Is this the DTM's next big star?

Sorry to disappoint all you touring car fans out there, but the star performance from the DTM weekend at Zandvoort came not from Mike Rockenfeller, Martin Tomczyk or Edoardo Mortara, or indeed from any of the drivers competing in the showpiece event at the Dutch circuit.

Instead it came from a man who could have been in one of the older-spec Audi A4s this year, had his test in such machinery gone the right way, but who instead is proving that he is far too good for the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany.

I am, of course, talking about Nick Tandy, and I don't feel guilty at all about directing the attention of this column towards the Konrad Motorsport driver. His Carrera Cup car, after all, does have a tin-top, and his Dutch tale was certainly more interesting than most.

Now we at AUTOSPORT all know just how talented a driver Tandy is; after all, he was nominated for the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award in 2007, was second in both the German Carrera Cup and the Supercup last year and won the opening round of the former series at Hockenheim earlier this month.

But the guts and determination that he showed in the Netherlands was something to behold, and made for the most compelling story of the weekend.

Allow me to enlighten you. The weekend started with a smash in Friday practice at the ultra-quick Arie Luyendykbocht, resulting in a 4G impact with the barrier and a roll. Cue a busy evening in the Konrad awning that utilised every pair of hands available - even those of the team's star driver.

"I'm a windscreen repair man by trade, and [team boss] Franz [Konrad] is a bodywork man, so he was bashing the panels back into shape and I was fitting the Perspex. Everyone gets their hands dirty here.

Tandy fighting his way through the field

"To be honest, there wasn't that much damage. The mechanicals were fine, it was just cosmetic damage, a little bit with the exhausts, but nothing too major. The impact was reasonable, but the roll itself came afterwards and didn't feel too bad. It's not the ideal way to start your weekend though. Friday the 13th, eh."

Things got even worse on Saturday. After having his big push for pole wrecked when a rival speared off into the gravel ahead of him, he found himself stuck back in 12th on the grid. Then he was sent to the back of the grid for failing to slow down for the resultant yellow flags.

"I wasn't exactly thrilled," he said. "Eight places for that. I just knew it was going to make things a bit more difficult."

He didn't exactly make it look difficult though. Eleventh by the end of the first lap, Tandy, 26, threw caution to the wind and drove with enough gusto to last a whole season, let alone a 30-minute race.

He carved by Uwe Alzen - a man with a handful of DTM an 24 Hour wins to his name - as if the veteran German wasn't even there, and didn't stop there either, making reigning series champion Nicolas Armindo look second rate and eventually making it as high as third by the chequered flag.

That an entire corner of the Zandvoort press room (yes, the corner that I happened to be sitting in) erupted into cheers every time a move was made, told you everything you need to know about the way his drive captured the imagination of those watching.

All race his car looked mighty in the big braking zones for the Tarzan and S-Bocht bends, and so it proved to be where he did most of his overtaking, his seizing of third from Christian Wendt giving his victim no chance for riposte.

Tandy celebratres

"Is that as good as it gets?" I asked him after the race. "No," was his swift reply. "As good as it gets is winning from pole without seeing another car all day. I'd rather have weekends where it all goes like that. When it's like this, you're on the edge a bit too much, and you really have to put a lot of faith in the other guys not to just turn in on you."

Those days of which he spoke ought to come pretty often this year. After all, he has taken 10 wins in single-make Porsche racing across three championships, and was imperious in wet conditions at the German season-opener at Hockenheim as he repelled everything that Supercup champion Rene Rast could throw at him.

Tandy's future is undoubtedly bright. He's already had a Porsche drive at the Daytona 24 Hours this year and will share a Felbermayr Proton-run 911 with Bryce Miller and, probably, Abdulaziz Al-Faisal in the GTE Pro class at Le Mans next month.

With more than one DTM boss keeping a close eye on his progress this year, the name Nick Tandy looks set to become far higher-profile within the next 12 months. You never know where his next move might take him.