The Master

Garth Tander leads Garry Rogers Motorsport in the second year of his second stint with the team, embracing the role of senior team leader and guide to James Golding.

- Adrian Musolino

It all began at Phillip Island in April, 1998. A lanky 21-year-old from Western Australia named Garth Tander was thrust into his Supercars debut with Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM).

Tander had won the 1997 Australian Formula Ford Championship and was set to graduate into Formula Holden the following season, only to be unable to raise the necessary budget. But his career fortunes turned when GRM’s regular driver Steven Richards took a job as test driver with Nissan in the British Touring Car Championship. Tander was promoted into the Supercars drive, kicking off what would be a storied career.

“It was a tough initiation,” reflects Tander. “There weren’t a lot of young drivers in the category back then and the established drivers were still there. It was tough to learn how to race against them and I made a lot of mistakes, crashed a few cars, but Garry [Rogers] stood by me and we went racing again the following season.” 

Twenty years on and Tander is still racing for Rogers. He’s gone from the rookie in the field to one of the established drivers, giving Garry Rogers Motorsport its sole Bathurst 1000 win in 2000 and going on to add another two Great Race wins and championship success at the factory-backed Holden stable (HSV Dealer Team and Holden Racing Team).

When it was time to move on, Tander returned to where it all began last season.

“There were a few offers on the table here in Australia, like with GRM, and a few offers on the table overseas,” says Tander.