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It was announced earlier that the five-time Bathurst 1000 winner had declined a T8 endurance driver contract extension.
His new home was quickly revealed, with Tander signing with Ford squad Grove Racing for the 2023 Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.
The Blue Oval move is significant as Tander is among the legendary Holden drivers from the modern era.
While he tested Ford Supercars hardware before landing his first race seat, he has been loyal to the Holden brand since debuting with Garry Rogers Motorsport in 1998.
He last drove a Ford-powered car when he won the Australian Formula Ford Championship last year.
As a Holden driver, he won the Supercars crown for the factory-supported HSV Dealer Team in 2007 and five Bathurst 1000s, including three as a full-blown factory Holden driver.
The first two were in 2009 and 2011 during his stint with the famous Holden Racing Team, the latter coming in 2020 for the Triple Eight, in what looks to be the last appearance for a factory Holden team at Mount Panorama.
As part of this Grove Racing deal, Tander’s son Sebastian Tander will join the Grove Junior Team for a tilt at the Australian Kart Championship next year.
Meanwhile, Tander Senior will also have a mentoring role within the Grove Junior program working with the likes of kart Mika LeMasurier and Porsche Sprint Challenge driver Oscar Targett.
Tander will also coach former Grove Junior Matt Payne, who will step up from Super2 to the main game alongside David Reynolds next season.
Tander will have plenty of familiar faces to work with, with ex-Triple Eight engineers David Cauchi and Grant McPherson now on the Grove squad.
“I’ve been fortunate to work with some great race teams in Supercars. What I’ve seen [owners] What Stephen and Brenton Grove have achieved in such a short period of time is truly remarkable,” said Tander.
“When they asked me to be part of what they are building for the future, not only as a driver, but also to help mentor Matt Payne, who has already proven to be an immense talent and also help guide the Grove Junior Team.thing that stole my attention.
“I have worked closely with many within the team in the past, having worked with Alistair McVean, David Cauchi and Grant McPherson, as well as being a colleague of Dave Reynolds when he was a small tacker.
“There’s something big being built here and I’m honored to be a part of it.
“With Gen3 coming soon in 2023, I’m excited to get started and help the team wherever I can.
“I also want to thank everyone at Triple Eight Race Engineering for the last four years. To have a chance to win Bathurst in 2020 and 2022, with [Shane van Gisbergen]added another chapter to my career and that’s something I’m very grateful for.”
Stephen Grove said both generations of Tander would be a perfect fit for the team.
“We identified a need for an experienced driver to work with Matt in his first year,” he said.
“Garth was the obvious choice because of his proven race-winning pedigree and experience building winning cars and race teams.
“Furthermore, we understood the need to bring a calculated driver into the fold to help develop Gen3 in the early stages of the season, as well as the opportunity to make the best possible driving line at Bathurst.
“Sebastian has been very fast this year and has been on our radar for a long time. With Matt graduating from Supercars, we wanted another junior driver to join the program and Sebastian’s age and experience fit our requirements.
“He has the ability to learn and develop from Mika and Oscar, two drivers who have gone through the same development curve in recent times. On top of that, Seb will benefit from exposure to our Supercars program and the drivers and engineers that come with it.”
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