Motorsport: Tander throws down gauntlet with Holden win

HRT's Garth Tander sealed a sizzling weekend for Holden at Sandown. Photo / Getty Images

MELBOURNE - The Holden Racing Team sent a clear message of intent to Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes ahead of their switch from Ford to Holden next year - we'll be Holden's No.1 team by the time you arrive.

HRT completed a dominant weekend at Sandown with Garth Tander winning race 14 of the series on Sunday.

It followed his teammate Will Davison topping both qualifying sessions at Sandown, winning Saturday's race, and making good inroads into Whincup's championship lead.

Throw in Holden's declaration on Friday it would continue its financial factory backing of the team until at least 2012, and it made for a near-perfect weekend for HRT.

It also allowed Tander to publicly throw down the gauntlet to the Team Vodafone duo following last week's surprise news they would ditch Ford for Holden - clearly with the promise of solid factory support.

"HRT has been the No.1 Holden team for past couple of years and I think it will continue to be the No.1 Holden team going forward," Tander said defiantly following his win.

HRT finished 1-2 in Sunday's race with Tander and Davison relegating Whincup to third.

Davison was the weekend's big winner as he cut Whincup's championship lead to 117 points at the midway point of the season.

Second-placed Davison and third-placed Tander are now serious live chances of wresting Whincup's title - especially with the endurance rounds and big chunks of points at Phillip Island and Bathurst looming.

Tander's race win was helped by a perfectly timed pit stop just before a safety car period.

It allowed the Holden driver new tyres, enough fuel to finish the race and vital track position while his rivals were scrambling to enter the pits en masse.

Tander had got off to a flying start from sixth place on the grid in the 65-lap race, using the new soft compound sprint tyre to good effect.

He kept those tyres on until lap 29 when he made his race-winning pit stop, then defied a voltage problem which heavily sapped his car's power in the final laps.

"We've had a few races lately where the strategy's been to zig and we've zagged, so it's great for us to get it right," Tander said.

"There wasn't a lot of engine going on in the car at the end - it was just get the car home. I was surprised we lasted the full distance to be honest, it was a fantastic result."

The next two races in the series will be held at Queensland Raceway from August 21 to 23.

- AAP