Garth Tander

V8 Supercar Driver


Name = Garth Tander
Caption = Garth Tander at a press conference at Phillip Island.
Nationality = flagicon|Australia Australian
Car number = 1
Team = Holden Racing Team
Races = 133
Championships = 1 (2007)
Wins = 13
Podiums = 36
Poles = 9
2007 Championship position = Champion

Garth Tander (born 31 March, 1977 in Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian V8 Supercar driver. He raced with the Garry Rogers Motorsport V8 team until the end of 2004, then with Toll HSV Dealer Team. In December 2007, following his championship triumph it was announced Tander was to join the Holden Racing Team for 2008 and would carry the number 1 plate with him.

Tander is married to fellow racer Leanne Ferrier-Tander, who races in the Australian Formula 3 series. The two run a team for the F3 championship called Tandersport.

Early career

As a child, Tander started racing gokarts, and by the time he was 17 years old, he had won 7 state titles and one Australian title.cite web |url=http://www.garthtander.com/template11.asp?CategoryID=440&parentid=412&sideParent=440 |title=Racing History |publisher=Garth Tander |accessdate=2006-12-02]

Tander was Australian Formula Ford champion in 1997. [cite web |url=http://www.formulaford.com.au/content/about_records.php |title=Australian Formula Ford Championship: Records and Statistics |accessdate=2006-12-02 |publisher=Australian Formula Ford Championship]

After failing to find a budget to run in Formula Holden in 1998, Tander was offered the seat in one of Garry Rogers Motorsport's V8 Supercars.

V8 Supercars

Tander finished 2nd in the 2000 championship taking the championship to the last round where he was beaten by now 5 time championship winner Mark Skaife.

After winning the famous Bathurst 1000 race in 2000 with Jason Bargwanna, he found limited success and so moved to the new-look HSV Dealer Team for 2005, having a difficult start he finished strong amassing a total of four race wins during the season including taking the maximum amount of points from the round win at Symmons Plains, finishing sixth in the championship.

2002

Tander was the winner of the 1st ever Bathurst 24hr race driving a modified Holden Monaro running a 7.0L (427cui) motor rather than the 5.7L Gen III that the road car runs. He co-drove this race with Steven Richards, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty while driving for V8 Supercar team boss Garry Rogers Motorsport.

2003

Tander, again driving the very same Monaro from 2002 with the same co-drivers in the same team, came second to the teams second Monaro driven by Peter Brock, Greg Murphy, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly. Driving at the end, Tander finished only 0.2 seconds behind Greg Murphy. They were 13 laps ahead of the third place Porsche 911 GT3 RC.

2006

Tander was leading the V8 Supercar championship in 2006 after 6 rounds, but a disastrous round in Oran Park lost him the championship lead.

The endurance races following were no better. Tander participated in a highly controversial driver swap with the Holden Racing Team which involved Todd Kelly coming to the HSV Dealer Team. Garth and co-driver Mark Skaife dominated the entire Sandown round until a steering problem destroyed the almost certain victory. At the next round at Bathurst, (which Tander and Skaife were tipped to win) the car failed off the line and was smashed off the track before the second turn on lap one. After a crushing end to his Bathurst 1000 campaign, Tander was visibly upset, probably realising that his run at the V8 Supercar title was all but over. The car had been near on fastest in every practice and qualifying session prior to the race on the Sunday.

For the second year in a row Tander won the Symmons Plains round, winning two of the three races. Engine troubles (which resulted in the car running on seven cylinders) during race one dropped him from the race lead to finish fourth with a few laps to go.

2007

Tander races the #16 Toll HSV Commodore in 2007, and won the second round (held at Barbagallo Raceway in his home state of Western Australia), winning all three 50-lap races. He also repeated this at Queensland Raceway, Round 7. This saw him take the lead from his team mate Rick Kelly.

Late in the season, Tander had a disappointment at Bathurst where brake issues forced his retirement, but at Surfer's Paradise and Bahrain he scored solid points to take the lead in the championship back off Jamie Whincup. At the penultimate Symmons Plains round in Tasmania, Tander won the first race, before a slow pitstop in the second race dropped him to tenth. A clash with Steven Richards over second position broke his steering, ending the third race prematurely.

Tander won the 2007 V8 Supercars Championship Season, just 2 points ahead of Jamie Whincup with Craig Lowndes in third, and defending champ Rick Kelly in fourth. All four were in contention for the title in the Grand Finale. His round win at Philip Island also saw Holden secure the Manufacturers Title, and Toll HSV Dealer Team took the Teams Championship. At seasons end he moved to HRT.

Career results

References

External links

* http://www.garthtander.com/ - Tander's website
* http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/video/?Channel=Herald+Sun+Sport&ClipId=1396_tander&bitrate=300&Format=flash/ - Tander takes fans on a virtual tour around Mt Panorama