Garth Tander will team up with Jamec Pem Racing to pilot an Audi R8 GT3 at the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship at Phillip Island.
The Holden Racing Team V8 Supercars driver will join Australian GT regular Steve McLaughlan in the #2 entry for the three hour endurance at the Victorian circuit from May 27-29.
Tander will rejoin the team having partnered McLaughlan and factory Audi star Rene Rast for this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour in an effort that saw the trio finish the Mount Panorama classic eighth.
The Western Australian has enjoyed success in GT machinery at Phillip Island having won the 2014 event alongside Tony Quinn in an Aston Martin, before driving the Scotsman’s McLaren to second last year.
“I’ve done the Phillip Island 101 for the last couple of years. I did the Bathurst 12 Hour with Steve and he asked if I was keen to do Phillip Island,” Tander told Speedcafe.com.
“I’d love to have another win for sure. I have gone alright down there and Steve is just coming off his first win in a GT car at Perth.”
The 39-year-old Tander says the opportunity to compare their respective touring car categories is something he is looking forward to.
“When I shared the car with Rene Rast at Bathurst that was awesome because having him there made it that much quicker to get up to speed in those cars,” added Tander.
“Miguel is an Audi factory driver in DTM so that will be interesting.
“It will be nice to talk to him about DTM. It is is more an aero-based category compared to Supercars.
“He will adapt to the GT car no problem but understanding what their championship is like will be interesting.
“They have a huge understanding of what we do with Supercars and they all want to do it.”
Tander will be joined on the grid by fellow V8 Supercars star Shane van Gisbergen, who will pilot a McLaren 650S alongside Klark Quinn.
The factory McLaren Blancpain GT Series driver joined Quinn at last year’s Highlands 101 in New Zealand which resulted in a victory for the pair.
The 26 car grid could also see the debut of Trofeo Motorsport’s new Lamborghini Huracan if the squad is able to take delivery the car in time for the meeting.
Tander and Van Gisbergen will focus their attention on this weekend’s Woodstock Winton Super Sprint before linking up with their respective GT entries.
Australian Endurance Championship Round 1 Entry List
| No. | Sponsor | Driver A/B | Name | Make | Model |
| 1 | JAMEC PEM Racing | A | Miguel Molina | Audi | R8 LMS |
| B | Tony Bates | ||||
| 2 | JAMEC PEM Racing | A | Steve McLaughlan | Audi | R8 LMS |
| B | Garth Tander | ||||
| 4 | Supabarn Supermarkets | A | James Koundouris | Audi | R8 LMS |
| B | Marcus Marshall | ||||
| 5 | GT Motorsport | A | Greg Taylor | Audi | R8 LMS |
| B | Barton Mawer | ||||
| 6 | Skwirk Online Education | A | Jake Fouracre | Audi | R8 Ultra |
| B | Liam Talbot | ||||
| 7 | Darrell Lea | A | Tony Quinn | Aston Martin | Vantage GT3 |
| B | Daniel Gaunt | ||||
| 8 | Maranello Motorsport | A | Adrian Deitz | Ferrari | 458 GT3 |
| B | Cameron McConville | ||||
| 11 | Objective Racing | A | Tony Walls | McLaren | 650S GT3 |
| B | Warren Luff | ||||
| 19 | Hogs Breath Café/Griffith Corporation | A | Mark Griffith | Mercedes Benz | AMG GT-S GT3 |
| B | TBA | ||||
| 23 | JBS Australia | A | Roger Lago | Lamborghini | R-EX |
| B | David Russell | ||||
| 29 | Pirelli/Trofeo Motorsport | A | Jim Manolios | Lamborghini | Huracan GT3 |
| B | Ryan Millier | ||||
| 33 | Fastway Couriers | A | Simon Ellingham | Audi | R8 Ultra |
| B | Tim Miles | ||||
| 37 | Darrell Lea | A | Klark Quinn | McLaren | 650S GT3 |
| B | Shane van Gisbergen | ||||
| 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | A | TBA | Mercedes Benz | AMG GT-S GT3 |
| B | TBA | ||||
| 48 | Interlloy M Motorsport | A | Justin McMillan | Lamborghini | R-EX |
| B | Glen Wood | ||||
| 51 | AMAC Motorsport | A | Andrew Macpherson | Porsche | 997 GT3-R |
| B | Brad Shiels | ||||
| 59 | McLaren Melbourne | A | Jonathon Webb | McLaren | 650S GT3 |
| B | Grant Denyer | ||||
| 62 | Performance West Motorsport | A | Alexander Rullo | Lamborghini | Gallardo FLII |
| B | Peter Rullo | ||||
| 63 | Eggleston Motorsport | A | Peter Hackett | Mercedes Benz | AMG GT-S GT3 |
| B | Dominic Storey | ||||
| 88 | Maranello Motorsport | A | Peter Edwards | Ferrari | 488 GT3 |
| B | John Bowe | ||||
| 80 | Maranello Motorsport | A | Tony D’Alberto | Ferrari | 458 GT3 2014 |
| B | Graham Smythe | ||||
| 90 | MARC GT | A | Morgan Haber | BMW AG | M6 GT3 |
| B | Jake Camilleri | ||||
| 95 | Miedecke Motor Group | A | Andrew Miedecke | Aston Martin | Vantage GT3 |
| B | George Miedecke | ||||
| 100 | SR Motorsport | A | Steve Richards | BMW | M6 GT3 |
| B | Max Twigg | ||||
| 222 | Scott Taylor Motorsport | A | Scott Taylor | Mercedes Benz | AMG GT-S GT3 |
| B | Craig Baird | ||||
| 911 | Walkinshaw GT3 | A | John Martin | Porsche | 911 GT3-R |
| B | TBA |
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