'Lesson learnt': Tander's blunt response to fumbled move
Garth Tander "wasn't aggressive enough" in early stages of Bend enduro
Tander dropped from sixth to 10th after battling Cooper Murray early
2007 champion fought back to maiden Ford podium with Matt Payne
It may have been his 647th start in Supercars, yet Garth Tander was still learning key racing lessons at The Bend.
The five-time Bathurst champion combined with Matt Payne to deliver Penrite Racing’s first enduro as a Grove-owned team on Sunday.
Starting the race, Tander got his elbows out, but tripped over Erebus Motorsport rookie Cooper Murray, who was the only full-time driver in the top 10 on the grid to start the race.
On lap 2, Murray picked off Tander into turn 1, before the 2007 champion returned serve at Turn 6. Tander hit the rear of Murray’s car and baulked as the Erebus driver caught a slide.
While he did the right thing by letting Murray off, Tander inadvertently opened the door to Tim Slade, Fabian Coulthard and Harri Jones.
In one fell swoop, Tander went from making a move to get sixth place back, to dropping to 10th and in danger to the likes of Lee Holdsworth and Scott Pye behind.
While he and Payne fought back to the podium, Tander was disappointed by his early efforts, and vowed to get it right at Mount Panorama as he chases Bathurst win No. 6.
“I just wasn't aggressive enough,” the 57-time race winner said post-race.
“I didn’t put my car in the best spots, but I’ll be better for that when we go racing next month.
“We were able to reset after that and get on with it, and from then on it was okay. It lost us a bit of track position.
“Lesson learnt, and we’ll be good to go at the next one.”
Tander admitted he gave Murray too much leeway, but batted away suggestions co-drivers were also getting up to speed with the new racing rules state of play in 2025.
“Most of my issues were with one of the main drivers, and I gave him too much room,” said Tander, who claimed his 101st podium, which was also his first Supercars podium in a Ford.
“I don’t think that was an issue, I don’t think so. I got into the back of Cooper Murray and I could’ve passed him, but it would been a bump and run.
“So I waited, but it put me in the wrong part of the race track."
Tander will make his 27th Bathurst start on October 9-12.
