Winton V8s: Slade secures maiden victory
Tim Slade became the ninth different winner from the 10 championship V8 Supercars races so far this season with a straightforward win at Winton – his first in the series.
Tim Slade, Brad Jones Racing Holden
Dirk Klynsmith
The Brad Jones Racing driver had an absolutely dream run from pole position, effectively leading from lights to flag to record a 4.3s victory.
There was no magic to the win, Slade slowly pulling away from Scott McLaughlin and Mark Winterbottom in the first stint, making a straightforward stop on Lap 10, and then holding his own throughout the second stint to record a measured first win in the championship after 227 starts.
“Finally! Man, what a feeling,” said Slade after the race.
“That’s awesome, I can’t thank everyone at BJR enough. They supplied me with this; you have to be in the right situation in this sport, with the right equipment. It’s a crazy feeling.”
Slade’s job was made slightly easier by the fact that McLaughlin and Winterbottom spent the entire race bickering over second place.
It began right at the start, McLaughlin charging past Winterbottom on the run to Turn 1, and properly intensified after the stops.
The pair spent the last 27 laps of the race running nose-to-tail, Volvo driver McLaughlin doing enough to hold of Winterbottom by 0.2s.
Rick Kelly was able to shadow the McLaughlin/Winterbottom battle, but never actually looked like seriously getting involved.
Still, he was able to take a comfortable fourth place, holding off Jamie Whincup and Will Davison with ease despite being boxed in behind the two cars in front.
Davison didn’t have things too easy; Chaz Mostert made big gains late in the race, tagging on to the bag of the train behind McLaughlin with a few laps to go. He didn’t go any further than that, though, finishing seventh.
Whincup’s fifth place was a rare highlight on a tough day for Triple Eight. Shane van Gisbergen was only good enough for ninth, Michael Caruso, while Craig Lowndes slipped back to 14th.
The wildest moment of the race came when James Courtney and Cam Waters clashed on Lap 17. The pair made contact into Turn 4, which they got away with it, and then ahead into Turn 5, which they didn’t.
Both drivers went off, Waters recovering to 16th after taking a shortcut to get back on-track after spinning, while Courtney wound up back in 19th.
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