Photo: HRT

No pressure for Tander

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Reigning V8 Supercar Champion Garth Tander says he won’t feel any more pressure at this weekend’s season opening Clipsal 500 event in Adelaide than he would have at any previous race.
Days after securing the 2007 title with the HSV Dealer Team, Tander jumped ship and joined five-time Champion Mark Skaife at the factory Holden Racing Team.

But the 30-year-old says despite all the questions asked of late, carrying the #1 on the side of his Toll HRT Commodore won’t make any difference to how he approaches this weekend’s event.

“I’ve been asked a lot recently about extra pressure being the reigning champion, but for me it’s not an issue. Last year’s championship is over with and we know the outcome. We’ve celebrated, but now it’s time to get on with it; everyone’s now on zero points and we’re all fighting for the 2008 championship,” Tander said.

“Clipsal’s an incredibly tough way to start the year; there’s so much that potentially can go wrong, but it’s also a place where if you get it all right – get a podium, a race win and/or some good points – you can start the year off with a bang.

“HRT has a strong Adelaide record and they’ve always had good cars there.
“I’ve had the pace the last couple years, but I haven’t had the results I wanted.
If we can couple everything together then I’d expect a good week – that’s our goal.”

HRT has a proud history at the event, winning five of the nine Adelaide events (and half the 18 individual races); Skaife with three Clipsal 500 wins to his credit while former team-mates, Craig Lowndes and Jason Bright, have one apiece.

Skaife said HRT’s Clipsal 500 record reflects the importance of the event to the factory team.

“The start of a new racing year is always an exciting time and for the Toll Holden Racing Team. I don’t believe there’s a better place to start the season. Adelaide’s a great race, it’s up there with Bathurst as the biggest race of the year. It’s also Holden’s home town,” Skaife said.

“HRT has a tremendous record there and it’s always a positive place to go back to when you’ve had good success there. We’ve got our heads around a good race strategy and I don’t think as a team we could be better prepared.

“The projects we’ve completed away from the track, such as completing two brand new cars over the past three months only adds to how much we are looking forward to the race. Now it’s time to go racing.”