Tim Slade feels more comfortable with his S5000 car following a test day at Symmons Plains in the build-up to this weekend’s AWC Race Tasmania.
Slade was on Monday confirmed as a high-profile addition to the Round 1 field, driving for Team BRM.
The 36-year-old felt he came to grips relatively quickly with the open-wheeler and reported progress on the ergonomics front at the completion of more than 40 laps, having initially suffered forearm pump.
“The first thing I thought was how heavy the steering was, and I thought, ‘Shit! How am I going to get through a 25-minute race?’” Slade said.
“At the time it was all pretty foreign and new.
“We’ve since improved the ergonomics with the steering wheel a little bit, so I don’t have forearm pump now, which is a plus.”
On the whole, Slade was satisfied with the experience.
“It’s a really fun car to drive,” he said.
“You know, you got decent amount of power and I guess it probably is what I was expecting just from watching the cars previously and a bit of onboard.
“That actually isn’t that dissimilar to the Supercar, I guess, with a decent amount of power and, you know, not a heap of grip and it moves around – it’s not just glued to the road.
“I enjoy the challenge of jumping in something different and trying to work it out.
“I’m happy with where we are at so far. I kind of worked out pretty quickly in the first session how to, and how not to drive it. So, it’s good to find that kind of stuff early on.”
Opening practice for the S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship commences at 11:45 (AEDT/local time) tomorrow.
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