The Adelaide driver will today unveil the fresh warpaint on the Supercheap Auto Commodore he will pilot for Walkinshaw Racing this season, but The Advertiser can reveal the striking new scheme here.
Having moved to the Supercheap car after finishing 22nd in last year’s drivers championship with start-up stable Erebus Motorsport, Slade said with his home event and the new season just three days away he was excited at the fresh start.
“But it won’t be any different — it doesn’t matter what car or what team, I’m always out there giving it 110 per cent,” he said.
“So from my point of view, it doesn’t really change anything.”
Slade finished two spots behind Erebus teammate Lee Holdswoth and shaded the garage’s third pilot Maro Engel last season, posting four top-10 results in the Mercedes Benz-powered team’s V8 Supercars debut.
But even with the new group working furiously off-track to find on-track competitiveness it was Slade’s poorest overall return since he landed 23rd in his debut V8 Supercars season in 2009.
It was a far cry from the 28-year-old’s fifth placing on the leaderboard in the previous 2012 season.Slade, who was as high as 10th on timesheets in a wet morning session at a category-wide test day 10 days ago, now finds himself in partnership with Holden Racing Team under the Walkinshaw Racing banner.
He retains his No. 47 plate and holds fresh hope of again challenging for podiums and race wins.
“There’s a lot going for Walkinshaw at the moment, we’ve recruited some really good people in the off-season, with (former Triple Eight managing director) Adrian Burgess and some good engineers as well, like Matty Nilsson from FPR.
“Everybody just wants a little more speed and probably more so consistency — not just having that speed once every couple of races but every weekend. That’s what puts the benchmark teams up there, because they’re there every single weekend.”
As for the new colour scheme on the Supercheap car popularised by veteran Russell Ingall, Slade said the design crew had hit the mark.
“It’s the best Supercheap car so far, I reckon,” Slade said. “It looks tough.
“It has different base colours and a different layout, and the white Supercheap lettering on a black base really makes it pop.
“I liked the look of it on paper but sometimes the transition from paper to flesh often doesn’t have the same effect. If anything, this looks better.”
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