Tandy: “High Motivation” to Complete “Big Six” Enduro Wins

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Nick Tandy said there’s “high motivation” to secure overall honors in this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, to not only extend his and co-driver Felipe Nasr’s lead in the IMSA GTP standings but to also complete an unprecedented “big six” of endurance race victories.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport star made headlines in January after winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and became the first driver to have won Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Nürburgring 24 and 24 Hours of Spa all outright.

With his 2015 overall victory in Porsche’s 911 RSR at Petit Le Mans already in the record books, the only other major endurance race, from an overall standpoint, that alludes Tandy is Sebring, despite having three previous GTLM class wins in the race.

“There’s high motivation, of course, but it’s no more than any other year,” Tandy told selected reporters ahead of the second round of the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

“I’ve been lucky enough to win there three times in GT, so Sebring has been a good event for me.

“The last two years, we came close both times to be in a position to win in the end.

“The big races are fantastic to win. But at the end of the day, they score the same points as any other race.

“You always go into each event with maximum motivation. It’s just when records build, then the individual races get talked about a little more, which is great, don’t get me wrong.

“It’s something I’ve been thinking of the last couple of years, trying to win overall, much like a lot of other drivers and teams.

“We’re leading the championship after the first round. You’ve [also] got to think about the championship focus as much as single event stuff.

“It would be nice. I’ve got the overall win at Petit, so that would kind of complete the big six as well!”

The Englishman reiterated that he puts the same level of motivation into any race he takes part in.

“I think if I was racing in British GT and there was a ten-lap shootout to the win, there’d be the same motivation to try and beat everybody on track as there would be to win at Le Mans or Sebring,” said Tandy.

“The motivation doesn’t change. It’s just what’s talked about afterwards.”

Tandy and the Porsche Penske team are coming off a productive two-day test at the Florida airfield circuit, which saw the sister No. 6 Porsche 963 end up quickest.

“The testing we had at Sebring a few weeks ago was probably the best Sebring test, for sure, that we’ve had with the team and the car since I joined the program, certainly,” said Tandy.

“Obviously you expect to learn every time you go out and we expect to get better.

“We had the benefit and had tested there pre-Daytona, or the back end of last year, also.

“We’ve won championships, yes. But you can never rest on your laurels. And there’s been a lot of hard work.

“Sebring has typically not been the best track for the Porsche 963 in the past, which we’ve recognized.

“It’s positive to see progress. Where we stack up against the opposition come race day is something we don’t yet know. But so far, we’re pleased for how the prep has gone going into Sebring.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John