Leanne Tander is set to wrack up the airmails in 2008 after confirming that she will contest the Formula V6 Asia Championship alongside her commitments in the Australian Formula 3 series.
Tander will join Opes Prime Team Meritus for the Asian series and is likely to contest a full programme in both championships, as long as the confirmation of the respective calendars doesn't thrown up any clashes.
Tander tested the Opes Prime car successfully in December last year, completing two days at Sepang in her first drive of the 400hp, V6-powered cars – a step up in performance from her regular TanderSport Dallara F3 car.
In her only dry run of the two-day test Tander lapped within a second of the pole time set earlier in the year, doing enough to impress the right people to secure the full season drive.
She will now become the first female driver to race in the growing series after setting several records in Australia in 2007, winning two races and finishing second in the Australian Formula 3 Championship.
"It's very exciting and I'm looking forward to the chance to race internationally in 2008," she said. "The test itself was a great opportunity so to be able to commit for the full season and have a chance to race for the championship is even better, I'm very thankful to Anthony Blumberg and Opes Prime for their support.
"The team were great and have proven success as one of the top operations in Asian Motorsport. The series is growing quickly and there are already several strong drivers looking set to compete this year that will make it a very demanding championship.
"It will be a busy year. Racing in two championships across several countries will not be easy but its every drivers dream to race as often as possible in lots of fantastic different cars, so this is a huge opportunity for my career and one I intend to take as best I possibly can."
