British · Born 1984 · #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R · AO Racing · GTD Pro Class
Nick Tandy won the 2025 12 Hours of Sebring outright, sharing the #6 Porsche 963 GTP with Nasr and Vanthoor. In 2026, he steps down to the GTD Pro class in AO Racing's #77 Porsche 911 GT3 R — still at Sebring, still on Porsche, but now hunting GT class honors rather than the overall victory. His Sebring knowledge from victory conditions is unmatched.
Nick Tandy was born in 1984 in Guildford, England, and has spent virtually his entire professional career driving Porsche machinery. This factory loyalty — extraordinary in an era when drivers switch manufacturers for financial and competitive reasons — has produced one of the deepest bodies of Porsche-specific knowledge in active motorsport.
Tandy's Porsche career began through customer racing and the Porsche Carrera Cup. His results earned him invitations to Porsche's factory program, and he progressively moved up to the most prestigious events — WEC and IMSA — carrying the brand's flag on the world stage.
His Le Mans victories in GT categories gave him the international recognition that accompanies wins at motorsport's most famous race. At Le Mans, the GT classes are fought with the same intensity as the overall race — with manufacturer pride and hundreds of thousands of spectators watching every lap. Tandy's performances there cemented his status as one of Porsche's elite factory drivers.
The 2025 Sebring 12H was the pinnacle of Tandy's GTP career. As part of the #6 Porsche Penske trio with Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor, the car managed a perfect day — balancing speed with flawless execution over 12 hours — to win both the GTP class and the overall race. It was the ultimate validation of Porsche's investment in the 963 and the Penske partnership.
Tandy's contribution across multiple stints — including critical race-phase driving — was central to that victory. His experience of Sebring's unique characteristics, accumulated over many visits, gave him advantages in traffic management and tire management that translate directly to lap time at this specific circuit.
The 2026 role with AO Racing represents Tandy supporting Porsche's customer racing ecosystem. Rather than the full factory program of Porsche Penske, AO Racing is a customer team — buying the 911 GT3 R and operating it with their own engineering team. Tandy's presence brings factory-level expertise and feedback to a customer program, significantly elevating what AO Racing can achieve.
In GTD Pro — where all three drivers must be professionals — Tandy is the headlining driver whose pace sets the benchmark for the entry. His teammates Parker King and Matteo Picariello will benefit enormously from sharing a car and debriefs with someone who has won at Sebring at the highest level.
The Porsche 911 GT3 R (992 generation) is Porsche's current GT3 customer racing weapon. It uses a 4.2-liter naturally aspirated flat-6 engine, sophisticated aerodynamics derived from factory racing programs, and the handling balance that has made the 911 a GT3 standard-bearer for decades. Tandy's familiarity with Porsche GT cars means the GT3 R feels natural and immediate to him — no adaptation period required.
Moving from GTP (hybrid prototype, 500+ hp, purpose-built racing car) to GTD Pro (GT3 production-based car, ~550 hp NA, road-car derived) is a significant step in terms of car specification. GTP cars are faster, more aerodynamically extreme, and technically more complex. However, GT3 racing has its own competitive intensity — the class battles are ferocious, the margins are tiny, and Tandy's GTP experience gives him a technical edge in managing all aspects of a long-distance GT race.