For the past several seasons, the HRT has been dogged by poor performances in comparison to its sister operation, the Toll HSV Dealer Team.
After escaping the Stone Brothers Racing dominance of the championship with its profile relatively intact, a double championship win to the Toll HSV squad saw a shift in the media spotlight, away from the former darlings of Holden’s V8 Supercar operation.
With Tander’s move confirmed, Holden and Walkinshaw Performance have ensured that the HRT will return to the fore of V8 Supercars as of the Clipsal 500 Adelaide in late February.
It will be the first time since 2002 that the team has run both the #1 and #2 competition numbers, and will have Tander and Mark Skaife, two of the three biggest names in the series (the other being Craig Lowndes) driving for ‘Team Red’.
If the driving talent on offer at the HRT was not enough, the vast ability of the two other movers from Toll HSV to the Holden Racing Team almost certainly ensures that the team will lead the General’s charge in 2008.
Former Toll HSVDT manager, Rob Crawford, who orchestrated the team’s past two title wins, and Tander’s race engineer, Matt Nilsson, will join the Holden Racing Team in the same capacities they filled at the sister outfit.
Team stability is regarded as a key component in winning a championship, and whilst Tander joins the Holden Racing Team replacing a driver who worked at the squad for half a decade, the resources that he brings with him ensures a relatively smooth transition into the #1 red car.
Changing to a completely different team with your old engineer can prove successful – simply look at Jason Bright’s defection to Ford in 2005 with Phil Keed.
Despite changing manufacturers, Bright was contesting race wins by year’s end, so for Tander to simply move to a different part of Walkinshaw Performance, he should have very few problems confronting his title defence.
