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Family affair for the Tanders as Leanne joins Garth in Audi TCR
Leanne Tander will join her husband Garth in the carsales TCR Australia Series at Phillip Island this weekend, racing a Audi RS 3.
Both Leanne and Garth will drive the two brand-new Audi TCR racers that have landed in Melbourne this week.
Leanne’s drive means that there are four female motorsport stars competing in the new turbo-charged series, joining rally champion-turned-circuit racer Molly Taylor, Chelsea Angelo and Alexandra Whitley.
While her husband Garth has taken the lion’s share of their family’s motor racing spotlight, Leanne has carved her own name in the sport’s history books. After starting in karts, Leanne has raced everything from Formula Ford to V8 Supercars, including two starts in the Bathurst 1000 event.
Her career highlight came in 2016, winning the prestigious Australian Formula Ford Championship.
Leanne’s drive rounds out the 18 car field that will contest Round 2 of the carsales TCR Australia Series, starting with practice at the famous Phillip Island circuit today.
Two practice sessions will be today, followed by qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and two races on Sunday.
The carsales TCR Australia Series is the headlining act on the Shannons Nationals bill this weekend, supported by a strong list of categories, including Australian GT, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge and Australian Formula 4.
CLICK HERE for tickets to the Phillip Island event.
QUOTES
Leanne Tander
Driver, Melbourne Performance Centre Audi
“I’ve been hopeful of some sort of drive in the TCR Australia Series. It has been bubbling along for a while now, so I’m really glad that we’ve finally been able to pull it together for this weekend,” said Leanne Tander.
“I’m really excited about driving it at Phillip Island. I’ve done plenty of laps around there in a wide range of categories, but this is a different type of car to what I’m used to.
“I drove one of the Audi TCRs in Sydney last year, but I didn’t get a lot of laps to really feel what it was about, so I’m looking forward to having a go and seeing what it can do.
“It is fantastic to be sharing the track with three other female racers too. I’ve never raced at this high-level level in the sport with some many girls in the same race. It’s really a huge step forward and a big tick for TCR.
“To have four out of 18 drivers being female – that’s a pretty good ratio, given you generally only ever have one in the field.
“I respect Molly, Chelsea and Alexandra as a drivers. I thought they all did a great job in the first round in Sydney, and as the year progresses, I reckon we’ll see them get towards the front of the field.”