V8 Supercars Round 3 - Winton

3 May 2009

Tander delivers podium result, Davison fifth

Garth Tander delivered his Toll Holden Racing Team with a podium finish in today's second race at Winton Raceway in Victoria, claiming third place in his home event. His team-mate Will Davison wasn't far behind finishing fifth and closing in on the front runners at the finish of the race.

Both drivers drove a clean race, steering clear of any carnage as experienced in yesterday's first race. Tander rubbed some panels and faced ambush from cars behind at the start who chose to run their soft tyres in today's race but maintained his pressure which paid off in the end.

He pitted for fresh rubber and fuel to take him to the race finish around lap 20 and kept his head down for the remaining laps. Chipping away he crossed the finish line in third.

Like Tander, Davison stuck to his race strategy, kept out of trouble, eventually finishing fifth. He later commented that he didn't reach his full potential today, but was happy with fifth and collected enough points to put him back into second in the Championship. Davison was confident that the Toll Holden Racing Team Commodores are capable of stronger results.

In qualifying earlier today Tander put in the fastest time of the Holdens, with a 1 minute 23.4277 second lap he was fourth fastest. His team-mate also joined him in the top ten, he was ninth quickest. The session was only red flagged once, but unlike the trial run in Hamilton, didn't seem to affect the outcome.

Craig Lowndes won the race for a clean sweep with Mark Winterbottom in second.

After this weekend Tander now lifts to sixth in the Championship.

Out of the top ten placings all four Walkinshaw Racing Commodores occupied a position.

The next Event of the V8 Supercar Championship Series is in Tasmania in three weeks time at Symmons Plains Raceway – May 29 – 31. Both Toll HRT drivers will be looking for a solid result.

Garth Tander - #2 Toll Holden Racing Team VE Commodore (Qualifying 2: 4th fastest, 1:23.4277; Race 2: 3rd)

“Third today is a good result for the Toll Holden Racing Team. It's not what we wanted this weekend, but it proved that we'll keep fighting. We struggled in the first stint for whatever reason, but my Commodore came alive after the stop – it was fantastic. My car had some bonnet damage from contact with Steven Richards, who got carved up by one of the slower guys, and I thought we might have to come back in the pits for repairs but thankfully it stayed in place and we survived for third.”

“We got some good points for me and Will wasn't far behind, so it was good points for the team. Jamie [Whincup], Lowndes and Triple 8 are the benchmark at the moment and it's now up to us to take race wins off them. We're not going to rely on them having bad races, we want to take wins off them. Our car was good in Tassie last year, we found out our car's very good on the soft option tyre, so we're looking forward to going to Symmons Plains at the end of the month and winning some races.”

Will Davison - #22 Toll Holden Racing Team VE Commodore (Qualifying 2: 9th fastest; Race 2: 5th)

“We're still not reaching our potential but we're cruising along nicely and all things considered I think today has been a good day. Qualifying was better than yesterday, but we still only lined up ninth there – again we're not reaching our full potential. We had a great race, a lot of fun and I couldn't fault it. We were able to pull off a lot of big moves and had a big charge – the car was really strong near the end of the race. We've got great points and we're a comfortable second in the driver standings, and pulled some points back off Whincup which I'm happy with. Soon I think we'll start to hit our potential a bit more.”

Race 2 Resullts (Rnd 3 – Winton, Victoria)

1. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone

2. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing

3. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team

4. Paul Dumbrell, Team Autobarn

5. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team

6. James Courtney, Dick Johnson Racing

7. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing

8. David Reynolds, Bundaberg Red Racing

9. Marcus Marshall, Team Intaracing

10. Jason Bargwanna, Sprint Gas Racing

Qualifying #2 Results (Rnd 3 – Winton, Victoria)

1. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone, 1:23.1687

2. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing, 1:23.4086

3. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone, 1:23.4127

4. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team, 1:23.4277

5. Paul Dumbrell, Team Autobarn, 1:23.7023

6. Fabian Coulthard, Wilson Security Racing, 1:23.7118

7. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Rogers Motorsport, 1:23.8328

8. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing, 1:23.8455

9. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team, 1:23.8694

10. James Courtney, Dick Johnson Racing, 1:23.9809

2009 V8 Supercar Championship points table (after 3 Events)

1. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone, 804 points

2. Will Davison, Toll Holden Racing Team, 690 points

3. Steven Johnson, Dick Johnson Racing, 573 points

4. Lee Holdsworth, Garry Rogers Motorsport, 534 points

5. Rick Kelly, Kelly Racing, 531 points

6. Garth Tander, Toll Holden Racing Team, 504 points

7. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone, 501 points

8. Shane Van Gisbergen, SP Tools Racing, 453 points

9. Jason Richards, Team BOC, 417 points

10. Fabian Coulthard, Wilson Security Racing, 414 points