Tander wins for Holden

Garth Tander drives to victory for the Holden Racing Team in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Garth Tander validated his switch to the Holden Racing Team by completing a clean sweep as the V8 Supercar championship was turned upside down following the inaugural Hamilton street race in New Zealand on the weekend.

Tander, who claimed the 2007 championship with the HSV Dealer Team, resumed the flawless form he displayed at the non-championship grand prix races in Melbourne last month to guide the No. 1 Commodore to a trifecta of wins in round three of the series.

“I was relieved to get my first round win for HRT because it was playing on my mind a bit,” Tander said as he clasped his hands around the Mark Porter trophy.

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The victory continued the unbeaten run of eight consecutive wins by Holden in V8 Supercar rounds in NZ, but it was the first round victory for the Lion badge this season.

Ford had to rely on Steve Richards (Ford Performance Racing) and James Courtney (SBR Jeld-Wen Falcon) to salvage something from a Holden whitewash as the pair filled the podium spots.

For all the hype of the first race around the tight, bumpy and raw 3.4km street course, the racing was mostly processional although there were a few spot battles.

None were more spectacular than Courtney's team mate Shane Van Gisbergen, who put the sword to Mark Skaife and Russell Ingall among others.

Van Gisbergen, who turns 19 at the next round in Perth starting on May 9, pulled off some breath-taking passes, which were sadly lacking at the front of the pack, on his way to 10th position.

The complexion of the championship underwent a major transformation, with leader Jamie Whincup missing in action after crash damage ruled him out of lining up in any of the three heats. He dropped down to fifth in the standings.

Rick Kelly, fourth for the round, assumes the lead on 672 points, 46 ahead of Tander, while Lee Holdsworth remains third on 580.

It was a miserable weekend for DJRs Jim Beam squad and Team Vodafone.

Will Davison was in the wars with a faulty starter motor that caused a pit blockage for his team mate Steve Johnson before his bonnet popped and smashed his windscreen.

The No. 18 DJR Ford ground to a halt after completing just eight laps.

Craig Lowndes managed to guide his No. 888 Ford from 19th after the first heat to 15th before scrambling up to seventh spot in the final race.

Standings

Round positions

1 Garth Tander (Holden)

2 Steve Richards (Ford)

3 James Courtney (Ford)

Championship points

1 Rick Kelly (Holden) 672

2 Garth Tander (Holden) 626

3 Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 580