Tander left fuming by Sandown lapped traffic
Garth Tander says he considered ‘sending a lapped car off’ during the Sandown 500, as he battled through what he refers to as “ridiculous” backmarking traffic.
Garth Tander and Warren Luff, Holden Racing Team
Dirk Klynsmith
Following he and Warren Luff’s impressive Sandown win, Tander delivered a stern warning to lapped drivers. He says there was too much ignoring of the blue flags, and that the problem needs to rectified before Bathurst, where the consequences of being stuck behind a slower car can be far greater due to the lack of overtaking opportunities.
“There was some very average performances by some of the lapped cars,” said Tander after the 500.
“I would have sent a lapped car off, but I didn’t want to create a Safety Car. It was just ridiculous, one car in particular. Hopefully we can tune that up in the future.
“f you get stuck behind them across the top of the mountain [at Bathurst], and they’re wobbling around, it can cost you a second.”
Tander’s co-driver Luff weighed in on the issue too, asking for teams to take a greater responsibility in making sure slower drivers don’t get in the way of the lead battle.
“It’s also the job of the teams. All the teams have got the telemetry, they can see where you are on track,” he said.
“Yes, it’s the job of the officials to have the blue flags out, but it’s up to the teams as well. They know here their cars are on track, they know where they are in lap position. And when you’re about to go a lap down, or when you’re two or three laps down, get the hell out of the way.
“There was some pretty average driving out there [at Sandown]. Thankfully it didn’t play a part in the final result, but some people, and some teams, need to do a better job of what they’re doing in the pits.”
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