GARTH TANDER LANDS PRIZED CO-DRIVE

Garth Tander lands prized co-drive – Photo: LAT

RED BULL Holden Racing Team has secured Supercars veteran Garth Tander as co-driver for Shane van Gisbergen for the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

The news follows the shock announcement that Tander would be replaced at GRM, ending his career as a full-time driver in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.

Tander joins the leading Red Bull squad as part of a two-year deal that will see the 2007 series champion will drive alongside van Gisbergen for the Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast 600 and Sandown 500.

Both drivers have a championship and a PIRTEK Enduro Cup win apiece, while Tander has an impressive record at Mount Panorama, having claimed memorable victories in the Great Race in 2000, 2009 and 2011.

“Triple Eight have clearly been the class team in Supercars for the best part of the last decade, their results speak for themselves,” said Tander.

“When the opportunity arose to join the team alongside Shane for the enduros it was clearly the best way for me to transition from a full-time driver to a co-driver in this next phase of my career.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the team, hopefully bringing some experience and speed along with me, but mostly looking forward to learning from my new teammates, Shane, Jamie and Craig.”

In 2019, van Gisbergen’s eyes are set firmly on conquering the mountain, an achievement that he’s yet to accomplish, but has come close in recent years, most memorably in 2016 when he took second place, a mere tenth of a second behind the winner.

“Shane has come so close at the mountain a couple of times in the last few years, I’ve been close a few times in the last few years, so while the mountain doesn’t owe anyone anything, if you keep putting yourself up the front at that race, eventually the cards can fall your way,” Tander added.

“Between Shane and I, we will have a ton of experience and plenty of determination to conquer not only Mount Panorama, but also the GC600 and Sandown.

“Whilst Shane and I haven’t shared the same car yet, we’ve been teammates in Australian GT before, and already have a strong friendship and mutual respect. Ironically, it was Shane breathing down my neck when I won my last Supercars race at the Sandown 500 in 2016. I have always enjoyed racing against Shane, and the only downside I can see in this deal is that I don’t get to race against him on track anymore!”

Since joining Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2016, van Gisbergen has had three co-drivers who have all been based overseas, making preparation for the endurance season more challenging.

“Having Garth in Australia and already having a good relationship, it’ll be pretty easy to work well together quickly,” said Van Gisbergen.

“All this year he’ll be coming to test days and races to integrate himself into the team as soon as possible and we’ll do everything we can to get him up to speed and learn the Triple Eight philosophy.

“Continuing my theme, it’s a shame not to have the same co-driver again. Earl did a stellar job, but being a factory Porsche driver, some of the big races on his calendar conflict with ours again. He did an amazing job for us last year.”

Triple Eight Managing Director Roland Dane said it was an easy decision to team up van Gisbergen and Tander.

“As soon as we heard that Garth would be taking a step back from full-time driving, it made sense to find out whether he had any plans for the enduros locked in yet. It’s happened very quickly, but we’re extremely happy to be welcoming him to the team.

“On paper it will be a very good partnership. Shane and Garth are a similar height, Garth is obviously very experienced in not just a supercar but a Holden and they both know how to handle pressure when it matters the most. With Bathurst being the first enduro on this year’s calendar, we should be in a good position to come in as well prepared as possible.”

The 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship gets underway late next month with the Adelaide 500.

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