Tander mulls future after Holden snub
HOLDEN Racing Team driver Garth Tander has told of his disappointment at losing his seat at Walkinshaw Racing to Scott Pye less than a week after winning the Sandown 500.
But the 2007 Supercars champion has vowed to respond strongly at Bathurst next month as he aims to defend his Enduro Cup crown.
A factory driver for HRT for the past nine years, the off- contract Tander learned on Thursday he would not secure a new deal with Walkinshaw Racing, which has signed Pye to drive alongside James Courtney for the next three years.
The driver change follows the loss of the team’s factory backing from Holden, which will see the famous HRT name shift to Red Bull Racing from next year.
Tander said he had been ready to discuss his future with the team, but the 39-year-old said he could tell “they were not all that interested”.
“It’s disappointing, the first time that I was in the office after winning the race on Sunday, I was told that I’m no longer required for the future,’’ Tander said.
“So that is obviously disappointing given that I have been a factory Holden driver for nine years, but that’s life.
“Clearly the team felt they needed to make some changes on the back of losing the Holden funding and clearly they decided they needed to make that change.
Tander said he did not yet know what his next move would be, but suggested he would like to continue in Supercars. His name has been linked to a return to Garry Rogers Motorsport, where he last raced in 2004, as a replacement for the DJR Team Penske-bound Scott McLaughlin.
The three-time Bathurst champion has finished in the top 10 of the championship every year since his title win in 2007 and sits eighth in the standings this season.