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V8 Supercars has welcomed a female racer into its ranks for the 2009 V8 endurance races.
Australia's top female motor racer, Leanne Tander is set to bring girl power to V8 Supercars, having earned a hotly-contested enduro drive with Wilson Security Racing (WSR) for the 2009 season.
"Obviously I'm very excited. When the contract was signed and everything was finalised, I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of the day; I'm just thrilled," Tander said.
Far from being a token female, 28-year-old Leanne is a highly accomplished racer in her own right and has made a habit of outpacing most of her male counterparts in many of Australia's leading racing categories.
A fierce competitor, Tander has written herself into the record books on numerous occasions, including becoming the first woman in the world to win a Formula 3 race.
"V8 Supercar driving is very different to the open wheeler racing I've done lately. The Formula 3 weighs about 500 kilos and feels like it's on rails, and now I'm going to jump into a 1,500 kilo V8 with about three-times as much horsepower as my F3."
No stranger to V8 Supercar racing, Tander spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons battling the blokes in the V8 Supercar Development Series and became the first and only woman to stand on the podium of a V8 Supercar race.
"To be honest, 98% of the time I forget that I'm any different to anyone else out there. Everybody on the track is out there to win - they want to beat every single person, I want to beat every single person; we're really no different in that regard."
The wife of 2007 V8 Supercar Champion, Garth Tander, Leanne is also relishing the opportunity to compete against her husband in this year's 500km battle at Phillip Island and the world-renowned Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama.
Not only will Leanne take on the men, it will be husband versus wife, and Ford versus Holden as she climbs aboard the WSR Falcon, setting up a monumental on-track battle and compelling viewing for V8 Supercar fans.
The extraordinary Tander versus Tander battle will be the first time a married couple will race each other in V8 Supercars.
"I imagine things will be a little different at home this year... normally leading up to the big events there's a huge focus on Garth and things centre around his schedule and what he has to do for those races. Whereas there are going to be two of us in that situation and we'll each be doing our own preparation and our own work to get ready for the enduros, this year," Leanne said.
"We've always been hugely supportive of each other and his response to me getting this opportunity with WSR has been great. He has been so excited for me."
Eager to get some time behind the wheel of the Wilson Security Racing Falcon, Tander's first scheduled outing in the V8 Supercar will be in the team's upcoming test day at Queensland Raceway on Wednesday 11 March.
The 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series' endurance events will see Tander in full race mode in the WSR Falcon for the first time at the L&H 500 Phillip Island on 11-13 September before she takes on 'the Mountain' in the prestigious Bathurst 1000 on 8-11 October.
