Tander: What makes AGP 'massively different' to Sydney

Garth Tander has suggested the "massively different” Albert Park surface could reveal immediate changes to the pecking order after the first round on the new Soft tyre compound.

Cam Waters and Tickford Racing were the big winners of the first round with the new tyre, with the Monster Energy Ford Mustang victorious on all three days.

Sydney Motorsport Park and the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, which will host Round 2 next weekend, are similar on paper with flowing, fast corners, long straights and big braking zones.

However, the abrasive Sydney surface will be followed by the billiard-smooth Albert Park surface, which will offer a vastly different challenge to drivers and teams.

Additionally, where teams had a 100km race and dual 200km races in Sydney, each with pit stops, drivers will race flat out in Melbourne in 100km sprints with no stops.

The breathless Albert Park format, unique to other Supercars rounds, delivered some of the best racing of the 2024 season, with drivers battling up and down the field.

In 2025, minimum tyre pressure has also been reduced from 17psi to 16psi.

Working out where peak grip is delivered will allow teams to understand what the working range of the tyre is. The teams that find answers quickest will likely be at the pointy end.

Tander, a seven-time non-championship Supercars race winner at Albert Park, warned against expecting much of the same from Sydney.

“I’m really excited going to the Grand Prix, because we’ve finished at Sydney Motorsport Park, which is widely regarded as the lowest-grip surface we have Australia in our championship,” Supercars champion Tander said in Sydney.

“We’re going to Albert Park, which is probably the highest grip surface we have in our championship.

“Taking this new tyre there as well, so how that performs there and how you get the most out of it on a very, very different surface.

“Just because you’re Cam Waters and you dominated this weekend, does not mean that when we roll out at Albert Park, the same thing is going to happen there."

Waters gave the new tyre the tick of approval after the first Sydney race, but suggested the jury was out given there are plenty more tracks and different conditions to come, saying: “You can definitely punish this tyre a lot more than the old tyre.

“It will sustain for longer. It still degs, it’s still a high deg track. It’ll be interesting. Obviously the perfect conditions for a tyre, nice and cool.

“It’ll be interesting when we race in the sun on Sunday and go to a few different tracks and that’s when we’ll get a clearer picture. So far, I think it’s pretty cool.”

Track action at the Melbourne SuperSprint will commence on Thursday March 13.