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Bathurst top five 'slipped away' for Slade/Blanchard

06 Dec 2021
'As the track evolved, our car didn’t evolve like everyone else’s'
2 mins by James Pavey
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Tim Blanchard admitted a top five at the Repco Bathurst 1000 "slipped away” for the #3 CoolDrive Racing Mustang.

Tim Slade and Blanchard crossed the line ninth in Sunday’s race, which was won by Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth.

The Slade/Blanchard car was in the hunt for the top five from the outset.

Slade was one of eight primary drivers to start the race, and the only one who started in the top 10.

However, as the race wore on and the lead pack began to push away, the Slade/Blanchard car had already hit its ceiling.

Regardless, it was a strong result for the team to cap what was its maiden campaign as a fully-fledged Supercars squad.

'“It was definitely the best car I’ve had here; it wasn’t as good at the end of the race, unfortunately,” Blanchard said.

“We started out very strong, but as the track evolved, our car didn’t evolve like everyone else’s.

“We were probably in a good spot for a top five, and out car slipped away in the last half of the race.”

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Slade finished the season 12th overall, just 98 points from the top 10.

Considering the strength of Slade’s second half of the season - 13 top 10s in his last 20 races - Blanchard was “disappointed” to see a stronger Bathurst result go begging.

All the crashes from the Repco Bathurst 1000

“It’s mixed emotions,” he said.

“If you said at the beginning of the year when we started a team, building a workshop, that we’d be top 10 at Bathurst and 12th in the championship, we’d be pretty pleased.

“Knowing the potential we had this weekend, we’re a bit disappointed.

“We’ve got a lot to do over Christmas; we’ll have a crack and come back next year.”

The 13-event 2022 Repco Supercars Championship will commence in Newcastle next year. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

The 13-round draft calendar was released on Sunday.

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