KEY POINTS:
Oran park brings back bad memories for Holden hotshot Garth Tander.
This time last year the Toll HSV Dealer driver led the V8 Supercar Championship - just as he does now - only for power steering failure to force him out of race one at the Sydney circuit.
It began a chain of events which skittled Tander's championship aspirations in the course of three rounds, when he failed to finish the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst with Holden Racing Team's Mark Skaife.
Tander is hoping history does not repeat when round eight begins at Oran Park today.
"This is one round that I don't have great memories of from last year, because it all started going pear-shaped from here for a while," he said. "But we had good speed there last year, and it is a circuit I really enjoy, so we're looking to go there and get a good solid result before we head to Sandown."
Tander leads the championship with 369 points, 10 points ahead of his Holden teammate Rick Kelly, who had a rare poor round by his standards at Queensland Raceway last month, finishing seventh.
"Queensland was tough for the team on car No 1," Kelly said. "We're very keen to get to Oran Park to get our championship back on track."
The weekend's round also presents a good opportunity for Ford's Team Vodafone pair Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes to bridge the gap.
Whincup is third on 285 points while Lowndes is fourth on 263.
Oran Park is one of Lowndes' favourite circuits, having won there three times including last year.
"Oran Park is without a doubt one of the top three or four circuits that we race on, it is a fantastic driver's track, has a great layout, a good variety of corners and the unique under and over bridge makes for a very challenging drive," Lowndes said. "As a team we feel like we're on a bit of a roll now, and Oran Park has always been kind to us so we're looking forward to continuing our present form and hopefully coming away with another dual podium."
Team Kiwi Racing return to the championship this weekend with a new car and new driver. The team have missed three rounds after a troubled season, which included Ford Performance Racing cancelling an engineering contract because of a dispute over money and driver Paul Radisich quitting.
New Zealand 18-year-old Shane Van Gisbergen replaces Radisich.
- AAP
