Garth Tander will compete in this month’s Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup round at The Bend in preparation for his Penrite Racing drive in the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

The 2022 Repco Bathurst 1000 winner will race in South Australia in an Earl Bamber Motorsport-prepared Grove Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with backing from SP Tools.

Tander’s entry will sport the same #87 as son Sebastian does in the SP Tools Australian Karting Championship with the Grove Junior Team and Tander Sport.

“I’m really excited to do a sprint round of Carrera Cup at Tailem Bend,” he said.

“I have raced Carrera Cup in the Pro-Am event that they used to run back in 2016.

“Obviously doing a championship sprint round is a whole other deal, and I am under no illusion that it’s going to be incredibly tough.

“I know how tough the championship is and how strong the drivers are within the championship, so I know it’s going to be a steep learning curve, but I am really excited about that opportunity.

“Having SP Tools on the car is a great honour; I have a longstanding relationship with SP Tools and it is great to have them on the Porsche. They are great supporters of motorsport and I certainly hope to do them proud.

“Many thanks also to Stephen and Brenton Grove. Getting racing miles prior to Sandown and Bathurst is important and I can’t think of anything better to prepare me for those two Supercar endurance racing events than to jump into the middle of a very tough Carrera Cup championship right in the deep end and having a go, so thanks very much to them for giving me this chance.”

It is yet to be determined whether the five-time Great Race will co-drive with David Reynolds or Matt Payne, but Tander has been a regular presence at test days in Grove’s Ford Mustang S650 Supercars

According to Stephen Grove, himself a three-time Carrera Cup Pro-Am title winner, hailed the extra mileage ahead of the long-distance Supercars events.

“It’s important for Garth to have the opportunity to get some miles prior to the enduro rounds and Carrera Cup is the perfect platform,” he stated.

“To have a driver of Garth Tander’s experience pilot a Grove Racing 992 Porsche Cup car at Talem Bend is exciting for the whole team.”

Grove Racing currently fields Oscar Targett in Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge and competes in Intercontinental GT Challenge in a Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Porsche World Endurance Championship driver Kevin Estre has also been signed up by Grove for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000.

Tander is the latest big-name addition to the Carrera Cup field, after Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Fabian Coulthard returned to the series from the Hidden Valley event in June.

The OTR SuperSprint takes place at The Bend on August 18-20, and the Sandown 500 on September 15-17.