Leanne Tander Interview

With a diverse competition CV that belies her young age, Leanne has driven everything from Formula 3 open wheelers to V8 utes. Married to V8 Supercar stalwart Garth Tander and a key member of their 'TanderSport' race team, Leanne has expanded her range this year by joining the Autobarn Touring Car Masters series, driving an homage to the Ford XA GT-HO Phase IV. And there's still more on the horizon for this popular racer, as she explained to JUST CARS…

JUST CARS: Hi Leanne. Let's start with one of the talking points of the Autobarn Touring Car Masters this year, namely your joining the class at the wheel of an XA GT-HO Phase IV replica. Tell us how the deal came into place.

LEANNE TANDER: Well, JB was quite involved in it. About two weeks before Clipsal (in March) the opportunity came up. JB (John Bowe) and John McMellan from Wilson Security (who sponsor the car) asked me if I'd be interested in doing it. Of course, I would be! So, I went to Winton and took it out for a shakedown and it went well. Then I got the call saying 'You're going to Clipsal', so it was all last minute! Thanks to the work of JB, John from Wilson Security and Phil Morris, who owns the car, they all made it happen for me, which is really great.

JC: So, if the opportunity with the Touring Car Masters (TCM) hadn't come up, there was nothing on the horizon, drive-wise, for this season?

LT: Yeah, pretty much! (laughs) So, it was good that it came up, because it looked like I'd be sitting on the sidelines.

JC: Looking at the Phase IV, it's obviously a standout car, it's got a lot of history and all that, but being such a new car, has it been a bit of a "work-in-progress" for the first few TCM rounds?

LT: Absolutely. We did that shakedown at Winton (its first ever run) to make sure it was all running, but never really got to test it again before Clipsal. I never got to drive the car for long enough throughout the day (at Winton) to really sort out all the problems. We didn't really get a long enough session to find out there was a brake problem, so when we got to Clipsal, I ran out of brakes in one of the sessions. There was also a problem with a misfire which got worse at Clipsal and ended up stopping me in the practice session. Then, unfortunately, the engine went as well.

JC: So, it was a real baptism of fire for the first round?

LT: Yeah, it was, but I guess when a deal's come together that late, that was always going to be the case. So, each time something came up, we fixed it and the car got better and faster. That was proven at Winton, where we ended up third, which was a fantastic result for everybody. At Darwin, the car ran absolutely faultlessly all weekend, so we've got the car running perfectly. Now we're fine tuning the chassis to try and get the most out of what we've got. We've got a massive amount of horsepower and a great engine, but can't get the power down, just spinning the wheels up. So we're working on that at the moment, and I think once we've got that under control, the car's going to be even better again. So, each time we go out this year, we're still developing the car, and I hope that by the end of this season, we'll have more consistent podium finishes.

JC: How does driving that XA compare to all the different race cars you've driven previously. Has it been hard to get your head around how to drive that car, or is it not that different?

LT: Well, it is very different. The kind of cars I've got the most experience in are open wheelers - and especially Formula 3. You really can't get much more different from a Formula 3 than the XA (laughs). It's probably three times the weight of an F3 car and it's got massive bodyroll. In an F3, the bodyroll can be measured in tiny, tiny millimetres. In the XA, it feels like it's rolling over about half a metre every turn! So, it is necessary to adjust my driving to try and get the most out of this car. I've got to be aware that in such a heavy, older car, the tyres get hot easier and the brakes are going to get hot quicker. You could go out and do qualifying laps straight off the start line every lap, but you only get halfway through the race before your car really goes off. So you've just got to adjust (your driving) to what you've got. To be honest, it's not as hard as I thought. Watching the cars, I thought they must be a real handful to drive, but my car is actually a quite good 'predictable' car, and the more we develop the chassis, the easier it's getting to drive it fast. So, I'm enjoying that side of it, too - developing the car, getting it to where I know it can be.

JC: John Bowe told us he really likes cars like the Touring Car Masters cars and classic open wheelers without all the wings and aero, describing them as 'pure' racecars. Can you understand where he's coming from with that?

LT: I think his definition of pure racecar and my definition of pure racecar differ slightly! (laughs) I guess with him being. . . .

JC: Old?

LT: (laughs). . . having grown up with those sort of cars, that's probably what he equates to being a pure racecar. It's the car that they've put the rollcage in with very little modifications. Because that's how they used to race back then - just get a road car and basically put a roll cage in it and go racing. Whereas for me, I see pure racecar as Formula 3 or Formula 1, where they've been designed in every detail to get the most out of the vehicle.

JC: You've recently been nominated as a CAMS representative to the new FIA 'Women In Motorsport' commission. Tell us a little about that.

LT: I was pretty excited to be nominated and have my nomination accepted. It's a real passion of mine to try and increase the number of women involved in motorsport, and to get women to a point where we're considered on the basis of what we've achieved, the same as any guys out there. There are still a couple of barriers in racing for women - getting involved, and then once they're involved, actually moving up the ladder. So when this came along, I saw it as a real opportunity to try and change some things here in Australia. CAMS are really behind it and really supportive. I think they recognise a need to do this as well - to actually increase the number of women involved. So, I get to go to Geneva in September (for a meeting of the commission), which I'm very excited about. I'll get to meet a lot of great women involved in the sport and the commission will be looking at ways to increase the participation of women in all forms and areas of motorsport. So, not just circuit racing, but all different disciplines, as well as on the other side, like officials and flag marshals, on the board of governing bodies and things like that. From the research I've done, it's basically looking at making motorsport more acceptable to women throughout the world.

JC: Well it's one of the sports where it can be a genuinely level playing field. If you've got the ability, your gender's irrelevant.

LT: That's what I think. But a lot of girls don't even realise that women are allowed to race.

JC: Really??

LT: Yeah. I've had a lot of girls come up to me and say 'I didn't know women could race'. So, it's important getting it through to everybody that women can race. For example, if a little girl says 'I want to be a race driver when I grow up', people are probably going to laugh at her and say 'why don't you go and do something like horses or netball instead'. It's trying to change society's attitude. Motorsport is a viable career for women, and not necessarily just the race driving part. If a woman wants to be a race engineer, that should be encouraged, rather than just encouraging boys.

JC: So do you get much of a chance to see girls involved in club or state level motorsport?

LT: I don't necessarily go out to the track, but I try and keep an eye on who's racing what throughout the country. Sometimes someone will mention a name and I'll be like 'Who's that? I haven't heard of her. Why haven't I heard of her?' And then I feel really out of it, because I haven't heard of a particular female who's racing. I think it's my business to know everything! (laughs) So I do try and keep tabs on everybody who's doing it for fun, who's looking to take it to the next level. I've got a few contacts, like Sue Evans in rallying, Samantha Reid and Rebecca Drummond. These women are all very passionate about this as well, and we're in contact regularly to discuss different things and see what we can do to help. I think that with the formation of the Women in Motorsport commission with the FIA, it'll give all of us a bit of a boost to see that there's actually something happening. So I think that now is a really good time for us to get active here in Australia. Hopefully, over the next six to twelve months, we'll be able to get a few more things happening here to encourage girls to continue on.

JC: So, from what you've seen, is there anyone out there in circuit racing who'll be the next Leanne Tander?

LT: (laughs) Well, I hope they'll be better than me! I think Samantha Reid is a fantastic driver. She's never really had the opportunity, budget-wise. She's done everything herself. When she's raced Formula Ford, she's prepared the car, she's taken it to the track and engineered it. She's always struggled with budget, but she's a great driver. We've got Gemma Deacon in South Australia who's really serious about her racing. Again, she's struggling with a budget. And there are some karting girls like Isabella Thomas, who just won a round of her championship, so she's a really, really good driver. She's still only a junior, so hopefully she can make that step up to seniors, then cars and progress on. All those girls are very talented, but the same with anyone in motorsport, it's a little bit about being in the right place at the right time and having the right support to actually move up to the top level.

JC: If a younger driver approached you to take on a mentoring role, would that be something you'd be interested in?

LT: I already do it a bit, informally. A lot of girls and younger women contact me through my website - www.leannetander.com I try to respond and answer their questions. With some of those girls, I have a continuing relationship with them. We become friends and chat regularly. Other girls, it's more just a one-off problem or question they've got. When that's answered they're happy to go on their own way. I'm very aware that when I was younger, I had nobody to speak to. There were no women that I felt were at that level of motorsport that could help me go to where I wanted to be. So, if any of these younger women want to talk to me, I try and make myself as available as I can to them.

JC: Looking at this year's Bathurst 12 Hour, you were driving with Conroy Motorsport again and scored the class runner up result in their Honda Integra Type S. How did the association with the guys at Conroy come about?

LT: It was through my involvement with Improved Production racing a few years ago. Terry's son, Peter, and Terry as well I think, used to run Honda Integras in Improved Production. I met them through that and we both have a mutual friend that we're very close to. I think it was he who suggested, when Terry was looking for another driver, that I could be a good addition to the team. They're a great bunch of guys. The cars are always beautifully prepared. Both the 12 Hour's I've done with them, the car has run faultlessly - for 12 hours, which is an amazing achievement, because you see so many of these cars come in and change this and change that, or something breaks. But these guys just do it in their spare time as a hobby, as a passion. They're really great people. It's a shame we couldn't get the win for Terry, but that Astra (which won the class) was a little bit too fast.

JC: With the Touring Car Masters running at most V8 Supercar rounds this year, you're obviously seeing a bit more of Garth on and off the track. Do you give each other feedback on your driving?

LT: Garth gives me plenty of feedback. I tend to not give him so much (laughs). Because of the way we've run in Improved Production and Formula 3 in the past, Garth's taken on the engineering role, and as a result it's been his position to 'critique' my driving and give me some pointers. Also, when I was racing V8 Supercars last year, it was very helpful having him there to tell me a few things, because he obviously can drive those cars very well. But I tend not to comment too much on his driving. He's pretty switched on with his stuff and he's got a lot of people (in the team) to go through his data and discuss that with him.

JC: You've listed Oran Park as your favourite track. It's gone now, of course, but what did you like about that track so much?

LT: Probably two reasons. Growing up there, watching my dad race and a lot of other races there. Being a Sydney girl, that and Amaroo were our 'local' tracks. Secondly, in terms of driving it, I loved the section from across the bridge around to the start-finish line. That's my favourite part of any racetrack anywhere. The way it's designed, to be fast, you've got to get your car setup just right and drive it just right so your car 'floats' and drifts from right out to the edge and back again. When you get that section right, it's amazing and really rewarding. I just loved that part of it.

JC: You turned 30 this year. Ideally, would you like to see yourself racing in five or ten year's time?

LT: Yes, I would. I guess it would probably be at a different level. I'm up to that point where I'm not sure if I'll ever become a professional V8 Supercar driver. The opportunities just aren't presenting themselves and the older you get, the less opportunities there are. So if I am going to be racing in another five or ten years, it's going to be at a level similar to maybe Touring Car Masters or Improved Production. Maybe I'll wait ten years and crack out my Formula 3 and go historic racing! (Laughs)

JC: OK, fantasy time now. If you could step out of Touring Car Masters today and into any other motorsport category tomorrow, what would it be?

LT: Probably GP2. I love the open wheelers. In Australia, you can't really make a career out of them and they always struggle. Formula Ford is the only open wheeler category that doesn't seem to struggle. I think that's because it does have the backing of Ford. From what I've heard of the GP2 cars, they're pretty impressive pieces of machinery. Formula 1 is a bit too serious for me right now, so I'll settle for GP2!

JC: We'll finish up with a few quick ones. What was your first road car?

LT: An MGB.

JC: And first race car?

LT: A Swift chassis Formula Ford

JC: What's the favourite road car you've owned or driven?

LT: Honda Integra Type R

JC: Favourite racecar?

LT: My Formula 3 - a Dallara F307

JC: OK, now the ideal or 'dream' road car you'd love to drive.

LT: A Bugatti Veyron!

JC: And ideal or dream racecar you'd love to drive.

LT: An F1- a fast one, so that'd be a Red Bull at the moment!

JC: OK, thanks very much for your time, Leanne. Enjoy the rest of the season in the Touring Car Masters. Hope to see you on the podium more often.

Leanne Tander is sponsored by: Wilson Security; Ugly Fish eyewear; Racer Industries; Web 105.com; My 105.com; McGrath Foundation.

Source: JUST CARS, October 2010, Collectors Issue #176