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Tander Turns Truckie in Lead up to Oran Park Formula 3 Return |
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Tuesday, 17 April 2007 |
 She may have stood on the podium of Formula Ford, Formula 3 and V8 Supercar races, but Fleetcare TanderSport’s Leanne Tander will be given the ultimate test of her driving adaptability this week.
In the past two months Tander, 25, has driven Formula 3 cars, Formula Toyotas in New Zealand and last weekend even raced a factory-backed Diesel Holden Astra in the Bathurst 12 hour – but nothing will compare to her ride this week to Oran Park Raceway in Sydney.
Leanne will trade her 270kph F3 Dallara for the Fleetcare TanderSport transporter in the lead up to this weekend’s second round of the championship in New South Wales.
With her regular 'truckie' Garth Tander busy looking after his other
job as a V8 Supercar driver in New Zealand the same weekend, Leanne
will assume the reigns of transporting her precious #42 car from
TanderSport's suburban Melbourne base to the South-Sydney circuit
eight-odd hours up the Hume highway.
Aware that some rounds of the Formula 3 championship clashed with the
V8 Supercars, Leanne recently gained her Truck driving license and will
make her first long-haul trip this weekend.
Whilst it is set to be a new experience for the already versatile
driver, Leanne said that there were many similarities between
transporting a vehicle to its racetrack destination and actually racing
the car itself.
"Being a truck driver, especially when you are carrying around several
hundred thousand dollars worth of racing car and equipment, is all
about driving safely and making sure you get to the finish with no
difficulties," Leanne explained.
"Obviously when we are racing we are going a bit quicker, and it's not
as if I'm going to race other trucks up the Hume Highway, but the
concentration and aiming to be a safe driver is very similar.
"Getting on the road for a couple of hours will also be a good
opportunity for me to clear my head and get myself ready mentally for
the racing at Oran Park, which is surely going to be even more
competitive than it was at the Grand Prix and at Eastern Creek before
that." she said.
Riding a wave of form, Tander heads into this weekend’s round at her
favourite track coming off the back of a strong performance in the
Bendon Astra in the Bathurst 12 hour.
Tander lead an all-girl team in the event and was running strongly
until some difficulties sidelined the car after seven hours of racing.
The Fleetcare-supported team tested at Oran Park last week and Leanne
said that the test gave her further confidence as the championship
enters a particularly busy stretch of the series – with two rounds in
three weeks.
”Given that the track was quite slippery our car was good and we were able to set come competitive lap times,” She said.
Leanne’s best lap of 1m03.3s was unofficially half a second quicker than the next best runner testing on the day.
”Oran Park is a great circuit and one of my very favourites. It’s a
really challenging track but because I have done so many laps there in
the past it is one that I’m very comfortable at.
”I think we can be in for a good weekend. We had tough weekends at
Eastern Creek and the Grand Prix but we proved that we have the speed
to win – now we just need to get through a race and do it.” She said.
The second round of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship
gets underway at Oran Park raceway this Friday, April 20th, with two
races to be contested on Sunday April 22.
TanderSport and Leanne Tander thank the ongoing support of their
sponsors Fleetcare, HSV, Holden, Greenwood & Freehills, Valvoline,
Web105.com.au and My105.com
For more information about Leanne Tander, Fleetcare TanderSport or the
Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship, visit
www.leannetander.com, www.tandersport.com or www.formula3.com.au.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 April 2007 )
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