Who is Nick Tandy, the driver who enters history as 'Mr. 24 Hours'

Nick Tandy is a British racing driver who has made history by becoming the first driver to win the four major 24-hour races in the world: 24 Hours of Le Mans: He won the 2015 edition with Porsche. 24 Hours of Nürburgring: Also known as Nordschleife, he won the 2018 edition with Porsche. 24 Hours of Spa: He won the 2020 edition with Porsche. 24 Hours of Daytona: He won the 2024 edition with Porsche. This achievement has earned him the nickname 'Mr. 24 Hours'.

Porsche factory driver Nick Tandy has been the unofficial king of endurance racing since January 26 of this year: the Briton clinched victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona behind the wheel of a Porsche 963, thus completing the coveted 'Grand Slam' of endurance racing.

Throughout his impressive career, Tandy has secured overall victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, the classic GT3 endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps, and now, in the iconic season-opening IMSA race in Florida, a feat no other racing driver had achieved before.

Together with his fellow drivers, Brazilian Felipe Nasr and Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, the Briton celebrated his first overall victory at Daytona with unrestrained joy and initial disbelief. Reflecting on the triumph weeks later, Tandy says: "I was overwhelmed with emotions. I needed some time to process it all."

Nick Tandy was visibly moved in his first reaction after securing the season-opening victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship: "Being the first human to achieve something like this in the world is absolutely incredible, almost incomprehensible."

"On one hand, I felt immense joy for winning the race: for two months, the entire team focused exclusively on preparing for Daytona. When you see your car cross the finish line first, it's pure euphoria; that's what we all work so hard for. On the other hand, I also felt a huge sense of relief," emphasizes the 40-year-old Briton. Tandy had already secured victory at Le Mans in 2015, behind the wheel of the Porsche 919 Hybrid, followed by his triumphs at Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps in 2018 and 2020, respectively, with the Porsche 911 GT3 R.

"When Porsche Penske Motorsport launched the new 963 program, I immediately raised my hand and said: 'I want to compete in North America!'. My main motivation was to secure an overall victory at the Rolex 24 At Daytona," Tandy explains. "In the previous two years, we hadn't achieved the results we wanted there. I started to wonder how many more attempts I would need, or if I would ever succeed. Now we have the answer and I feel fantastic."

The desire to complete the 'Grand Slam' in endurance racing has driven Tandy since 2020. "When I won Spa that year, someone told me I was now within reach of the 'Grand Slam'; I hadn't even thought about it until then, but after that, it was always on my mind." Although he never publicly spoke about this ambition, Tandy remained focused on achieving it.

Ironically, his toughest rival for the endurance crown was Earl Bamber, the same New Zealander who shared the cockpit with Tandy and Formula 1 driver Nico Hülkenberg during their victory at Le Mans in 2015, and who also stood alongside him on the top step at Spa in 2020. "When Earl won at Nürburgring Nordschleife in 2023, we both only needed Daytona to complete the set. It was a recurring topic between us. As we are both fiercely competitive, it became a friendly rivalry."