Sim racing star takes over Slade engineer role

PremiAir Nulon Racing competition boss Ludo Lacroix has handed the reins of Tim Slade’s Chevrolet Supercar to an online racer turned engineer in Tasmania.

PremiAir Camaros were second and 12th on Friday in Tasmania, with James Golding just behind pace-setter David Reynolds.

Slade was just 0.27s off top spot, and it all came with a new name in his ear in the form of young engineer Andrew Gilliam.

Data Engineer Gilliam has been handed the Race Engineer by Lacroix, who oversaw Slade’s entry in recent rounds following the departure of Mirko De Rosa.

Now an influential figure in the real world, Gilliam is also known in sim racing circles, previously driving for Tickford Racing and Matt Stone Racing in Supercars’ eSeries.

Ultimately, while Golding was the leader for the team on the day, Slade knows what he needs to improve.

“It was not a bad day," said Slade, who was just 0.16s behind Golding.

"The things that we need to improve on are pretty clear so we will see what we can do there.

"It would be nice if it is dry tomorrow so we can get a read on the changes we will make overnight, but it could be a different ballgame with it looking a bit wet.

"So, we will just have to see what happens.”

It's not the only engineering change of the weekend, with Caleb Mutsaerts substituting for the absent Richard Harris on Will Davison's Dick Johnson Racing Ford. Davison was 17th on Friday.