Grove and Tander to make SMP Carrera Cup return
Stephen Grove and Garth Tander will both return to the Porsche Carrera Cup field at SMP in the series’ first night races in over two decades, with the season also hitting its halfway mark.
Grove, a three-time Pro-Am class champion, will make his first appearance in the series after two seasons away, whilst for Tander, it’s his second cameo in the one-make series as he prepares for his Supercars enduro return.
Both cars will run under the Grove Racing banner and be prepared by Earl Bamber Motorsport, in what will be Carrera Cup’s first round to feature night racing in two decades, as well as it being the series’ first trip to SMP since 2018.
Tander’s last Carrera Cup outing came at The Bend in 2023. Image: Mark Horsburgh
Grove is the most successful Pro-Am driver in series history, winning the 2014, ‘17 and ‘18 championships and has 36 Carrera Cup race wins to his credit, and will be piloting the #4 Grove Racing Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car.
“It’s been a long while since I’ve raced Carrera Cup but we took the car out and did a test at Sandown a couple of weeks ago and it just felt like home, it felt grouse, so I felt like I had to come back,” said the GT Intercontinental Challenge regular.
“For me it’s about enjoyment this year. I’m certainly outside of the championship probability by about three rounds, but just to come back again, learn the tracks again and then we’ll see next year and have a really bit tilt at it.
“But more than anything else, what is really, really important to me is to have some fun. We’re heavily involved in motorsport in our program overseas with GT3, we have the Supercar team and we have this whole avenue of motorsport – I just want to have some fun which is the number one trick for me.”
Stephen Grove has had some competitive outings against the world’s best in the GT Intercontinental Challenge
Tander’s last and first competitive outing in a Carrera Cup Car was at Tailem Bend in 2023, and as he prepares for another tilt at the enduro’s a Penrite Mustang.
“It’s great to be back in the Carrera Cup. I had a great run last year at Tailem Bend and the preparations for me I found last year’s races were really beneficial, this time at Sydney Motorsport Park. Different track but one I’ve done plenty of miles at,” said Tander, who’ll drive the #87 Grove Racing Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car.
“I’ve got no real expectations of where I’ll end up on the grid or where I’ll end up racing wise. I know the Carrera Cup is incredibly competitive and it’s incredibly tight. I’ve got Dale Wood as my teammate at EBM so all I’m interested in is trying to beat him!
“I didn’t know the 992 hadn’t run at Sydney Motorsport Park prior to turning up for a test day so it probably does help a little bit – but given all the championship drivers have been in the car all year and I’m stepping in for one, I’m not sure it’s a completely level playing field, but it probably helps me just slightly.”
Speaking of his new found teammate, EBM’s Wood finds himself third in the championship race as the season hits the halfway point, with his podium streak at Hidden Valley leaving him 78 points adrift of returning former champion Harri Jones.
Jones leads the series from Jackson Walls by 60 points, with Walls looking to go one step further after falling short at seasons end in 2023, whilst Jones is seeking to add a second title to his cabinet after taking out the 2022 crown, before spending a year in the globe’s premier one-make Mobil 1 Porsche series in Europe.
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