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Tim Slade Joins TCR Australia Field in Autoglym Lynk & Co
Tim Slade will fill in for Tom Oliphant aboard the Ashley Seward Motorsport Autoglym Lynk & Co at Queensland Raceway for round four of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia.
Oliphant, who won his first TCR Australia race at Winton Raceway, will miss the fourth round of the season as he gets married to his fiancée Genevieve in England. The absence provides Slade an opportunity to finally drive for the ASM team with whom he first tested for in 2020.
The exciting Lynk & Co 03 TCR also returns to the field, after debuting at Phillip Island. Australia’s only chassis from the Chinese-Swedish brand has dominated global TCR competition, and left Slade impressed following a recent test day at Queensland Raceway.
Slade made his TCR Australia debut at last year’s April visit to Mount Panorama, where the Supercars Championship star qualified an impressive fifth and finished sixth in his first TCR outing.
“I really enjoyed the test day in the Lynk & Co and working with Ashley Seward who’s pretty switched on when it comes to preparing a car and the setup side of things,” said Slade.
“The Lynk & Co has a pretty good history in Europe and been extremely successful over there, and from my limited TCR experience it’s the most enjoyable TCR car that I’ve driven. I tested Ash’s Alfa a couple of years ago and raced the Honda at Bathurst, but the Lynk & Co drives the closest to a normal rear wheel drive car in comparison.
“I first worked with Ash back when I first moved to Melbourne, so we go back a fair way, and his standard is extremely high with everything he does. That was part of the enjoyment on the test day, just the level he goes to with it all.
“With Supercars running 12 rounds and only two or three test days it’s beneficial to find seat time in other categories and I enjoyed the TCR competition last year, it’s good hard and close racing.
“Thanks to Tom, Ash and the team for the opportunity to have a drive, we’ll extract the most from ourselves and maximise our results,” concluded Slade.
Added Oliphant: “It’s disappointing to be missing the Queensland race however it couldn’t be for a better reason. I will be in the UK marrying my girlfriend of 13 years, Gen, who has supported me through my entire motorsport career.
“I will be back and pushing to get my next win under my belt at Sandown in September.”
Round four of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia takes place at Queensland Raceway from August 11-13 as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.