The 48-year-old started sixth and ultimately finished third alongside Matt Payne in the #19 Penrite Mustang, marking a 101st career podium for the veteran.
Tander, though, was left frustrated by his own efforts in the opening laps, having dropped from sixth back to 10th.
“I just wasn’t aggressive enough, it’s simple. I didn’t put my car in the right spots, but I’ll be better for that when we go racing next month,” he reflected.
“We were able to reset after that and get on with it and from then on it was OK. It lost us a bit of track position, but lesson learnt, and we’ll be good to go at the next one.”
The early stumble was particularly notable given Tander’s long-held reputation for gaining ground in the opening laps throughout his Supercars career.
Tander was one of several co-drivers to enter the Enduro Cup without a race under his belt in 2025, instead preparing via a single Supercars test day and laps in a Porsche at The Bend.
His early setback came due to a stoush with Cooper Murray, the only primary driver to start the race.
Tander lost sixth to Murray at Turn 1 on lap two and then tagged the back of the Erebus Motorsport Camaro in the middle of Turn 6.
Slowing to ensure he was not penalised, Tander was swamped by fellow co-drivers Tim Slade, Fabian Coulthard and Harri Jones.
“I gave him too much room and that’s fine,” said Tander.
“I got into the back of Cooper Murray, I could have passed him, but it would have been a bump and run, so I waited and that put me in the wrong part of the race track.”
Tander’s race settled thereafter and once the second pit stop cycle was completed, primary driver Payne was in an effective third place.
Payne held that to the finish to complete a Ford podium sweep, taking the flag just under eight seconds shy of the winning Brodie Kostecki/Todd Hazelwood Dick Johnson Racing Mustang.
“I think we’ve got a really strong base to work from with Penrite Racing after this weekend,” said Tander, a five-time winner at the Great Race.
“There are a couple of key areas we need to improve on, but we’ve got a bit of time to work on that. I’m looking forward to Bathurst.”
The Payne/Tander combination was the only retirement in last year’s Bathurst 1000 after a crash for the Kiwi at The Cutting caused the day’s single Safety Car period.
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