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SLADE JOINS CXC GLOBAL RACING FOR 6 HOUR
Leading production car outfit, CXC Global Racing, has unveiled its three-car attack for the 2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, headlined by the news Supercars race winner Tim Slade will join team owner Dylan Thomas in the team’s Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X.It will mark something of a return to grass roots for Slade, whose very first race at Bathurst was the 2007 Bathurst 12 Hour production car race, which he contested in a Mini with Trevor Keene. It also means the Brad Jones Racing Supercars driver will contest all three major endurance races at Bathurst in 2017 – the 12 Hour, 6 Hour and 1000.The CXC Global team has also secured a talented line-up across the other two cars in the stable, both Mitsubishi Evo IXs:Formula Formula Vee competitor Jacob Andrews joins tarmac rally ace Duncan Handley while Experienced Porsche pilot and Radical Australia Cup Champion Neale Muston has been confirmed in the other CXC Evo IX, and the team has a vacancy for a capable driver to partner him for the event.”I worked with Tim Slade when we both drove for Sonic Motor Racing Services at the Porsche Rennsport Festival earlier this year. He rang me up to ask if there was an opportunity to drive in the 6 Hour and we were able to accommodate him,” said Dylan Thomas.”Tim was super-fast in the Bathurst 1000 this year and he also set the record at World Time Attack at Sydney Motorsport Park, so he has the ability to jump in different cars and be fast in all of them.”Logistically it’s a large exercise running four cars, but most of our infrastructure is in place and we’ve got procedures to make sure everything runs according to plan.”While Tim will attract a lot of attention, the other cars will be contenders as well – the Oosthuizen brothers are both excellent drivers, Neale Muston’s credentials are second-to-none, Jacob Andrews has shown speed and maturity, and Duncan Handley did a great job for us last year.”The race is all about consistency, so you can have a couple of drivers who may not be household names, but if they punch out consistent times lap after lap, and we do a good job in the pit stops, there’s no reason they can’t run near the front.”Slade said he was keen to jump back behind the wheel at Mount Panorama.”Everyone loves competing at Bathurst, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. The CXC Global Racing team is an established operation with a reliable car. There are other teams that will be running newer and potentially faster cars, but they are unproven. The CXC Evo will be a strong package.”For someone who doesn’t race professionally, Dylan is a very capable driver and his performances in the Carrera Cup endurance races the last couple of years, against some Pro drivers, have been outstanding.”The experienced Muston said he was looking forward to samping a different style of car to his norm.”It will be my first time in a production car, and I’m expecting it to move around a fair bit more than the Porsche and Radical I’m used to.”I’ve been doing a lot of endurance racing lately and I do enjoy the physical and mental challenges of the longer races, so I’m looking forward to the 6 Hour, and driving for a front-running team.”Andrew and Handley were also suitably excited about their forthcoming Bathurst experience next April.”I’m really excited about my first race at Bathurst, it’s an amazing opportunity and I can’t wait!,” Jacob Andrews said.”Stepping up from Formula Vee to Production Cars was a really good pathway. The Vees are very challenging cars to drive, so if you can learn to drive a Vee fast, it makes it easier to drive everything else.”Dylan has been a great mentor, and has taught me an enormous amount about driving style and data analysis.”For my first time racing at Bathurst, my goal is to finish and be doing competitive times.”Added Duncan Handley: “I thoroughly enjoyed driving with the CXC Global team in last year’s Bathurst 6 Hour, they’re a professional outfit. It was nice to concentrate on the driving and have everything else looked after.”Circuit racing is very different to tarmac rallying – you can drive a lot closer to the limit on a circuit because it’s much safer.”I’ve been driving a Nissan Skyline in the tarmac rally events; the Evo has a very different feel, it’s a very stable and predictable car.”My goal for the event is to finish with the front windscreen intact – unlike last year – and hopefully record a good finish.”