|
A New Year With A New Driver: Dexion Racing Ready For A Strong Start To '07 At Clipsal 500 |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 26 February 2007 |
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN Tim Slade will take a steady approach to his debut weekend in the Dexion Racing V8 Supercar at this weekends Clipsal 500 Adelaide.
A standout in the Australian Formula Ford Championship last season, Slade – who hails from the Southern town of McLaren Vale – will make his Fujitsu V8 Supercar Championship series debut behind the wheel of the Dexion Racing Ford Falcon this weekend.
It will be Slade’s first V8 Supercar start and the beginning of a new
era for the young South Australian and his Dexion Racing team – an
outfit that took owner / driver Tony Evangelou to strong results in
2006 - as he works his way towards a full time drive in the main V8
game.
With Dexion’s support Tim finished a hard fought second place in
Formula Ford last season and was signed by the team to continue the
relationship in V8 Supercar, earlier this year.
Dexion racing will contest the full, seven-round Fujitsu V8 Supercar
Championship with Slade behind the wheel of their BA Falcon V8
Supercar, looking to continue the strong results shown throughout last
season with Evangelou behind the wheel.
"We have worked closely with Tim in the latter half of the '06 season
and have been impressed by his attitude,” said Dexion’s Andrew Angus
following the conformation that Slade would join the team in 2007.
“He is a determined and focused young man clearly ready to take the
next step in his Motorsport career. He thoroughly deserves this
opportunity and I know that Tony Evangelou will provide Tim with the
hands-on advice that he will need to be competitive at the pointy end
of the Fujitsu Series in 2007.
“All in all, Dexion is very happy to personally support Tim and Tony
Evangelou's team next year. Our customers just love feeling a part of
the team on race weekends.” He said.
Slade said today that the pressure was surprisingly minimal heading into what is one of the biggest events of the year.
“I’m looking at this weekend knowing that people look at where you are at the end of the year, and not at the start,” he said.
“This weekend isn’t a make or break weekend for my career – I just need
to build up to the pace and keep the car off the walls because it’s
such a demanding circuit.
“It’s a tough place to make your debut in a V8 Supercar, so I’ll be
making sure that I bring the car home in one piece, get to the finish
and get as many miles behind the wheel as I can.
“I’m not going to go out there and do anything stupid because it’s the first race of a very long year.” Said Slade.
With a short off season, the Dexion Racing team has had a limited
amount of time to give Slade miles behind the wheel of the Falcon prior
to this weekend’s event in Adelaide.
The 21-year-old completed a ride day recently that will serve as his
only acclimation session to the car before hitting the circuit in anger
come the first practice session this Thursday morning.
”It’s disappointing that I haven’t had a real chance to test the car,
but the team has done everything in their power to make it as good as
it possibly can be,” Slade said.
“The chance to get behind the wheel at the ride day was one I’m thankful for.
”Although I wasn’t pushing at 100% it was still a really good
opportunity to get a feel for the car and what it can do, how it
behaves and responds.
“Tony did a great job at Clipsal last year and it showed that the team has a good car around there.” he said.
And whilst he is playing down the expectations for results at the
weekend, Slade did say that it would be a good experience to race in
front of his home fans, family and friends once again.
”It’s a huge event, and you do think about it when you’re sitting, waiting before the race,” he said.
“But when the lights go out you don’t think about it at all because you are so focussed on driving the car.”
Tim Slade and the Dexion Racing Ford BA Falcon V8 Supercar will first
hit the track this Thursday morning for opening practice, before
contesting two races throughout the weekend.
The 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar series will be contested over seven rounds and broadcast nationally on the Seven network.
NEW WEBSITE
Dexion Racing has also recently unveiled an updated website for the 2007 racing season.
www.dexionracing.com.au features all the information surrounding the
teams 2007 racing season, including team and driver biographies, and
interactive circuit maps complete with onboard footage from the Dexion
Falcon last season.
The site also includes all the in depth news and photos detailing the racing year, as well as a large Merchandise store.
|
News