Congratulations to Nick Tandy who has become the first driver in history to win a clean sweep of outright wins in all four of the world’s greatest 24 hour sportscar races at Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps, the Nürburgring and now at Daytona in the US.

The 40-year-old from Bedford completed the unique ‘Grand Slam’ feat by winning last weekend’s Rolex 24 in Florida aboard the Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 GTP with team-mates Felipe Nasr and Laurens Vanthoor. Previously he had won at Le Mans in 2015, Nürburgring in 2018 and Spa in 2020.

“Obviously to win Daytona is a massive thing as a standalone event but to be the first person ever to get the big four 24-hours wins is quite unbelievable really – it’s just dream stuff,” admitted a delighted Tandy who has also won the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and taken multiple class victories in the Sebring 12 Hours… all with sportscar supremo Porsche.

“First of all you’ve got to be proud that you’ve been put in a position to compete in those races, then be in a car to compete for the win. It never really dawned on me, records and stuff like this until I won Spa. It’s something since that day in 2020 that I’ve wanted to check off the list.

“To get the big four 24-hour wins, I mean one would just be an incredible career, so to be able to get four is just a dream come true,” Tandy enthused.

Verifying the strength of the UK motor sport system, Nick started racing in Ministox aged just 11 years old. He then progressed into Mini Se7ens before switching to single-seaters in the British Formula Ford Championship winning the end-of-season FF Festival in 2007.

He then graduated to Formula 3 before switching to the Porsche Supercup, finishing an impressive runner-up in his debut season in 2010 ­– a feat which in time earned him a coveted place in the prized Porsche factory team.

Adding to British success at Daytona, Team UK graduate Tom Blomqvist came a very close second in the annual Florida twice-around-the-clock classic. In a dramatic finale, the Acura crossed the chequered flag less than two seconds behind the victorious Porsche giving Tom his fourth top two result from just four starts at Daytona.

Further down the results, Paul di Resta finished runner-up in the super-competitive LMP2 class while Alexander Sims and Sebastien Priaulx – also both beneficiaries of the Motorsport UK Academy initiative – finished second and third in the equally hard fought GTD Pro category.