Garth Tander from Toll Holden Racing Team was unstoppable once again in clean-sweeping the inaugural Hamilton 400, round three of the V8 Supercar Championship, and claiming the first Mark Porter Trophy in honour of the Hamilton-born driver who died after a racing accident at Bathurst two years ago.

The V8 Supercars share equal-billing alongside the IndyCar Series at the Gold Coast Indy 300, October 23-26.

Tander was very much switched on as the Toll team dominated and never looked in danger of being caught by the field. His victory, the fourth place of Rick Kelly and the no show by Jamie Whincup also installed a new V8 Supercar Championship Series leader.

Kelly, the 2006 victor, assumed the Championship lead after Team Vodafone’s Whincup spent a rare weekend on the sidelines. Whincup’s Ford was totally demolished in an accident during qualifying on Saturday.

Kelly’s former HSV team-mate Tander was in a familiar position with a sweep of the sprint round, something he did several times last year on his way to claiming the Championship. He did it in front of a first event crowd of more than 175,000 – capped each day by NZ legislation. The last day was a complete sell out.

Tander's win continued an incredible streak for Holden in New Zealand, with the Red Lions winning all seven rounds in Pukekohe between 2001 and 2007 before it made way for the Hamilton street race this year.

Ford Performance Racing's Steven Richards was second for the round following his third, second and third-place finishes across the three races, while Stone Brothers Racing's James Courtney was third for Ford.

Richards desperately needed championship points after a slow start to the season and enjoyed a solid weekend including his first pole of the season. He managed to put some heat on the Holden driver but at no stage looked like he would force his way to the front.

It was a similar story for Courtney, who bounced back after the controversy in Adelaide when he and fellow Ford driver Craig Lowndes destroyed their cars in a much-publicised crash. After a raft of criticism from fellow drivers, Courtney found a liking for the exciting street circuit.

Kelly enjoyed a return to form also, finishing second in the opening race, fifth after a shunt in race two but fought back to fourth place in the third race and fourth overall, to claim the Championship lead.

The weekend threw up some outstanding efforts, none more impressive than young New Zealand driver Fabian Coulthard who had a breakthrough weekend to finish sixth overall – fittingly with his Glenfords Ford carrying the old race number that Mark Porter campaigned.

Eighteen year old Aucklander Shane van Gisbergen continued his remarkable rise in the sport with the young Ford driver, who turns 19 next month, finishing 10th overall in an outstanding weekend.

The next round of the V8 Supercar Championship will be held in Perth on May 9-11, which will be round four of a 14 round championship that takes in two international rounds (NZ and Bahrain) as well as the Gold Coast Indy 300 in October.

The future of the Gold Coast Indy 300 was recently secured for at least another six years with a deal being reached with the new-look IndyCar Series and V8 Supercars Australia.

Now regarded as one of the world’s iconic motorsport events, the Gold Coast Indy 300 will now continue until and including 2013 with major plans already underway for a massive 20th anniversary celebration in 2010.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the sound of the IndyCars burning up the track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.

Tickets are now on sale for the Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options to suit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options click here. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...

Garth Tander - #1 Toll Holden Racing Team Holden
“They were certainly three very good races,” Tander said. “It’s a new circuit so it’s quite easy to make mistakes so I was just trying to concentrate and look after the car as much as we could.

“All weekend we’d seen cars damaged by the chicanes and kerbs, so we were trying to look after the cars and the tyres in case there were any late safety cars. It was a fantastic result for us and fantastic for Holden, the eighth in a row in New Zealand.”

Tander also greatly enjoyed the first visit to the Hamilton 400.

“It was good to come and have a look around," said Tander.

"The way the whole town and council have got behind the event is great. This is already a big event and it’s got the potential to be a really big one.”

Steve Richards - #6 Ford Performance Racing Ford
"I am pretty happy," said Richards.

“It’s been a while between drinks for pole position and we managed to make the most of the differing conditions yesterday.

"All things considered we’ve made a big step forward in our Championship chase. That’s the main thing to get points on the board."

James Courtney - #4 Stone Brothers Racing Ford
‘It was a good result,” said Courtney.

“We had pretty good speed all year but it’s been a bit of an up and down start to the year. It was a good clean weekend and get some good strong points under our belt.

“We’ve got a new car for Perth so we can retire Russell’s car and never have to get into it ever again.”

Rick Kelly - #15 Toll HSV Dealer Team Holden
“We have to keep a level head, even though we are leading the Championship, we have still got a lot of work to do,” Kelly said.


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