Supercars regulars Tim Slade and James Golding will add the National Trans Am Series to their busy 2024 racing schedule.
The duo will contest the full season with Garry Rogers Motorsport, joining reigning champion James Moffat, young gun Edan Thornburrow and fellow series debutant Tom Davies.
Both Slade and Golding will bring a vast amount of racing experience to the five-car GRM stable and will contest the series in addition to their Supercars commitments.
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Slade will enter the series with more experience having debuted at AWC Race Tasmania last year with The Race Academy, while he has appeared in the Shannons SpeedSeries on multiple occasions over the years, with brief stints in both the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series and S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship.
The veteran has also amassed 17 podiums and two wins across his many years in Supercars, making him one of the most experienced drivers on the Trans Am grid.
“My main job is only 12 races across the year, so I’m ready to jump at any opportunity to get behind the wheel,” Slade said.
“I really enjoyed my first experience in the category last year, so when I was approached about doing this season, thanks to Frank Davies and Breeze Holiday Parks, I jumped at it.
“Trans Am is a great learning category for some young drivers to come through and is good value for money as well. The cars are quite different to most other things, mainly due to the tyre they run on (Hoosier). So naturally you learn a lot, and having some experienced guys in the field is going to be a good yardstick for them.
“I’m looking forward to doing the year with GRM, Moff (Moffat) is a good mate and Jimmy (Golding) is my teammate so there’s a great relationship there. Garry and Barry (Rogers) are great characters, I like the way they go about it, they’re passionate about the sport and have provided a lot of opportunities for people over the years.
“Excited to get going and really enjoy the season.”
As for Golding, Race Sandown will be his first race in Trans Am machinery, with the Victorian having only driven a handful of testing laps in recent times.
While he has not had as much time in Trans Am or Supercars as his PremiAir Nulon Racing teammate in Slade, Golding raced with GRM in S5000 for a number of years, where he picked up seven race wins and a further 18 podiums.
“The main thing is just more racing, more laps, you have to race as many things as you can to stay sharp,” Golding said.
“There are no other categories that offer a similar opportunity to go racing in such a competitive environment, and the chance to continue developing my driving. I’ve cut a few laps in the car before, but my first real test will be today at Winton.
“GRM is the one who really kick started my career, so it’s always awesome to be working with them. It’s an extremely comfortable environment to go racing in and the racing is always more enjoyable when you’re with a good group of people.”
The 2024 Trans Am Series season gets underway with the Shannons SpeedSeries’ first event of the year at Sandown International Raceway.
All seven rounds of Trans Am will be broadcast live and free via Seven, with racing to form part of the 7plus stream, while select races will be shown on free-to-air on the Seven Network.
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The Shannons SpeedSeries’ opening event for 2024, Race Sandown, takes place on 9-11 February.
