Leanne Ferrier (sometimes known as Leanne Tander, born 5 June 1980 in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
) is an Australian
race car driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
having raced cars such as
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
,
Formula 3
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...
and in the
Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
.
Career
Ferrier started in
karts
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
in 1993, and progressed to Formula Ford in 1998. After mixed success there, she moved up into
V8 Supercar
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
in 2001 with
Garry Rogers Motorsport
Garry Rogers Motorsport is an Australian motor racing team. It is owned by retired racing driver Garry Rogers who began the team to further his own racing efforts. Based in Melbourne, originally out of a Nissan dealership owned by Rogers, the te ...
and 2002 with Fleetcare Racing. The next three seasons saw her race her father Mark's Mazda RX-7 in Improved Production racing, winning the Victorian and New South Wales championships in 2005, as well as driving in the Australian Production Car Championship in 2004 for Team Toyota Australia. In 2005, she had her first taste of a Formula 3 car, contesting three rounds that year, and moved to the Australian Formula Three Championship full-time in 2006, where she became the first female to win a race in 2007. After a pair of second places at
Symmons Plains Raceway
Symmons Plains Raceway is a motor racing circuit in Australia, located about south of Launceston, Tasmania. Since the closure of the Longford circuit in the 1960s it has been Tasmania's premier motor racing facility. The circuit is one of the ...
at the penultimate round, she went into the final round of the championship leading by four points.
After qualifying on pole position for both races at the season finale, at Oran Park Raceway, Leanne scored a third and a second in the two races, respectively, to narrowly miss out on the championship by just two points. It remains the best ever performance by a female driver in a National Australian circuit-racing Championship, and possibly the best ever by a female driver in a National or International F3 series.
In 2008, she remained in Australian F3 scoring four poles positions, five race wins and narrowly missed out on the title at the final round to
James Winslow
James Winslow (born 16 April 1983) is a British professional car racing driver who races at Le Mans 24 Hours. A ten-time Motorsport champion member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, he competes in Europe, Australia & Asia in Le Mans LMP & GT ...
.
In 2007, with then husband Garth leading the Supercars standings, and Leanne having led the Australian Drivers Championship during the season, it was the first time that a married couple have simultaneously led Australian Motor Racing Championships.
In the 2009 V8 Supercar Series, Ferrier joined the
Paul Cruikshank Racing
Paul Cruickshank Racing was an Australian motor racing team that competed in several Sports Car and Touring Car categories.
History
While new to the championship in 2006, Cruickshank has run several cars in the Development V8 Supercar series ...
racing for
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
. She also returned to the Fujitsu Series driving a TanderSport prepared
Ford BF Falcon
The Ford Falcon (BF) is a full-size car that was produced by Ford Australia from 2005 to 2008. It was the third and final iteration of the sixth generation of the Falcon. The station wagon body design continued until 2010, alongside the new se ...
.
In 2010 Ferrier competed in the
Touring Car Masters
The Touring Car Masters is an Australian motor racing series open to modified touring cars manufactured between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1978.Ford Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV. She placed 5th in the series, having won the last race of Round 5, held at the Mount Panorama Circuit as a support category to the
2010 Bathurst 1000
The 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars. The race, which was held on Sunday, 10 October 2010 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia was Race 18 of the 2010 V8 Supercar C ...
.
As of 2012, Leanne has been a regular contributor to entertainment and lifestyle website Live4.
Personal life
Ferrier married Australian racing driver
Garth Tander
Garth Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 97 Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineer ...
in 2004. The couple separated in 2022.https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj41U5XyHXm/ Ferrier has two children with Tander, a son, Sebastian, and a daughter, Scarlett.
Career results
Note: Ferrier raced under her married name of Tander between 2005 and 2022.