[source: Audi Australia]
- Garth Tander joins Geoff Emery in the #1 Jamec Pem Audi R8 LMS GT3
- V8 Supercar champion back behind the wheel of an Audi
- Round 2 of the Australia GT Championship at The Bend, South Australia
Three-time Bathurst 1000 winner and former V8 Supercar champion, Garth Tander, will reprise his role with Audi Sport customer racing this weekend, when he joins the Australian GT field in Round 2 of the Australian GT Championship.
Tander will join Geoff Emery in the #1 Jamec Pem Racing R8 LMS which will be held this weekend (April 14-15) at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia, the first motorsport competition to be held at what is the second-longest permanent race track in the world.
No stranger to the Audi R8 LMS GT3, Tander has previously driven the Audi in the last three Bathurst 12 Hour races, this year saying at a press conference in the Audi suite during the race that he would like to spend more time behind the wheel of the highly successful GT3 car.
Indeed the car he will drive in South Australia is the same car he drove at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February.
“I know the Audi quite well now, and Melbourne Performance Centre do a fantastic job, so it’ll be cool. It’ll be on, it always is,” says Tander.
“The Audi’s always competitive – that’s the great thing about GT3 racing, the balance of performance keeps it competitive,” Tander said.
Geoff Emery currently sits in second place in the points standings after the opening round of the championship at Albert Park. The Emery/Tander pairing will be looking to move the Audi into the top spot this weekend in a 21-strong field, representing 10 automotive manufacturers in the two-part race format.
“When we do these races, the guys at the front always drive these cars really hard and really quickly – hopefully we’re part of it, ” Tander said.
Round 2 of the Australian GT Championship also doubles as the start of the Australian Endurance Championship, which this year comprises three long-distance races within the Australian GT Championship.
Practice for the race will get underway on Friday, before qualifying on Saturday to determine the grid for the first 24 lap race on the Saturday evening. The racing will conclude on Sunday with another 44-lap race, taking the race distance over 500km.
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