Video: Garth Tander talks about his winKEY POINTS:
It's not quite world domination, but Holden are well on the way to dominating New Zealand during the Kiwi round of the V8 Supercar championships, leaving rival Ford without a round win for the eighth time in a row.
At round three of the title chase, it was Garth Tander who tamed the mean streets of Hamilton with three from three.
"They were three very good races," said Tander. "It's a fantastic result for us and it's a bit of revenge here in New Zealand after last year [his wheel nut jammed]."
Honours for best-placed Kiwi went to Steven Richards, finishing the round in second place.
"I'm pretty happy. It's been a while between drinks," said Richards. "We got a pole position and managed to make the most of the conditions. We've taken a step forward in our championship chase, getting points on the board is the main thing."
Fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard drove consummately all weekend to stay out of trouble, ending the weekend in fifth.
"It's been a solid weekend for us," said Coulthard. "We've put in a lot of hard work in the first two rounds and it's starting to show."
As for the rest of the Kiwis, the streets dealt body blows to Jason Richards, Greg Murphy, Kayne Scott and youngster Shane Van Gisbergen. They all either suffered mechanical gremlins, accidents or pit dramas.
However Murphy and Van Gisbergen showed glimpses of out-right pace and look forward to round four in Perth.
"All our guys can at least be pleased at how good the car is," said Murphy. "They're probably not too pleased with what we did to it though."
However, the 172,000 plus fans who turned up over the weekend didn't leave disappointed. The racing was fast, furious and full of action with Tander showing a clean pair of heels to all and sundry.
"I tried to look after the car all weekend as a lot of the cars were being damaged by the kerbs and the chicane," said Tander.
Qualifying started in earnest on Saturday and the good news was that round two winner, Will Davison, managed to get his heavily damaged car from Friday back onto the track for qualifying.
The bad news was Craig Whincup's huge crash that virtually destroyed his car after being clipped by Todd Kelly.
"Biggest part for me is not taking part," said Whincup. "It's a great track and I was enjoying it. What happened, happened, hey that's motorsport."
At the end of the top 10 shootout Steven Richards and his Ford were on pole with defending champion Tander beside him.
Tander carried on the good form he showed at the non-points scoring round in Melbourne, where he won all three races, taking the win.
Tander kept his head and dominated the second race from Steven Richards and James Courtney.
While the front-runners stayed out of trouble in race three, further down the field all hell broke loose as the cars of Shane Price, Marcus Marshall, Lee Holdsworth, Tony D'Alberto and Davison, among others, came into contact with something or someone.
With the mandatory pit stops out of the way, order was restored with Tander, Steven Richards and Courtney resuming control.
Van Gisbergen showed how good he's going to be when he pulled a marvellous passing move mid-race on five-time champion Mark Skaife.
THE VERDICT? IT'S A WINNER
The newest track in the Aussie V8 Supercar championships has been an unqualified success. The track built through Hamilton's Frankton district has been described as interesting, challenging and fun to drive.
"The promoters are to be congratulated. It's one of the most unique race circuits I've ever raced on." - Jamie Whincup, series leader before the weekend.
"The Hamilton 400 race has the potential to become one of the biggest events on the calendar." - first round winner Garth Tander.
"It's a great circuit. It's pretty good and it's fast and technical in places. The chicane could be improved, but it didn't seem to bother some of the drivers."- top Kiwi driver Greg Murphy.
"The cars look and sound really different around streets. It's a wicked place to come and see the V8s race."- an enthusiastic fan.
"I'm a very happy man. Hamilton City Council and the promoters can stand up and take a big bow. It was world class and they put New Zealand on the world map this weekend. New Zealand should be really proud of what Hamilton achieved," - V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane.
"It's a relief the first one's over, but it's absolutely worth it. A great crowd, great weather and great racing."- event organiser Steve Vuleta.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1. Rick Kelly (Holden)672pts
2. Garth Tander (Holden)626
3. Lee Holdsworth (Holden)580
4. Mark Winterbottom (Ford)572
5. Jamie Whincup (Ford)540
