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Tander’s efforts underrated – but Bathurst nightmare continues...
by Stefan Bartholomaeus
pic: HRT media
Tander’s efforts underrated – but Bathurst nightmare continues...
It was no surprise that this week’s V8 Supercar awards ceremony turned into a Jamie Whincup / Team Vodafone appreciation session. This combination picked up awards for the driver’s championship, the team’s championship, the most poles, overall presentation, and the Barry Sheene Medal (for sportsmanship). Whenever you win Clipsal, Bathurst, and the championship in the same year, you thoroughly deserved every accolade you receive.
However, there was a driver at the ceremony who received far less recognition than his efforts this season have warranted. That man was Garth Tander.
Whilst few would argue that the Tander / HRT combination deserved to win this year’s championship, the former West Australian was clearly on top of his game in 2008; driving every bit as well as he had been last year on the way to the title.
With the Walkinshaw Performance VEs mysteriously lacking car speed in comparison to the front running BFs (which was not the case in 2007), Tander was the only Holden driver who could be counted on to run up the front week-in-week-out. He was the only Holden driver to score a pole, the only Holden driver to score a single driver round win, and one of only two Holden drivers who could manage multiple race wins. All this meant he was the only representative of the General in the top six in the final points standings.
Whilst Tander dominated on weekends where he had the fastest car (Albert Park and Hamilton), it was gritty performances on days where he didn’t quite have the speed to match the 888/FPR/SBR/DJR Falcons that were most impressive. Grabbing mid-season round victories out of tough situations at Winton and Phillip Island kept him in the championship hunt, as did less publicised efforts at Hidden Valley and Ipswich, where the HRT car lacked speed, and yet finished consistently up the front.
Of course, he did make mistakes on occasion, such as running off in Tasmania whilst in the lead, and twice jumping the start from pole (repeating his total from 2006). However, being continually shaded - by 888 in particular – for both car speed and pitstop efficiency meant he was fighting a losing battle.
Two of Tander’s worst rounds, Adelaide and Sandown, involved issues that hampered all four of the Walkinshaw cars. The front upright problems in Adelaide were a shocking start to a championship defence, and the lack of speed at Sandown (particularly in the wet), was an embarrassing reminder of Oran Park 2007, where the HRT and HSVDT cars tippee-toed around in the midfield when the heavens opened.
For all this though, it was again Bathurst where Tander’s charge really came unstuck. If GT is going to snatch the title back next year, he’ll have to improve on a Bathurst record which, apart from his victory in 2000, is one of the worst of anyone in the current field…
His first two attempts at The Great Race came to early ends with accidents at Forrest’s Elbow (a botched passing move in 1998, and an involvement in a multi car accident in 1999); his day over before lap 50 on both occasions.
The victory in 2000 was followed by a sixth place in 2001, after a spin in the wet from Tander at Forrest’s Elbow cost time mid-race.
2002 saw Bargwanna crash early on at McPhillamy, instantly putting the car out of the race. The following year, Tander set the fastest lap, and yet finish 15 laps in arrears after his co-driver (Jamie Whincup) came to grief twice, causing lengthy delays. Incredibly, 2004 again saw a top result go begging when his co-driver (Cameron McConville) was spectacularly wiped out at Griffin’s Bend by Mark Winterbottom, moments before Tander was due to get back in for the final stint.
A year later, Tander was the one to make the mistake, when he crashed at the completion of the opening lap, having become involved in a midfield scuffle due to a poor start.
2006 saw the famous move to HRT that resulted in Mark Skaife crashing out on the opening lap after a clutch problem crippled the car. A tyre failure at The Chase and chronic brake problems resulted in another DNF in 2007, whilst Tander’s disastrous start and Skaife’s accident at Forrest’s Elbow continued the horror run this year.
Only two top 15 finishes in 11 starts is one hell of a record for a driver of Tander’s calibre, and one that he’ll be doing his best to rectify next year.
So other than a faster car, what’s it going to take for Tander to win the title in 2009? No more mysterious component failures, less sloppy pitstops, better wet-weather form, and a decent result at Bathurst to set up the run home...
Sounds easy, doesn’t it?
- Stefan Bartholomaeus
© 321 IGNITION Pty Ltd 2008
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