TANDER DRIVEN TO FIRE

GARTH Tander insists he won’t be motivated by the past as he targets a top-five finish in this year’s championship in his homecoming to the team where his Supercars career began.

The three-time Bathurst champion returns to Garry Rogers Motorsport, where he made his V8 debut in 1998, this year after losing his long-held seat at Walkinshaw Racing to former DJR Team Penkse driver Scott Pye.

But the 2007 Supercars champion, who found out he would not be getting a new deal with the Holden Racing Team – now called the Mobil 1 HSV Racing team after losing its factory backing — just days after he won the Sandown 500, did not feel like he had a point to prove this year.

“Dick Johnson is known for having some fantastic one liners and one of his classics is ‘The only thing you get from looking backwards is a sore neck’,’’ Tander said.

“So that one applies to here. I had a great time at HRT and Walkinshaw Racing, we had a lot of success together, championships, two Bathursts, a lot of race wins.

“But that’s in the past. They’re going in their direction now and I’m going in mine and I’m very comfortable with where I’m at now.’’

One of Holden’s stalwarts, Tander finished ninth in the 2016 championship – ahead of teammate James Courtney (11th) who has re-signed with Walkinshaw Racing – in the last of his nine seasons with HRT. He finished in the top 10 of the championship every year in his time with the factory Holden team, including four top-five finishes.

Tander is confident he can again become a challenger with GRM, for whom he will be back racing a Holden Com- modore after the team’s relationship with Volvo – and subsequent legal wrangle – came to an end.

“These guys showed what they are capable of doing when they developed that Volvo and got it running seriously competitive,’’ said Tander.

“The first few months will present some challenges for us, but I certainly expect that after that period of time we will start to hit our straps and get to where we need to be.”