BRT ENTERS NEW ERA
The Blanchard Racing Team (BRT) enters a new chapter in 2023, with Todd Hazelwood replacing Tim Slade as the lead driver of the CoolDrive Racing Ford Mustang for the 2023 Supercars season.
The news has been widely expected within the Supercars paddock for a long time, and Hazelwood comes to the team with an impressive racing resume, which is highlighted by his success in the 2017 Super2 Series, while since joining the top tier of Supercars competition full time, he has established himself with two stints at Matt Stone Racing, plus two years at Brad Jones Racing.
It marks a return to the blue oval for Hazelwood, who started his Supercars career on board an ex-Dick Johnson Racing Ford Falcon FGX in 2018, before MSR switched camps Holden after 10 of the 16 rounds.
Todd Hazelwood started his career driving a Matt Stone Racing Ford, and will return next year with Blanchard Racing Team. Photo: Rhys Vandersyde
Across his main game career, Hazelwood has scored 27 top-10 race finishes, eight top-fives, a podium at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2020, and a pole position at Townsville the same year, while this year’s season started with seven top-tens from the first 12 races, including fifth place results at Symmons Plains and Albert Park.
The move marks a big change in the 27-year-old’s career, as he leaps away from familiar territory at MSR to being the main driver at a single-car setup for the first time.
Hazelwood said he is excited by the road ahead with BRT.
“I am very proud that I’ll be joining the Blanchard Racing Team in 2023 and I cannot wait to get behind the wheel of the CoolDrive Ford Mustang,” said he said.
“The team at BRT has big ambitions for the future and I’m looking forward to the challenge of pushing myself to achieve the goals put in place.
“BRT has an incredibly professional outfit which includes very experienced personnel with strong resources within the automotive industry. With all this combined, I have no doubt this will help the team and I achieve our goals in 2023 and beyond.”
Coinciding with the confirmation of Hazelwood at the squad, is the announcement BRT will also have a presence in the Super2 Series, with further details of that program to be announced in due course.
The signing is also a big moment for the team, with Hazelwood being the Ford squad’s first new signing, with Tim Slade being behind the wheel across its first two seasons in the sport.
While Slade has enjoyed a consistent 2022 season, currently sitting 10th in the championship, BRT co-principal Tim Blanchard revealed the parties could not reach an agreement for the future.
Blanchard said he hopes Hazelwood can take the team to even greater heights in the Gen3 era.
“We would like to welcome Todd to BRT for the 2023 season, as we take on the challenge of the Gen3 era,” he said.
“Todd has established himself in the series over recent years, and we are confident that in our environment working alongside Mirko De Rosa, he will be able to fulfil his potential that has been evident to date.
“In 2023 we will enter our third season as a standalone team and continue to build on the foundations we have laid, we are investing in additional infrastructure, assisting Supercars with the Gen3 project, and we are excited to add a Super2 program to the business as an additional tool to develop talent within the team.
“We would like to thank Tim Slade for his contribution to BRT in its foundation years, while it is disappointing we couldn’t reach an agreement for 2023, we wish him all the best for his future.”
Tim Slade hopes to reconsolidate his top-10 championship position in his final Bathurst 1000 for Blanchard Racing Team this weekend. Image: InSyde Media
After finishing 12th in the driver standings from its first full season in 2021, the Blanchard Racing Team has seen steady improvement this year, with Tim Slade now sitting 10th after the opening ten rounds.
To date, the squad has registered 25 top-ten results, and regularly mixes with the established multi-car outfits, and it will be the looking for another fighting effort on the biggest stage of all, Mount Panorama, this weekend.
Brad Jones Racing, PremiAir Racing and Matt Stone Racing are now the only teams left to confirm their 2023 plans, as the Supercars world heads to Bathurst.
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