Tander to drive in TCR

Melbourne Performance Centre Managing Director, Troy Russell, has announced that Garth Tander will drive the first of three Audi RS 3 LMS cars at this weekend’s TCR Australia round at Phillip Island.

The announcement came on the back of Friday’s news that Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC) had acquired two additional Audi RS 3 LMS cars and would field all three cars at The Island in Round 2 of the new TCR (Touring Car Racing) series. Confirmation that Tander will drive one of the cars is tremendous news for race fans and Audi enthusiasts in particular, given his vast experience as one of the country’s greatest ever drivers.

“Garth is our first port of call anytime out team needs a driver,” said Troy Russell of Garth’s inclusion in the team.

“He is the ultimate professional – both in and out of the car. He won’t have driven the car prior to Phillip Island, but knowing Garth, it won’t take him long to get his head around it and get on the pace.”

Certainly Tander is no stranger to driving Audis, currently competing in the Australian GT Endurance Championship with Geoff Emery in the Audi Sport Team Valvoline R8 GT3 car, after co-driving with Emery last year in his title defence in the Australian GT Championship.

Tander has also piloted Audi R8s for Audi Sport customer racing several times in the Bathurst 12 Hour, bring plenty of his extensive Mount Panorama experience to bear, although he is yet to add to his three Bathurst 1000 and Bathurst 24 Hour wins with an Audi Bathurst 12 Hour victory.

“I’ve never raced a front-wheel drive car before,” says Tander. “That will be the main thing to get across, but looking at the racing in Sydney [in Round 1] it looked exciting, challenging and the guys out there are fast and switched on.”

“It’s fantastic to have the continued support of Audi Sport for the event. I’ve enjoyed a growing association with them and it’s great for that to transfer into this new touring car category,” says Tander.

Audi Australia Corporate Communications Manager, Shaun Cleary, echoed Tander’s sentiment saying:

“We’re delighted to see Garth in an RS 3 LMS at Phillip Island. He has a significant history of racing with Audi and we are looking forward to seeing him on the TCR grids part of a convincing Audi attack at the second round of the new series.”