One session down at Mt Panorama and it's already on.
The opening Bathurst 1000 practice session on Thursday saw contact between Holden star Shane van Gisbergen and Ford's Tim Slade, the co-driver of defending champion Scott McLaughlin in the No.17 car.
Slade squeezed in on van Gisbergen at Forrest's Elbow and ended up facing the wrong way, spun around by the Holden car in a minor collision. He blamed race rust, having spent little time behind the wheel during a COVID-19-affected season.
"I just said sorry to the guys, I literally just jumped in the car and we obviously haven't done any real miles this year, so everything feels very foreign," Slade told the Supercars broadcast.
"Jumped in and I wasn't even looking in the rear view mirror, so my bad. Luckily there was no damage and we managed to press on and get some laps in at the end of the session."
Van Gisbergen copped the minor setback on the chin, sympathising with Slade's lack of driving this year.
"Bit of an awkward one, I could see he was pretty slow, so I was on a lap, bailed out, gave him some space and just waited for him down the hill," van Gisbergen told the Supercars broadcast.
"And then as we got to elbow, I made my intention clear to pass him down the inside. He went super wide, saw me and then he just came across. I went, 'S--t!'
"Got into the brakes to try and pull out of it but couldn't. All good, he was just trying to get laps and get going, he was super slow and thought he would see me but obviously he hadn't.
"That's the thing: I feel for these co-drivers, they haven't done many laps and it's going to be tough for them. But it sucks for us to lose track time."
Van Gisbergen said that his car felt "horrible" and lacking grip early in the weekend, with little rubber on the circuit, but would no doubt improve. The Kiwi star is driving with three-time Bathurst 1000 champion Garth Tander in the No.97 car.
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