The rise of a new British star

Nick Tandy's route to Le Mans 24 Hours success was unusual and meant he caught some by surprise in France in June. But in reality, there had been many signs that he was capable of competing at the top of the sport.

I don't claim to be any more of a talent spotter than many of my colleagues, but in Tandy's case I tended to be in the right place at the right time. It was hard not to notice something special, even if there were some rough edges to be ironed out along the way.

One thing you always look for when assessing up-and-coming drivers is if they get 'found out' as they climb the ladder. Do their special performances dwindle? Do they fade away as the level of competition improves?

If the answer is no, you want to see them continue upwards. Funding issues and personal tragedy contrived to prevent Tandy getting near a Formula 1 chance, but his Porsche career has allowed him to produce world-class performances, culminating in that Le Mans success.

Now seems the right time to look back at some of the moments that showed Tandy is one of the great British drivers of his generation.

FORMULA FORD FESTIVAL, 2006

After a successful short oval career in Ministox, Tandy's step into circuit racing was fraught. A lack of straightline speed in Mini Se7ens hampered him and older brother Joe, resulting in controversial clashes at the end of 2004 that led to both receiving series bans.

Things improved in 2005 with a move to BRDC Single Seaters, which Tandy dominated. The prize fund helped him into British Formula Ford with the works Ray team.

There was only one victory, but a switch to the new Joe Tandy Racing team, still with a Ray, made Tandy the main threat to champion Nathan Freke's Mygale and brought two wins in the last three championship races.

That set up a remarkable Brands Hatch Festival. Both Freke and Tandy won their heat and semi, and therefore lined up on the front row for the wet final.

"We knew we were the fastest car and should win the race, and Nathan knew that too," is Nick's take on the skirmish, in which Freke ran Tandy out onto the grass at Druids as the Ray challenged for the lead. Tandy hit the barrier and spun.

There were three more gyrations as Tandy got used to the odd handling of his damaged Ray, but in between he put on a startling recovery charge, lapping up to two seconds faster than the rest of the field.

Helped by a series of offs for the leading contenders, Tandy stormed to the front with four laps to go. Unfortunately, he had recovered places during a safety-car period after one of his spins - probably an unnecessary misjudgment given his pace - and was penalised back to fifth.

It was the right decision, but the event had nevertheless underlined Tandy's wet-weather feel, ability to drive around a problem, and refusal to give up.

MCLAREN AUTOSPORT BRDC AWARD, 2007

This could almost be two entries, given Tandy had to enter and win the Formula Palmer Audi shootout to get his place.

That was no easy feat in itself; rock up to Snetterton and take on a field of drivers who had been racing the car all year. Tandy won two of the three races, despite no previous experience of downforce, then headed to the Award tests in his Autoglass Ford Transit van.

Since the rise of Formula Renault UK in the 2000s, Formula Ford drivers tended to struggle in the tests, partly through a lack of experience with aero and partly through the slightly lower overall level of the category.

The Formula Renault 3.5s used for the 2007 tests were more powerful and had a level of grip in a different stratosphere to anything Tandy had experienced before. But he showed it was possible to bridge the gap.

The exact times and performances of the Award tests are always shrouded in secrecy, but Tandy was in the hunt for honours before a hefty shunt. I'd just arrived at Riches when he went straight as the road turned right...

Taking unfamiliar machinery to its limits has never been a problem for Tandy, even if it hasn't always ended well, and that talent was crucial in securing his LMP1 drive.

PORSCHE CARRERA CUP GB GUEST DRIVE, 2008

Part of the reward for becoming a finalist was a guest drive in the Porsche Carrera Cup GB. A respectable result was normally getting into the top five or six.

Tandy qualified second at Silverstone National and snatched the lead on lap five before holding off champion-to-be Tim Harvey.

Clashes with title contender Tim Bridgman showed that Tandy was not worried about getting in among the regulars and he suffered in the sequel, but the victory would prove useful the following year.

When his F3 career faltered and Tandy knocked on the door of German Carrera Cup team boss Franz Konrad, the Silverstone win was one of the things that encouraged the experienced Austrian to give him a try.

Tandy thus found himself in a Konrad Porsche at the 2009 Dijon round, where he finished a close second to 911 ace Jeroen Bleekemolen. Nick now says "it was all Dijon" when asked what was the key race for his Porsche career.

ROCKINGHAM BRITISH F3, 2009

The most emotional and partisan I have seen a press room was at Rockingham's British F3 round in 2009.

Joe Tandy (and his fiancee's brother) had been killed in a road traffic accident less than three weeks before and there was understandable tension when Nick lined up third for the first race.

As the leading quartet headed down to Deene hairpin a gap opened on the inside, one that Tandy would often have thrown his car into in the past. But something made him change his mind and he moved high to take a wide line.

That meant he snatched the lead when Daniel Ricciardo hit Renger van der Zande under braking. Much to the delight of the no-longer-objective press room, Tandy's Mygale simply drove away from the Dallaras to record his only F3 victory.

The emotion spilled over as he tried to do a 'stoppie' across the line, putting over 200psi of pressure through the brake and snapping the front-right suspension.

Nick now says the car suited Rockingham and he knew he could win if he hit the front, but the fact that he did so under such difficult personal circumstances - and knowing the future of the JTR team was in doubt - made it a remarkable achievement.

MOTORBASE, 2011-2013

Motorbase team boss David Bartrum is another Tandy believer, and Nick has spectacularly repaid him twice.

In 2011, the Motorbase Porsche Carrera Cup squad was having a tough time after the introduction of the latest 911. On the face of it, the driver line-up was not the place to look; it included former champion and 1992 British Touring Car title winner Tim Harvey and the experienced Michael Caine.

But Bartrum decided to put Tandy in the car and he was a revelation. He qualified on pole for all four races he started, two at Brands Hatch GP and two at Silverstone. He would also have won all four had it not been for a puncture in the second Brands race, but that's not why the foray is on this list.

In the season finale, Tandy - having saved a set of tyres in qualifying to utilise two covers in each race - obliterated the opposition by 16.6 seconds. Around the Silverstone National circuit.

After race one, champion James Sutton had suggested Tandy had something in hand on his way to a mere 3.5s victory, but you don't often see a top national field thrashed around a track with only four corners.

Nearly two years later, Motorbase was having more trouble with its self-built NGTC Ford Focuses in the BTCC. There was some debate as to whether the issue was with the Focuses or in the minds of drivers Mat Jackson and Aron Smith.

In truth, it was probably a bit of both, but Bartrum asked Tandy to join his regulars for the mid-season Snetterton test, nearly a decade since Nick's last experience of front-wheel-drive Mini racing.

He was (comfortably) the fastest Focus driver in three of the four sessions, rising as high as fourth overall on day one. How much of the team's subsequent upturn in form was due to his feedback or the extra motivation it gave Jackson and Smith is probably a debate for another time.

Bartrum did plan a BTCC race outing for Tandy, but it never quite came together. That was probably wise for his Porsche career, but it prevented his abilities being brought to a wider British audience.

Fortunately, the Le Mans victory has now done that for the former windscreen fitter and forklift truck driver. And we're still waiting for him to reach a level where his performances aren't remarkable.

For more on Nick Tandy's motorsport journey, see this week's issue of AUTOSPORT magazine for an exclusive interview