Tandem Tanders set to dominate
October 30th 2007 01:50
A historic double victory is in the wind this coming weekend when Garth Tander and wife Leanne both attempt to take control of their chosen championships.
Second in the V8 Supercars championship table ahead to this weekend’s round at Bahrain, Garth is looking to leapfrog over an in-form Jamie Whincup and take control of the championship once again. At the same time, Leanne is vying to be the first woman in Australia to win the CAMS Gold Star – the top award for open-wheeler racing in Australia.
Leanne already has one prestigious record under her belt, as the first woman to lead one of Australia’s premier racing categories, the Australian F3 Championship, and is currently in a three way battle for the championship against Tim Macrow and Charlie Hollings.
The unfortunate clash of events means Garth who, on his weekends free from V8 Supercar racing, is also Leanne’s engineer on their jointly-owned TanderSport F3 Dallara, will have to find out how his wife’s championship finishes up by phone from Bahrain.
“I am a bit disappointed not to be there, because we have worked very, very hard to get Leanne in a position where she can battle for the championship,” Garth said, “and now I am not going to be there to see how it pans out.
“But we have great guys who work with us in the Formula 3 program who are more than capable of running the car without me, and Leanne is more than capable of getting the job done.
“It is going to be a heck of a battle with three of them going at it, and it is a shame I can’t be there to see it. We will be racking up a fair phone bill with all the international phone calls that weekend.
“More than anything, I am happy with our TanderSport team’s performance this year in the Formula 3 program. It is really only our second year in, and to be battling for the championship is a true testament to the way our team has gone about it. As we expand next year, it is a good step into 2008.”
Leanne is understandably disappointed that her husband won’t be trackside to share in her potential F3 victory but is confident about her chances to gain the crown.
“We should be OK because we ran there (Oran Park) earlier this year without Garth,” she said. “We will have the same guys running the car and they have been running us all year, alongside Garth, so we should be OK.
“But, obviously it would be my preference to have him there. We will speak by phone, but I think that with the time difference and the fact that he is going to be on the plane between Bahrain and Hong Kong during at least one of the races, it is going to be a bit hard.”
All the best to Leanne for this weekend’s racing, hopefully the slim four point margin she has over the other drivers in the F3 championship will be enough to see her cross the line in style and take the title. And good luck to Garth in Bahrain; coming off a win at the Gold Coast he should be full of fight and eager to take back the lead of the V8 championship.
Second in the V8 Supercars championship table ahead to this weekend’s round at Bahrain, Garth is looking to leapfrog over an in-form Jamie Whincup and take control of the championship once again. At the same time, Leanne is vying to be the first woman in Australia to win the CAMS Gold Star – the top award for open-wheeler racing in Australia.
Leanne already has one prestigious record under her belt, as the first woman to lead one of Australia’s premier racing categories, the Australian F3 Championship, and is currently in a three way battle for the championship against Tim Macrow and Charlie Hollings.
The unfortunate clash of events means Garth who, on his weekends free from V8 Supercar racing, is also Leanne’s engineer on their jointly-owned TanderSport F3 Dallara, will have to find out how his wife’s championship finishes up by phone from Bahrain.
“I am a bit disappointed not to be there, because we have worked very, very hard to get Leanne in a position where she can battle for the championship,” Garth said, “and now I am not going to be there to see how it pans out.
“But we have great guys who work with us in the Formula 3 program who are more than capable of running the car without me, and Leanne is more than capable of getting the job done.
“It is going to be a heck of a battle with three of them going at it, and it is a shame I can’t be there to see it. We will be racking up a fair phone bill with all the international phone calls that weekend.
“More than anything, I am happy with our TanderSport team’s performance this year in the Formula 3 program. It is really only our second year in, and to be battling for the championship is a true testament to the way our team has gone about it. As we expand next year, it is a good step into 2008.”
Leanne and Garth with their Formula 3 open-wheeler
“We should be OK because we ran there (Oran Park) earlier this year without Garth,” she said. “We will have the same guys running the car and they have been running us all year, alongside Garth, so we should be OK.
“But, obviously it would be my preference to have him there. We will speak by phone, but I think that with the time difference and the fact that he is going to be on the plane between Bahrain and Hong Kong during at least one of the races, it is going to be a bit hard.”
All the best to Leanne for this weekend’s racing, hopefully the slim four point margin she has over the other drivers in the F3 championship will be enough to see her cross the line in style and take the title. And good luck to Garth in Bahrain; coming off a win at the Gold Coast he should be full of fight and eager to take back the lead of the V8 championship.
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