Team McGrath Launched in Sydney

FORD OR HOLDEN? DOESN’T MATTER:

AUSTRALIA’S FIRST EVER PINKED V8 SUPERCAR RACING TEAM, TEAM MCGRATH, IS HERE!

SYDNEY, 29 SEPTEMBER - Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGrath Foundation, Glenn McGrath, and V8 Supercar driver, Leanne Tander, have unveiled the Team McGrath V8 Supercar Racing Team – including the first ever ‘pinked’ V8 Supercar.

Team McGrath is the result of a friendship between the Wilson Security Racing team and the McGrath Foundation to create something completely new and unique within the motor racing community.

By transforming the traditional Wilson Security Racing team’s cars, drivers and crew with the McGrath Foundation’s logo and signature hot pink, both parties are aiming to drive a completely fresh conversation within the community around the importance of breast awareness among young women and the invaluable role Breast Care Nurses play in providing support for families experiencing breast cancer.

New car designs, helmets and race suits, and merchandise that will be sold at upcoming races to raise funds for the Foundation, were showcased at the official unveiling of Team McGrath in Sydney today and the newly pinked team will compete in the upcoming Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Commenting on the initiative, Glenn said that he was really excited by the potential in the friendship and the thought of seeing the Foundation’s logo on the bonnet of such a successful V8 Racing Team.

“Everyone at the Foundation was really excited when the guys from the Wilson Security Racing team first approached us as we all immediately saw the potential here to do something really special. We were also touched by the team’s commitment to turn the team and cars pink as a way of showing their support for the Foundation and in recognition of the work the Foundation carries out to support women diagnosed with breast cancer and their families.”

“One of Jane’s favourite sayings used to be that it takes a real man to wear pink and while she didn’t know much about motor racing she always loved beautiful cars. I’m sure though that she would have thought this was just about the best looking car she had ever seen!

“We’ve had such fantastic support right across the community and from within such a variety of sporting fields, including cricket, netball, rugby league, horse racing and even boxing and we now couldn’t be happier to be branching out into V8 Supercars,” continued Glenn.

“At the end of the day we all know breast cancer doesn’t just affect women, it affects families – and given that this sport has such amazing participation right across the board we’re very proud to now be being seen here.”

“You know the other thing that is great about Team McGrath is that is really doesn’t ultimately matter which team you were born to support – Ford or Holden – Team McGrath stands apart from the rest and so you can support us and betray no life long held alliances and that’s got to be a good thing!” concluded Glenn.

Leanne Tander, the only female driver in the V8 Supercars, has noticed the increased support of female fans and V8 Supercar members and is proud to be supporting the McGrath Foundation as a driver for Team McGrath.

“Over 40 percent of all V8 Supercar fans are female and I can see the number of females interested in the sport growing through the ranks, both behind the scenes and on the track,” says Leanne.

“It is a very exciting time to be a part of the Wilson Security Racing team, and be partnering with the McGrath Foundation. Anything we can do within V8 Supercars to support the communities that come out and support us provides a positive experience.”

The move to partner with the Foundation has the support of the entire team with all four Wilson Security Racing drivers Fabian Coulthard, Michael Patrizi and David Wall going pink to support the Foundation.

“I’ve always loved wearing pink off the track and it’s great to see the boys are also out there supporting the Foundation in their pink cars and suits,” concluded Leanne.

Team McGrath’s first race will be at the Bathurst Supercheap Auto 1000 from October 8 to 10 and following this a minimum of one car is expected to take to the track in Homebush at the Bigpond 500 from 4 to 6 December.


Past Articles

	Podium Position at Winton Leanne and her Ford Falcon XA GT Phase 4 have secured their first podium finish in the Touring Car Masters at Winton after coming back from a flat tyre in qualifying.

	Clipsal Race Report The Phase IV Ford XA GT and I made our Touring Car Masters debuts at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. It was hard to miss the XA with it’s wild violet and pink colour scheme, the pink in support of the McGrath Foundation.

	Leanne Tander to Touring Car Masters Australia’s most successful female racer, Leanne Tander is poised to make history as she joins field for the 2010 Touring Car Masters presented by Autobarn.

	Leanne Gears Up for Bathurst 12 Hour V8 Supercar endurance driver Leanne Tander will aim to repeat her 2009 class victory when she returns to the Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour with the Hankook Competition Australia-backed Conroy Motorsport.

	Sandown Race Report After a not so great start to my Fujitsu Series campaign at Winton in May, the team and I were pretty keen to make amends at Sandown.

	Leanne To V8 Development Series Spearheading a new race program of her own, Leanne Tander is set to step back into V8 Supercar racing for this weekend’s V8 Supercar Fujitsu Series at Victoria’s Winton Raceway on 1-3 May with key support from Wilson Security Racing (WSR).

	Leanne Tander adds girl power to V8 Supercar enduros with WSR V8 Supercars has today welcomed a female racer into its ranks for the 2009 V8 endurance races. Australia's top female motor racer, Leanne Tander is set to bring girl power to V8 Supercars, having earned a hotly-contested enduro drive with Wilson Security Racing (WSR) for the 2009 season.

	CONROY MOTORSPORT 1 - 2 IN WPS BATHURST 12 HOUR A ONE-TWO finish at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, is an especially rare and difficult thing to achieve – but that hasn’t stopped Conroy Motorsport doing just that in last weekends’ WPS Bathurst 12 hour showroom Enduro.

	TANDER GRABS CLASS POLE FOR 12 HOUR CONROY MOTORSPORT has taken a stunning class pole position the WPS Bathurst 12 hour today at Mount Panorama.

	TANDER JOINS CONROY MOTORSPORT FOR BATHURST 12 HOUR FATHER AND SON TEAM CONROY MOTORSPORT has today announced an ambitious two-car team to tackle Mount Panorama and the WPS Bathurst 12 hour Enduro with the aim of beating the class E benchmark Osborne Motorsport Celicas.

	LEANNE'S INDY DISAPPOINTMENT TANDERSPORT endured a frustrating end to their 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 season at the Nikon Indy 300 F3 Challenge last weekend.

	ENGINE BLOWS CHAMPIONSHIP CHANCES TanderSport driver Leanne Tander rebounded from a race one disappointment to brilliantly win the John Bowe Trophy and the Country Club Tasmania Formula 3 SuperPrix at Symmons Plains raceway in Tasmania at the weekend.

	One round to go... one point behind! Round 7 of the Australian Formula 3 Championship produced another mixed bag of results for me. We were at Phillip Island for the second time this year and I was determined to make up for my lack of results there last time.

	The One That Got Away - Phillip Island Race Report After a positive start to the weekend, Leanne has gone away from round 5 of the Australian Formula 3 Championship feeling as though it was the “one that got away.”

	Leanne Wins Again! TanderSport has won for the second time in as many rounds as Leanne Tander pieced together her best ever Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship round, at Mallala Raceway near Adelaide.

	Leanne Wins Her First Race for 2008 Leanne Tander has won her first race of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship season at one of her favourite tracks, Oran Park Raceway, in Sydney at the weekend.

	TOUGH WEEKEND FOR TANDERSPORT Round two of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship didn’t go to plan for drivers’ Leanne Tander and Samantha Reid, but positives can be found from what ended up being a destructive weekend on the 3.2km street circuit.

	Strong Start to Year for Leanne Leanne Tander has started her campaign for the 2008 Australian Drivers Championship strongly following a positive weekend at the first round of the 2008 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship, at Eastern Creek Raceway.

	LEANNE SIGNS TO RACE FORMULA V6 ASIA IN 2008 Leanne Tander will earn some serious frequent flyer miles this year after confirming today that she will drive for Opes Prime Team Meritus for the entire 2008 Formula V6 Aisa championship.

	Tander's transition to more grunt a success in FV6 Asia test Leanne Tander has successfully made the transition from her 220hp Formula 3 Dallara to a car with nearly double the horsepower following a strong two-day test in a Formula V6 Asia car in Malaysia last weekend.

	Tander back to her karting past with support of young Victorian karter Isabella Thomas Leanne Tander has thrown her backing behind the next generation of Australian female driving talent by supporting 12-year-old Victorian karter Isabella Thomas.

	A DIFFERENT DRIVE FOR LEANNE TANDER IN SUPPORT OF KIDSFLIX As one of Australia’s top racing drivers, Leanne Tander has what many would describe as an ‘out of the ordinary’ job – racing her Fleetcare TanderSport Dallara F3 car on weekends at speeds of up to 250kph. But last weekend Leanne was able to use her driving talent for different reasons, donating her time to chauffeur two disadvantaged kids around Melbourne as part of the ‘Kidsflix’ charity initiative.

	PLENTY OF POSITIVES FOR LEANNE TANDER DESPITE ORAN PARK DISAPPOINTMENT Leanne Tander has capped off a remarkable season by finishing a close second in the 2007 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship.

	TANDERS CHASE HISTORIC DOUBLE - A WORLD APART Australia’s fastest couple, Garth and Leanne Tander, will be chasing an historic motorsport championship quinella on opposite sides of the world next weekend.

	VOTE 1 LEANNE Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship points leader Leanne Tander has been nominated for the 2007 CAMS Motorsport Personality of the year award.

	LEANNE THE NEW FORMULA 3 POINTS LEADER LEANNE Tander has gained the outright lead of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for the first time with just one round of the 2007 season remaining.

	TANDERS MAKE RACING HISTORY For the first time in Australian history, husband and wife racing drivers are leading Australia’s premier motor racing categories.

	WIN NUMBER TWO FOR LEANNE IN CONTINUATION OF PHILLIP ISLAND FORM Leanne Tander scored her second race win of the 2007 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship in emphatic fashion at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit today.

	FIVE FAST FACTS ABOUT LEANNE'S 2007 F3 SEASON Five rounds down, three to go - Fleetcare TanderSport will tackle the sixth round of the 2007 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship at Phillip Island this weekend with Leanne Tander poised just nine points from the championship lead.

	FAST FINISHING SECOND FOR LEANNE AT EASTERN CREEK Fleetcare TanderSport driver Leanne Tander remains within ten points of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship lead after scoring her fifth race podium of the year at Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney

	Mallala Race Report After testing well on Thursday and Friday, I was confident I had a great car with which to qualify and race. As it turned out, however, I achieved my worst qualifying results for the season with 6th in the first qualifying session and 5th in the second.

	Margin Closes as Leanne Fights for Podium at Mallala Fleetcare TanderSport continues to climb closer to the front of the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship standings after Leanne Tander raced to an aggressive race one podium finish in round four, yesterday.

	Phillip Island Race Report As I have often been in recent rounds, I was once again fastest during Friday practice when times unfortunately don’t count! The car felt great, though, so I was pretty determined to stay at the front for the remainder of the weekend.

	Leanne Creates History Leanne Tander has today created Australian Motorsport history by becoming the first female driver to win a race in the 51-year history of the Australian Drivers Championship for the CAMS Gold Star – the series recognized as the premier title for Open Wheel racers in Australia.

	PODIUMS POINT TO POTENTIAL FOR FLEETCARE TANDERSPORT Fleetcare TanderSport and driver Leanne Tander will head to the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in two weeks time revitalised as championship contenders following a strong showing at Oran Park Raceway at the weekend.

	TANDER TURNS TRUCKIE IN LEAD UP TO ORAN PARK FORMULA 3 RETURN She may have stood on the podium of Formula Ford, Formula 3 and V8 Supercar races, but Fleetcare TanderSport’s Leanne Tander will be given the ultimate test of her driving adaptability this week. Leanne will trade her 270kph F3 Dallara for the Fleetcare TanderSport transporter in the lead up to this weekend’s second round of the championship in New South Wales.

	Bathurst 12-Hour Race Report I was first approached to be involved in Holden’s all-girl assault on the Bathurst 12 hour late in 2006. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity for some laps around Bathurst (it’s been about 3 years since I last raced there) and to do something a bit different, as most of my races are no more than 30 minutes long!

	LEANNE FAST AGAIN YET AGAIN UNLUCKY AT ALBERT PARK JUST FIVE Seconds of the first Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 race at the ING Australian Grand Prix were all it took to put Fleetcare TanderSport driver Leanne Tander on the back foot for an entire weekend at Albert Park.

	Leanne heads back to NZ! A promising yet ultimately tough weekend in her international racing debut has not stopped Leanne Tander from returning for more from the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series. A leading contender in the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship with Fleetcare TanderSport, Leanne will again cross the Tasman to take in the next two rounds of New Zealand’s summer series.

	NZ TRS Race Report I received a phone call on Monday asking if I would like to race in the Toyota Racing Series (TRS) that weekend and, by Wednesday night, I was on a plane and on my way to New Zealand.

	TOUGH, YET PROMISING NZ DEBUT FOR LEANNE Leanne Tander made quite an impact on the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series in her international racing debut at Manfeild Raceway last weekend.

	Leanne to Race in New Zealand Fleetcare TanderSport driver Leanne Tander will race in New Zealand for the first time when she travels across the Tasman to join the Toyota Racing Series at Manfield, this weekend.

	Queen of Comebacks If the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship awarded a prize for the biggest comeback of the season, Fleetcare TanderSport driver Leanne Tander would be just about a lock-in for the award despite having just one round in the books.

	Round 1 Race Report After setting the fastest time in practice one and the second fastest in practice two on Friday, I headed into qualifying on Saturday morning fairly confident that I would be right on the pace. My confidence appeared well-placed when, in qualifying one, I qualified third only 6 hundredths of a second behind pole.

	LEANNE TANDER: I can win the Championship FLEETCARE TanderSport driver Leanne Tander has high hopes that the 2007 Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship is hers to win.

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