Tander's lap of Townsville

Holden Racing Team was back on the radar in a big way this time last year, with Garth Tander leading home teammate James Courtney in an emphatic 1-2 factory finish.

Tander hit the wall in the early stages of the race but pushed on to victory, earning the team's first win since 2011.

The #2 driver talked v8supercars.com.au through a lap of the track, a hybrid permanent and street circuit, ahead of the Castrol Townsville 500 - Driven by TAFE Queensland, beginning this Friday July 4.

"The general characteristic of the track is an interesting one because it sort of one-third street circuit two-thirds parklands circuit," Tander began.

"So two thirds of it is purpose-built, doesn't get used throughout the year; then one third of it's a busy street so it does get used through the year.

"So it's quite bumpy on some parts, and quite smooth in others and kerbs play a big part there as well.

"Setup-wise, you need basically two different setups in the car and try and merge them together to make it work over one lap.

"So, like I said, the first two, three corners are all street circuit, quite bumpy, traditional street circuit."

Turn two is the slowest on the track, the V8 Supercars braking from the track's top speed 255km down to 62km to tackle the corner. Into two and three are also good passing opportunities, as well as turn 13.

"And then you get into the back part of the sections - quite fast and flowing, a lot like Albert Park - so you need a car that flies the kerbs nicely and has good lateral grip.

"And then the last part of the circuit is actually quite hard on the brakes, so heavy braking, good stability on the brakes, so requires everything from the car.

"The two different personalities the track has, the street circuit aspect versus the parklands circuit aspect makes it really interesting."

The 2.85km circuit has an average speed of 137kmh and this weekend the V8 Supercars will run exclusively on Dunlop hard tyres.

Reflecting on last year's victory, Tander said it had been fantastic for the team, particularly considering hurdles early in the weekend.

"We were breaking components in practice and we actually designed, manufactured in Melbourne, and then flew up components to have ready for Saturday.

"So it was a full team effort as far as our race team at the track, the boys at the workshop in Clayton, we actually used Toll a lot for freight as our major sponsor and with their freight capabilities they got the stuff up there really quickly.

"It was a full team effort so to get that result was satisfying for everyone involved...

"It was good to get a race win and really prove to a lot of people HRT's not dead and buried, at that stage, and we've continued to prove that since," he said.

With positive results at the SKYCITY Triple Crown in Darwin, Tander has improved to 11th in the Championship, just 28 points away from Jason Bright and the top 10.

Tickets are still available for the Castrol Townsville 500- Driven by TAFE Queensland, beginning on Friday, with the best views from the Grandstands.