Garth Tander has labelled Andre Heimgartner a ‘muppet’ after they twice made contact in pit lane during Sunday’s 200km race at the OTR SuperSprint.

The pair came together as they headed into the lane to take their first stops on Lap 3, Heimgartner making heavy contact with the rear of Tander’s Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden as he braked for the pit entry line.

“Tough race because I felt we had a good start, good first lap, I thought the strategy was going to be right, just some muppet drove into the back of us,” said Tander.

“Man, it hit so hard. It’s actually done something to my back and my neck it hit so hard,” he added.

“That’s twice in a row, two races in a row. He did the same to me in Sydney, drilled the back of me.”

There was subsequent contact as Tander merged back into the fast lane following his stop, with the damage from the two impacts ultimately ending Heimgartner’s day.

Tander meanwhile was able to carry on, bringing the wounded Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore home 20th.

“We lost a lot of rear aero, so the car was really good in the slow and mid speed stuff but out the back there in (Turns) 7, 8 9, 10, it had no rear aero so no rear grip,” said Tander.

While Heimgartner initially attempted to rejoin the race despite the heavy damage, he was forced to limp the car back to the pits billowing smoke from the front end.

“Obviously Garth was doing his thing and then I was arriving at a much higher speed obviously and just couldn’t stop it in time and managed to hit the back of him,” Heimgartner explained.

“It’s one of those things. It’s a bit slipperier than what I imagined and caught me out by surprise a little bit.”

Heimgartner was one of three retirements, with Kurt Kostecki eliminated during an opening lap scuffle while Lee Holdsworth’s car shed a driveshaft at mid-distance.