Lucky 7 Racing’s Tim Slade is heading to Darwin full of confidence having grabbed his first V8 Supercars podium of the year at Phillip Island recently.
Slade has had his best start to a V8 season so far, recording seven top 10 results from 11 races and third place in his last outing at Phillip Island.
Heading to Darwin on the Ghan, Slade has enjoyed some strong performances at Hidden Valley Raceway, including fourth in the Sunday race last year and he started on the second row of the grid in 2010.
With an improving Lucky 7 Ford and feeling more confident in himself, Slade is hoping to podium again and has his sights set on a race win.
Slade is sure to stand out on the track given his all-new NASCAR inspired Lucky 7 ‘Buy 2 Fly’ livery, which will debut in Darwin.
Slade is currently seventh in the championship less than100 points from fourth place.
The SKYCITY Triple Crown at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway kicks off with practice on Friday, June 15, followed by a 120 kilometre race on Saturday, June 16, and a longer 200 kilometre race on Sunday, June 17.
What Lucky 7 Racing’s Tim Slade had to say:
“I’m looking forward to getting back in the Lucky 7 Ford after a busy few weeks. Since Phillip Island I raced a Polaris side-by-side car in the Australian Rally Championship. I actually had a win on the Sunday which was quite exciting, it exceeded my expectations and it was a lot of fun. Then we had a test day and now Lee (Holdsworth) and myself are heading up to Darwin on the Ghan, on the train, which will be interesting. After the podium at Phillip Island, and our form recently and so far this year, we are quite confident going to Darwin. We just missed the podium last year, we qualified third the year before and we've had some other solid results, so we have high expectations. We are also debuting a new livery for Lucky Seven’s ‘Buy to Fly’ in-store promotion. It looks pretty cool; it’s great to see a different type of livery out there in the V8 Supercars field. I’m sure it will stand out on the track.”
What Lucky 7 Racing’s engineer Wes McDougall had to say:
“It was great to get our first podium for the year (at Phillip Island), we are hoping that it has kick started this middle part if the championship, so we are ready and raring to go in Darwin. I guess we've been really quick in the past in qualifying, we've been in the shootout and had great race speed, but we've never actually got a podium up there. Our best was fourth there last year so definitely our goal is to get on that podium.”
2012 V8 Supercars Championship after 11 of 29 races
1. Will Davison 1216 points
2. Jamie Whincup 1206
3. Mark Winterbottom 1187
4. Craig Lowndes 977
5. Shane van Gisbergen 953
6. Lee Holdsworth 932
7. Tim Slade 879
8. Garth Tander 816
9. Fabian Coulthard 766
10. Rick Kelly 673
TIM SLADE CAREER STATISTICS
Event Starts: 48
Race Starts: 91
Best Finish: 2nd – Race 16 & 18, Queensland Raceway, 2011
Best Qualifying: 2nd – Race 16 &17, Queensland Raceway, 2011
Best Championship Position: Ninth, 2011
2011 Darwin Results
2011 Saturday Qualifying: 8th
2011 Sunday Qualifying: 7th
2011 Saturday Race: 21st
2011 Sunday Race: 4th
Best Darwin Qualifying Result: 3rd, Race 14, 2010
Best Darwin Race Result: 4th, Race 13, 2011
DARWIN DETAILS:
Circuit: Hidden Valley Raceway
Location: Darwin, Northern Territory
Circuit Length: 2.9 kilometres
Format:
Friday: 4 x 30min practice sessions
Saturday: 1 x 20min qualifying, Top 10 Shootout & 1 x 42 lap race
Sunday:1 x 20min qualifying & 1 x 69 lap race
2011 Results:
2011 Race Saturday Race Winner: Rick Kelly
2011 Race Saturday Race Winner: Shane van Gisbergen
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The times below are Australian Central time. Add 30 minutes for Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne times
Friday, June 15:
Practice 1: 10.25am – 10.55am
Practice 2: 12.00pm – 12.30pm
Practice 3: 1.35pm – 2.05pm
Practice 4: 3.15pm – 3.45pm
Saturday, June 16:
Qualifying Race 12: 11.00am – 11.20pm
Top 10 Shootout: 12.55pm – 1.25pm
Race 10: 4.05pm – 3.35pm (42 laps/120km)
Sunday, June 17:
Qualifying Race 13: 12.40pm – 1.00pm
Race 11: 3.40pm – 3.05pm (69 laps/200km)
TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Times subject to amendment, please check local guides:
Seven Network & 7Mate
Saturday, June 16:
12.00pm – 3.30pm Qualifying & Race 12 (Perth) 7Mate
1.30pm – 5.00pm Qualifying & Race 12 (Adelaide) 7Mate
2.00pm – 5.30pm Qualifying & Race 12 (Sydney, Brisbane) Channel 7
2.00pm – 5.30pm Qualifying & Race 12 (Melbourne) 7Mate
Sunday, June 17:
12.00pm – 3.30pm Qualifying & Race 13 (Perth) 7Mate
1.30pm – 5.00pm Qualifying & Race 13 (Adelaide) 7Mate
2.00pm – 5.30pm Qualifying & Race 13 (Sydney, Brisbane) Channel 7
2.00pm – 5.30pm Qualifying & Race 11 (Melbourne) 7Mate
A one hour highlights package of each race is broadcast in each market late on Saturday and Sunday, check times and stations for details
