GARTH Tander is set to take a step into the Repco Supercars Championship commentary box as regular analyst for this year’s title chase.
He sits high up the rankings in a range of categories in the championship’s record books, however, his last race drove him into another place in history – without too many people realising it at the time!
Tander, who won the Repco Bathurst 1000 for Penrite Racing alongside Kiwi Matt Payne, clinched his sixth and ultimately final Great Race win before electing to announce his retirement from driving in November.
The duo took their #100 Ford to victory from 18th on the grid, marking the first time in either driver’s career that they had won a Supercars Championship race from that particular grid position.
In fact, it became the 12th different grid position from which Tander had won a Supercars Championship race, equalling Craig Lowndes’ record in this unique place in the history books.
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The win was Tander’s 58th Supercars Championship race win and the first time he’d won a race from outside the top 11 on the grid.
He has won races from every grid position in the top 11 in his career and now added 18th at Bathurst last year to that list.
He won in Townsville in 2014 from 11th on the grid (his last single driver Supercars race win) and won Bathurst in 2000 with Jason Bargwanna and the 2008 Phillip Island 500 with Mark Skaife from 10th on the grid.
In contrast, Lowndes scored at least one win from every grid position in the top 10 as well as from 15th (2015 Bathurst with Steve Richards) and 16th (2012 Sydney Olympic Park).
Mark Skaife sits next on the list with 11, however has achievements no one in the current field is likely to match given the current field size. He won a race from 30th on the grid (2006 Oran Park reverse grid) and also from 38th (Adelaide’s Sunday race in 2000).
The best of the current full-time driver line-up is reigning Supercars Champion Chaz Mostert, who has won from nine different grid positions in his career so far (1st to 8th and also 25th).
He will wear the #1 on his new Toyota GR Supra when the new season kicks off at the Sydney 500 on February 20.
ATCC/Supercar Championship Races, most different winning grid positions:
DRIVERNO. GRID POSITIONS WON FROMGRID POSITIONS WON FROMCraig Lowndes121-10, 15, 16Garth Tander121-11, 18Mark Skaife111-6, 9-11, 30, 38Jamie Whincup101-6, 8-10, 20Shane van Gisbergen101-8, 12, 17Todd Kelly91-7, 9, 10Chaz Mostert91-8, 25