The MSA congratulates British driver Nick Tandy on his brilliant outright victory in the 83rd Le Mans 24 Hours, alongside Porsche team-mates Earl Bamber from New Zealand and German F1 racer Nico Hulkenberg.
There was a thrilling battle for victory on the Circuit de la Sarthe, with the lead swinging back and forth between Porsche and Audi early on. Tandy was mighty throughout and eventually led home the sister car of Timo Bernhard, Brendon Hartley and Mark Webber for a Porsche one-two.
The result makes Tandy the 33rd British driver to with Le Mans – more than from any other nation, including France.
Tandy was among a host of Brits racing across the classes at Le Mans, including drivers in each of the LMP1 category’s four factory teams. Adding to the British success, Richard Bradley was victorious in LMP2, while Oliver Gavin won GTE Pro.
As a former member of the MSA Race Elite scheme, Tandy was also one of several graduates from the MSA’s talent development programmes; LMP2 racer Sam Bird was also part of Race Elite, while more lately Harry Tincknell (LMP1), Oli Webb (LMP2) and James Calado (GTE Pro) have been members of the MSA Team UK national squad.
Rob Jones, MSA Chief Executive, said: “Nick has fought long and hard to get the opportunity he deserves and has duly delivered, with an historic outright victory in the world’s most famous endurance race at the first time of asking. His great win further extends Britain’s incredible run of success in international motor racing and we offer our warmest congratulations for an incredible performance.
“I would also like to congratulate the many other British drivers flying the Union flag at Le Mans. Some came through MSA programmes and we are proud to have played a small part in their development, but more than anything we are simply delighted to see such strong representation throughout the field, giving tens of thousands of British fans plenty to cheer.”
Tandy, aged 30 from Bedford, spent much of his early career racing single-seaters such as Formula Ford and F3 in the UK. A switch to GT and sports cars led to success across a range of championships both home and abroad, predominantly in Porsche Carrera series. Although he had contested Le Mans twice in GT cars, the 2015 race was his first in a prototype.
