Tim Slade, Ben Grice and the Ash Seward Motorsport team have elected to stay in Benalla tonight to have a second day of testing at Winton Raceway after weather thwarted their day in the Alfa Romeo TCR car.

Slade and Grice were able to get around 30 rain-interrupted laps in each today, and will stay on for a second day tomorrow, with the forecast appearing clear and dry.

Both Slade and Grice drove all of their laps on Michelin’s wet tyre option, gaining their first laps in TCR machinery.

Slade, a regular in the Supercars Championship for the past 11 years, was impressed with the ASM Alfa Romeo Guilietta Veloce, despite the inclement conditions.

“It rained in the morning, but when it passed, there was no sun or wind, so the track basically stayed wet all day. It was what you’d call a typical wet Winton day,” said Slade.

“We did our laps late this afternoon, and but we’ll stay on tonight and have another go tomorrow.

“The Alfa TCR was what I expected. I got a taste of front wheel drive cars from my Dad’s (Hyundai) Excel, and even though this has more power and more grip, it does have those similar traits.

“I found the wet tyre to be really good. Compared to a Supercar, it has quite good grip in the wet. It’s a nice thing and really good fun.

“But the goal was to come in the dry, and we’re looking forward to that tomorrow to help give myself and Ben a real feel for the car.”

Grice, a front-runner in Toyota 86 and Hyundai Excel competition, was excited by his first stint in a TCR car.

“It was a pretty wet and miserable day, but these cars are really cool,” said Grice.

“Compared to the Excel, they’re a fair bit more of a race car. They have a lot of mechanical grip and the tyres are awesome.

“Ash gave us a fair go, so it wasn’t a complete waste. He runs an excellent operation with some really good guys, so it has been great to get involved with them.”