I'll shoot for the title with Garry in '04: Tander
19/8/2002 16:36 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
Garth Tander has ended speculation over his future by signing a new two-year deal with Garry Rogers Motorsport, in a concerted bid to win the V8 Supercar championship within two years.
Tander was seen playing the field in recent months, encouraged by his boss, to seek out the best deal for his future.
After speaking with a number of teams, 25-year-old Tander is confident the Melbourne-based operation is heading in the right direction.
"Loyalty also counted for a lot,” Tander said, “because Garry [Rogers] has stuck by me and the stability in the team is important.
"I obviously want to get back to winning races next year and shoot for the championship in 2004. There's a lot of work to be done but if I didn't think we were capable of getting those results, I wouldn't have re-signed.”
Rogers, who described the deal as a significant commitment to the team, said he wanted to be sure Tander was staying for the right reasons.
"Garth and I have been talking for months and I supported him talking to other teams during that time," he said.
"I wanted him to work through all the issues and make up his mind where he wanted to be before we sat down to strike a final deal."
Tander joined the Rogers outfit in 1998 as an inexperienced and notoriously erratic rookie.
He honed his driving to become a formidable opponent, taking the 2000 championship down to the wire with Mark Skaife and winning at Bathurst with Jason Bargwanna the same year.
"Garth really had some problems in his first year that involved plenty of crashes and trips to see the stewards," said Rogers, who stood by his young charge through the formative years.
"But he has done a fantastic job showing all the necessary mettle to rise above this, driving really well and doing some great work with our sponsors.”
Major sponsor Valvoline endorsed the deal. Valvoline Managing Director Michael Porter said Tander was an outstanding talent and diligent spokesman for the company.
Tander’s teammate Jason Bargwanna is also out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to re-sign for 2003. Negotiations are believed to be continuing.
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