving the #47 Wilson Security-backed Ford FG Falcon as a satellite entry of Stone Brothers Racing. His best results of the year were a pair of fifth places at Hidden Valley Raceway and at the Phillip Island 500, with co-driver Jack Perkins. For 2011, Slade remained with the team, with a new title sponsor, Lucky 7, and improved to ninth in the championship standings including three podium positions at Queensland Raceway.
He had his breakout year in 2012 aboard the Lucky 7 Falcon, where he finished fifth in the championship. Stone Brothers Racing was then sold at the end of 2012 to Erebus Motorsport, who brought in the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG to V8 Supercars under the new Car of the Future regulations in 2013. However, the Erebus package struggled and Slade could only manage 22nd in the championship.
Walkinshaw Racing
Slade moved to Walkinshaw Racing for the 2014, driving his team's #47 VF Commodore. This also marked a return to Supercheap Auto colours for Slade and a move away from his association with James Rosenberg, who coincidentally ended up running a sister car to Slade at Walkinshaw Racing for Nick Percat.[2] He finished the year in 17th position. He remained with the team for the 2015 season, finishing 13th in the championship.
Brad Jones Racing
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In 2016, Walkinshaw Racing downsized to two cars and Slade moved to Brad Jones Racing. After a slow start to the season, Slade won the first two races of his career at the 2016 Woodstock Winton SuperSprint.[7]
GT
In 2012, Slade joined Erebus Motorsport for its Bathurst 12 Hour campaign, driving the team's Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Along with Jeroen Bleekemolen, Peter Hackett and Bret Curtis, he finished the race in second position. He once again entered the race with Erebus in 2013, finishing in sixth position with Lee Holdsworth and Peter Hackett. In 2016, he competed in the event once again, this time in a McLaren 650S GT3 with Tony Walls, Matt Campbell and Warren Luff. Slade has also appeared as a guest driver at the annual Pro-Am event of the Australian Carrera Cup Championship on multiple occasions.
Career results
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
| Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Paul Morris Motorsport | Holden Commodore VE | Paul Morris
|
7th | 161 |
| 2010 | James Rosenberg Racing | Ford Falcon FG | Jack Perkins
|
18th | 161 |
| 2011 | James Rosenberg Racing | Ford Falcon FG |  Daniel Gaunt
|
12th | 161 |
| 2012 | James Rosenberg Racing | Ford Falcon FG | Andrew Thompson
|
7th | 161 |
| 2013 | James Rosenberg Racing | Mercedes-Benz E63 W212 | Andrew Thompson
|
26th | 137 |
| 2014 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Tony D'Alberto
|
DNF | 102 |
| 2015 | Walkinshaw Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Tony D'Alberto
|
14th | 161 |
| 2016 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Ashley Walsh
|
7th | 161 |
| 2017 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore VF | Ashley Walsh‡ Andre Heimgartner
|
9th | 161 |
| 2018 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | Ashley Walsh
|
17th | 160 |
| 2019 | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | Ashley Walsh
|
DNF | 0 |
| 2020 | DJR Team Penske | Ford Mustang Mk.6 | Scott McLaughlin
|
5th | 161 |
‡Walsh was entered as a co-driver to Slade but withdrew due to injury and was replaced with Heimgartner.
References
- ^ "Championship Standings: 2004 Australian F3 Championship". The official website of the Australian Formula 3 Championship Series. 2004. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d Bartholomaeus, Stefan (26 May 2016). "Pride for Rosenberg after Slade breakthrough". Speedcafe. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Championship Standings: 2005 Australian Drivers Championship". The official website of the Australian Formula 3 Championship Series. 2005. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ "Tim Slade". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ "Formula Ford Australia 2006". Driver Database. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ "News: Rookie Slade secures Supercheap Auto Racing V8 seat alongside Ingall". supercheapautoracing.com.au. 2 March 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
- ^ Bartholomaeus, Stefan (22 May 2016). "Slade and BJR do the double at Winton". Speedcafe. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
External links
- Tim Slade - Official Profile – Supercars.com
- Tim Slade career summary at DriverDB.com
- Tim Slade driver statistics at Racing-Reference