Tander sets the pace in GT Enduro practice

Garth Tander put the the Jamec Pem Racing Audi R8 on top in the inaugural practice session of the new Australian Endurance Championship at Phillip Island.

The Holden Racing Team driver wasted little time as he shot to the top early in the going, before improving his personal best to a 1:27.94s in the dying moments.

Tander’s time proved 0.6s seconds clear of the #5 GT Motorsport R8 GT3 shared by factory Audi driver Marco Bonanomi and Greg Taylor.

The Aston Martin of Tony Quinn and Daniel Gaunt held second spot for much of the session before they were pipped by Bonanomi.

A late effort from Dominic Storey saw the Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes claim fourth, with the Klark Quinn/Shane Van Gisbergen McLaren 650S in fifth.

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The session was halted briefly when Grant Denyer’s McLaren 650S ran off the road at Turn 11 with eight minutes of the session remaining.

The Lamborghini of Roger Lago and David Russell ended up sixth ahead of the John Martin/Duvashen Padayachee Walkinshaw Porsche.

Factory DTM driver Miguel Molina (Jamec Pem Racing Audi) was eighth, while the Steven Richards/Max Twigg BMW and the Dean Canto/Yasser Shahin Lamborghini completed the top 10.

Qualifying for the Australian Endurance Championship will take place on Sunday morning before the afternoon’s 101 lap race.

Result: Australian GT Endurance Championship Practice