The Ford Mustang that Tim Slade suffered a crash in at the season-opening Mount Panorama 500 will race again in 2021.
CoolDrive Racing this week sent the damaged chassis to Tickford Racing where it is undergoing repairs.
In the meantime, the team is campaigning its spare chassis, which will make its first appearance of the year at this weekend’s Penrite Oil Sandown SuperSprint.
Blanchard Racing Team boss Tim Blanchard has confirmed plans for the team to switch back to the team’s primary chassis once it is fixed.
However, the team is not rushing the repair and said the switchover will likely come later in the year.
“It’s repairable, so it’s over at Tickford Racing at the moment, they’re doing some repairs on it, but it’s going to be extensive,” Blanchard told Speedcafe.com.
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“We would like to get back into that chassis this year, but providing there’s no issues with this [secondary] chassis, we’re not going to rush back into it for the sake of it.
“Our plan is to race it again this year and finish the season in it,” he added.
“Just how many rounds of the [secondary] car we’re using this weekend depends on when we get the [primary] car back in our workshop and what the workload is following this weekend’s race.”
Slade’s crash in Race 1 saw the Ford Mustang slap the wall on drivers’ left on approach to Forrest’s Elbow.
That contact, Blanchard explained, resulted in heavy damage to the left front corner, firewall, and gearbox tunnel.
The team has taken what running gear it can from the crashed chassis and transplanted that into the operation’s secondary chassis.
Blanchard paid tribute to his team for their efforts to get the car ready in two and a half weeks.
“The guys have been working an incredible amount of hours since Bathurst,” Blanchard said.
“I think the level of preparation they’ve put into putting the new car together is first-class.
“It’s a first-class car we’re taking to Sandown this weekend. It’s not rushed. It’s not a slapped together car. It’s of a very high standard and we’re excited to see how it goes on track.”
Slade and the Blanchard Racing Team have recorded no points after the DNF in Race 1 and a DNS in Race 2.
This weekend’s Sandown SuperSprint will provide the team with three points scoring opportunities.
A total of 315 points are on offer, with a maximum haul of 105 points per race. An extra five points will be awarded for the fastest lap of each race, in addition to 100 points for each race victor.
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