Slade: Creek test won’t be true pace guide

Tim Slade says that the times recorded at the end of tomorrow’s season-opening V8 Supercars test won’t be a true indication of the outright pace of each contender.

The tyre rules for tomorrow’s official test at Eastern Creek will allow each car to use Dunlop’s ‘Sprint’ tyres from 2pm onwards, although the teams can only use Sprint tyres that are in their tyre banks from last season.

Due to this rule, some teams will have soft tyres in better conditions than others.

Slade, who spent the summer competing in Sprintcar racing, said that the final times at the end of the hard tyre running (9am-2pm) will be the best guide to who is fast and who is faster.

THE FINAL RACE OF THE 2023 REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP ON ONE OF THE WORLD’S BEST STREET CIRCUITS.
GO ALL IN AT THE VAILO ADELAIDE 500, CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

“The times at the middle of the day will be the best gauge of who has pace and who doesn’t,” he told Speedcafe.com.au.

“I reckon if you look at the time sheets right before 2pm, that will be the best indication.

“Not everyone has the same bank of soft tyres – some are better, and some aren’t.

“The times at the end won’t be a true indication of who is where in the pecking order.

“But I think the test is a great idea. It’s the perfect way to see who has done the hard work over the offseason.”

Slade will compete in the #47 Lucky 7 Stone Brothers Racing Falcon, alongside fellow SBR entries Shane van Gisbergen (#9 SP Tools) and Alex Davison (#4 IRWIN Tools).

Lucky 7 was a sponsor of SBR last year and was featured on all three Falcons. For 2011, the convenience store chain will solely support the Slade entry.

The Lucky 7 Falcon will be raced in a blue and silver livery (pictured above), while the SP Tools Falcon remains largely unchanged from last year, other than the change to the modernised ‘SP Tools’ logo.

The official V8 Supercars test kicks off tomorrow morning at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway.