Blanchard: Slade form 'confidence-inspiring'
10 Apr 2022
The impressive form of Tim Slade and CoolDrive Racing is "confidence-inspiring", says team owner Tim Blanchard.
Slade is a standout third overall for the Albert Park weekend, having recorded a trio of top 10 finishes.
The veteran's results are all the more impressive considering Slade started down the order for Races 6 and 7.
The #3 CoolDrive Ford was off the pace on Thursday, with Slade qualifying a lowly 12th and 20th.
Come Friday, and the Blanchard squad had tuned a strong race car for Slade, who finished fourth on Friday.
It got even better on Saturday, with Slade vaulting from 20th to eighth in Race 7.
For Blanchard, it was proof the team has the tools required to learn on the spot and convert.
"The guys have done an awesome job putting it all together," Blanchard told Supercars.com.
"We had a similar thing in Tassie where we weren't great on the Saturday, but came out stronger on Sunday.
"Hopefully we can pull it out of the truck in Perth and be quick again.
"It's really confidence-inspiring to know that if we start a weekend with a car off the pace, we have the ability to turn it around."
It comes after Slade qualified highly in Sydney and Tasmania.
Come Sunday, and Slade is an impressive ninth in the championship.
Considering Slade's speed in Sydney and Tasmania, Blanchard wasn't surprised by the results.
However, he reiterated that the challenge of remaining competitive at every event remains.
"We've had pace at all three events so far," Blanchard said.
"We qualified third in Sydney and fifth in Tasmania too.
"We had no pace on Thursday and tuned the car up overnight, and it was much stronger on Friday.
"The first two races looked really good because we unlocked the speed in it after qualifying poorly.
"In the third race, we qualified fifth and didn't make any headway; we actually lost two spots.
"We're starting eighth today, so hopefully we've managed to turn the car around again."
The Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 will conclude with Race 9 on Sunday.
