The 2007 Holden Commodore VE conveyed Garth Tander his best season in Supercars. The Australian dashing legend has been delegated ruler of the mountain multiple times, yet the vehicle conveyed him a sole title that he chooses as his number one
A few drivers require a significant stretch of time to select their number one race vehicle. Garth Tander simply needs one moment to name his.
"It was the 2007 Title victor, without a doubt," answers the five-time Bathurst 1000 champion. "I won a great deal of races in it, so it was the best Supercar of my vocation, regarding wins and platform."
It sure was. From the 37 races in the title, Tander took 19 platform gets done - and 15 of those results were wins.
Tander and HSV Seller Group colleague Rick Kelly, who had brought home the championship the earlier year, were driving Holden's new Commodore VE racer, created by Walkinshaw Execution for themselves and the plant Holden Hustling Group.
"We were, likely unjustifiably, contrasted with HRT," Tander says. "We were likely lighter and more deft that what HRT had the option to be, with them being the size of a processing plant group. We were basically a client group that got to utilize the equivalent toys as them.
"We used to joke at the time that we were Toro Rosso and they were Red Bull! That is the means by which we worked collectively; that was different to the real vehicles, the equipment we had was no different either way. We didn't work on a similar spending plan or have similar assets as HRT however we likewise profited from a ton of the work they did."
The model change carried with it challenges for the groups yet there were additionally parts extended from the past VZ model.
"The design was a piece different to what we had the year earlier, with the VZ, such a long ways as the floorpan, etc," says Tander. "However, when we got our head around it, we thought, 'This thing will be great'.
"We fabricated the model vehicle at first and afterward three for the season, so one was WR-004 - reasonably the third VE race vehicle that we worked at Walkinshaw's. Furthermore, it was a decent buggy.
"That was most likely likewise a consequence of the way that my specialist at that point, Matty Nielsen, was additionally the Task Chief at Walkinshaw's on the VE. While he enjoyed no upper hand over different architects the VE program was a lot of his child. That helped us out.
"In your vocation you have a ton of times when you can't get a vehicle to work. On this event, we just carried it out and it felt great straight away.
"When we got it in the window, we didn't need to transform it that much. We just tuned little changes and it was quick wherever we took it. It resembled those sets of agreeable boots, or sprinters. It simply feels right."
Toward the finish of the time, the outcomes settled everything. Tander battled out the title with Jamie Whincup's Triple Eight Portage, winning with 625 focuses to the Passage driver's 623. In the Groups title, HSVDT administered, 1177 to Significantly increase Eight's 1134.
The next year Tander and his group chief Ransack Crawford moved to HRT, Paul Dumbrell supplanting Tander. The WR-004 vehicle is presently reestablished to its 2007 specs and is in the possession of a Queensland gatherer.
