British racer Nick Tandy joins Porsche factory driver line-up

British racing driver Nick Tandy has joined the Porsche Motorsport line-up of factory drivers for 2013.

By being invited to race for the German sports car manufacturer as part of the official 'works' team of drivers, Tandy follows in the footsteps of fellow Briton and Porsche Le Mans
ace Derek Bell, and the 28-year old is looking forward to adding to the Stuttgart marque's motorsport success story.

"This is a big dream come true. I'm absolutely thrilled," said Tandy (Bedford). "Ever since I first drove a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup it was clear to me that there could be nothing better than to become a factory 'works' driver for Porsche. It's great that Porsche recognised what I have achieved so far, and that they included me in the family of factory drivers. I'll do everything to merit this trust."

"I'm delighted to welcome Nick as our tenth works driver," said Hartmut Kristen, Head of Porsche Motorsport. "His career is exemplary. He followed up his title victory in the Carrera Cup Deutschland with a convincing performance on the international GT racing scene. With his ability, he perfectly complements our driver line up which consists of the very best drivers from sports car racing."

Initially, Tandy's career was greatly influenced by British motorsport. He celebrated success in various series including Formula Ford, Formula Palmer as well as Formula 3. The fatal accident in May 2009 of his brother, who was the boss of the Formula 3 team at that time, almost ended Tandy's career as a race driver. However, the long-time Porsche one-make series team principal Franz Konrad became aware of Tandy and his impressive performances at guest appearances in the Carrera Cup Great Britain.

Konrad put him in the cockpit of a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup for one race in September. The Briton thanked him in his own special way by clinching second place in both qualifying and the race. In 2010, five victories in the Carrera Cup Deutschland earned Tandy the Vice-Championship honours, and in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup only one driver was better than the shooting star from Great Britain. In 2011 in Germany's fastest single marque race series, Tandy gave no one the chance to nip in front!

The Carrera Cup Deutschland Championship title opened the door to international GT racing. Team boss Olaf Manthey (Manthey-Racing) contracted the 2011 Champion for the fiercely-contested International GT Open. Sharing driving duties with Porsche factory driver Marco Holzer, he narrowly missed out on the title despite scoring five wins over the course of the season in the 911 GT3 RSR. Moreover, Tandy and his team-mate Christian Engelhart won four races of the ADAC GT Masters with a 911 GT3 R. In Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series, the 28-year-old gained valuable experience.

Nick Tandy kicks-off his first season as a Porsche works driver in Daytona. At the long distance classic in Florida, USA, on January 26-27, Porsche traditionally supplies customer teams with several factory drivers. For the 2013 season, Tandy anticipates again contesting the International GT Open among other series and races.

The rest of the season's schedules for the other drivers are also taking shape: Four long-standing factory drivers will compete at the Le Mans 24 Hours and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) with the new 'Type 991' Porsche 911 RSR. The winning duo of Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) head into the second WEC season under the direction of the newly-founded factory squad; 'Porsche AG Team Manthey'. Newcomers to the WEC are Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Pilet (France).

At the season highlight at Le Mans in France on June 22/23, the two driver pairings receive support from two other top 24 Heures du Mans specialists: Frenchman Romain Dumas is the third driver in the cockpit of the Lieb/Lietz 911, with Timo Berhard (Germany) joining forces with Bergmeister and Pilet. The other four factory drivers will be made available to Porsche customer teams for their Le Mans campaigns.

As the youngest factory driver at 24 years old, Marco Holzer contests the entire 2013 season of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) for Paul Miller Racing. Like last year, Wolf Henzler supports the Falcon Tire squad in the ALMS. The American Patrick Long focuses on the ALMS with some races in the Grand-Am Series also planned.

Posted in: Daytona,Derek Bell,Hartmut Kristen,International,Marco Holzer,Motor Sports,New Appointment,Nick Tandy,Porsche,Porsche 911 GT3 Cup,Porsche Le Mans,Porsche Motorsport,Timo Berhard