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Dexion's Tim Slade Fights To The Very End In Australian Formula Ford Championship |
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Sunday, 10 December 2006 |
 Just twenty-one points is all that has separated Dexion Racing’s Tim Slade from the Australian Formula Ford Championship after one of the most competitive years on record for the open wheel category.
The Dexion-supported driver missed the title by the agonizingly narrow margin after a difficult round at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit at the weekend, year-long rival John Martin taking the series in the final race despite Slade doing everything he could to snare the crown.
This weekend’s final round continued the year long rivalry between the
pair and despite the letdown, has continued to prove that Slade is
ready for the next big step in his career.
“It’s disappointing,” Slade said.
“It’s been a really tough weekend. We started off slow but the team worked really hard to get the car back onto the pace.
“It’s been a massive year and despite loosing the championship there
have been some pretty significant positives. We have won five races,
set three consecutive pole positions and set a couple of lap records so
it hasn’t been all bad.
“I have to thank the crew at Sonic Motor Racing Services for their
support, as well as my Dad. The year couldn’t have happened without
either of them. Our relationship with Dexion has also been fantastic
and it looks like that we have some exciting things for the future that
I’m really looking forward too.” He said.
Slade qualified his Dexion / Sonic Motor Racing Van Diemen third on the
16-car grid Friday evening, setting a lap just .13s behind pole and
less than half that margin behind Martin, who qualified second.
That intensity would again show during the first 9-lap event held on
Saturday, the two combatants never split by more than one car as they
raced for the championship. After a gritty battle, Slade made a
last-lap draft on the start-finish straight to just miss beating Martin
at the line by less than a tenth of a second.
Still leading the championship race by a point, today’s second race
proved to be a dramatic affair that would have significant bearing on
the championship.
After running as high as second in the early stages, Slade was still
ahead of Martin – who was fourth - coming into the final tour of the
nine-lap race.
Martin then dived underneath Slade into the hairpin, following a clash
between the race leaders who were just in front of the championship
protagonists. Heading into the following corner, Slade touched the rear
of the Rising Star spectrum after Martin slowed unexpectedly mid-corner.
The resulting contact left Slade’s nose box stuck underneath the front
suspension and essentially ended the race for the Dexion driver, who
was left to finish eighth.
Slade – caught up in the midfield – then scrapped home 9th in the third
and final race this afternoon to cap off his championship year.
“Race two was probably the race that decided it,” Slade said.
“The leaders came together into the Hairpin after a safety car period –
before that I’d had a good lead over Martin and it was looking pretty
good.
“Then John passed me with a late move and then seemed to slow going
through Siberia. I just tagged the back of his car mid corner and the
hit broke the nose box off my car and got it caught underneath the
front suspension.
“I battled hard in the third race but once you are in the pack it’s
pretty hard. There were some pretty wild moves going on.” He said.
“We had some good speed this weekend. The car wasn’t that great early
on but my team worked very hard and the car was getting better.
”It’s not the way I wanted to end the year but the season has been
good, for the most part, I’ve learnt a lot and the future is looking
interesting.”
Slade finished the season second in the championship, just twenty-one
points (300 – 279) behind Martin after eight rounds and 30 races. His
successful season included five race wins, and more pole positions than
any other driver in the series this year.
For more information about Dexion Racing head to www.dexionracing.com.au
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