In Australian Formula 3, Leanne Tander is winning by more than a neck

Can you remember Danica Patrick? You know, for a while there the attractive American Indy driver seemed to be everywhere – on the cover of Sports Illustrated in her racing clobber … in the men’s mags out of it. Yeah, you remember her now … the world’s most famous female race car driver … the driver who never actually won anything.

Meet Leanne Tander … she actually wins races. Over the years, the 26-year-old from Melbourne has amassed an impressive list of poles and podiums across the entire skid-marked landscape of Australian racing: karting, Formula Ford, Porsche Cup, V8 Supercars, Australian Production Car Championships, Formula 3. And in there are some equally impressive firsts: in 2000, she was the first woman to win both a round of the Australian Formula Ford Champs and to podium over the entire series; she came first. In ’01, she finished second in the first round of the V8 Supercars series – the first woman to podium in the sport. She’s also bagged another impressive racing title … that of Mrs Garth Tander, but that, however, is a tale best covered by the women’s mags. On these pages, we just want to know the secret to her continued success at the top of the F3 rankings.

CLIMBING THE WALLS

“Indoor rock climbing is great for forearm strength, which is really important for me when I’m racing. Along with my hands, they’re the part of me that gets the most fatigued when I’m racing – from holding the steering wheel and changing the gears. I’ve not got huge forearms, but they’re definitely the most toned part of me. Climbing’s a great way to give my hands a work-out without doing those silly squeezing exercises people do.”

MORE CORE

“Although you’re strapped into a specially moulded seat, an F3 car is still pulling 2.5 Gs and more. Basically, you’re thrown around in there – squashed up, and your legs in the footwell are thrown from side to side. So you need the strength to be able to hold your body straight, especially your left leg, which doesn’t do much during racing. For core, I just do all the normal exercises: push-ups, crunches, front and side bridges.”

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