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Co-driver role Tander's focus for Bathurst defence

05 Oct 2021
2020 Great Race winner rules out double duties at Mount Panorama
2 mins by James Pavey
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Garth Tander has confirmed he won't contest the GT World Challenge round at this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.

Tander has opted to focus solely on his co-driver role with Shane van Gisbergen in Bathurst, which will also be the last round of the Supercars season.

Van Gisbergen currently leads the championship by 276 points.

The six-day Bathurst event will also feature several different support categories, which some co-drivers confirming they will perform double duties.

Notably, James Golding will compete in the S5000 Tasman Series before sharing the DEWALT-backed Team 18 Commodore with Scott Pye.

Supercars are back in Sydney

Dylan O’Keeffe (Team Sydney) and Michael Caruso (Team 18) are also expected to dovetail their TCR and Supercars commitments.

Conversely, Walkinshaw Andretti United driver Chaz Mostert also leads the TCR series, but has yet to confirm his plans for the weekend.

Tander currently shares the GT World Challenge lead with Yassar Shahin.

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Four-time Great Race winner Tander had signed on to contest the 2021 season with Shahin aboard an Audi R8 LMS Evo.

"I’m not doing double duty," he said on the Seven Network's 7th Gear.

Tander (L) won the 2020 Bathurst 1000 with Shane van Gisbergen

"I’ve done plenty of double duty race weekends in the TCR car and the GT car and they’re both left-hand drive, both paddle shift, both the same brand of car.

"I find that very, very difficult to get right for the first couple of laps.

"Can you imagine going to Bathurst and driving a left-hand drive, front-wheel drive, paddle shift car, and then the very next session, jumping into a rear-wheel-drive, 650hp, sequential gearbox - so, take your hand off the wheel to shift gears - apexing on the walls that you do at Bathurst?

"It’s not like you’ve got kerbs and a bit of run-off that, if you get it not quite right, doesn’t really matter.

"If you don’t brush the walls in the right spot at Bathurst, it’s all over."

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship season will resume at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 29.

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