Toll HRT's Garth Tander celebrates his 34th birthday today
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6:00 AM Thu 31 March, 2011
Source: BigPond Sport
After a disastrous start to the season, Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander left the Middle East a lowly 21st in the championship.
Since his return to home soil he has fought back in typical Tander “never say die” style, and is now third outright, just 204 points behind series leader Jamie Whincup.
Tander, who celebrates his 34th birthday today, has already made his mark in the history books.
He sits equal third on the all-time list of most ATCC/V8SC race wins, fifth for the most podium finishes and has two coveted Bathurst 1000 victories to his name.
Go to our voting poll on the right and vote for your favourite Tander moment.
1. First Bathurst Victory
In only his third year as a full-time V8 Supercar driver Tander won the most coveted race in the championship - the Bathurst 1000. Paired with Jason Bargwanna, the duo won the 2000 Great Race with Garry Rogers Motorsport. His good form continued that year, finishing runner-up in the championship to eventual teammate Mark Skaife.
2. The Champion
After watching teammate Rick Kelly win the title in 2006, Tander signalled his intentions by clean sweeping the second round of 2007 at Barbagallo Raceway. Driving for the Toll HSV Dealer Team he went on to claim 4 round victories and 15 race wins. Perhaps the most important of these wins came at the final round at Phillip Island, when Tander was able to hold on and claim his first V8 Supercar championship ahead of Ford’s Jamie Whincup by just two points.
3. Bathurst Trophy Number Two
In 2009, the attention was focused on defending champions Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup, who were eyeing their fourth straight Bathurst victory. But it was Tander, driving for Toll Holden Racing Team, who claimed pole position for the Great Race and despite a late race charge, he held on to win his second Bathurst 1000. It was teammate Will Davison’s first Bathurst win, and the sixth victory in the race for the Holden Racing Team.
4. Last Lap Victory at Phillip Island
Tander’s nail-biting last lap victory in the 2009 L&H 500 at Phillip Island is one of the more memorable race finishes in recent years. Tander slipped his Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore past Craig Lowndes as the Team Vodafone driver battled a tyre problem in the dying stages of the endurance race. He and enduro partner Will Davison went on to claim the enduro double, scoring victory at the Bathurst 1000 (see above).
5. Clipsal Crown Makes History
It was a case of history repeating as Tander headed into this year’s Adelaide Clipsal 500, keen to recover from a disastrous start to the season in the Middle East. The defending Clipsal 500 champion waged a dramatic fight to the finish with TeamVodafone’s Jamie Whincup to win his third consecutive Clipsal race on Saturday. This race win took his tally to 48 career wins, equaling the late Peter Brock’s race win record.
Toll HRT’s website link: hrt.com.au
Garth Tander’s Twitter: twitter.com/GarthTander
Garth Tander’s Facebook: facebook.com/GarthTander
