Tandy completes his set thanks to rain and oil
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The momentum changed in the dying hours of the Spa 24 Hours. And, predictably for the Belgian venue, it was rain that resulted in the race swinging in the favour of a trio of drivers who’d been downbeat about their chances ahead of the event. Come the chequered flag, the Porsche triumvirate of Nick Tandy, Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor were celebrating a victory that looked a long shot for much of the race.
Their Rowe Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R came into its own when the rain finally arrived in a dose heavy enough to make everyone switch to wet-weather Pirellis. Tandy took over the car from Bamber with a little under three hours to go and began a charge that gave them another victory to go with their 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours triumph, and ensured local hero Vanthoor finally joined the roster of multiple winners at Spa.
The Rowe Porsche was fifth when the race went green after a period of yellows under which it had pitted, with two Audis and two Ferraris ahead. By the time Tandy had got past the second of the Italian cars – the full-factory AF Corse 488 GT3 Evo with Alessandro Pier Guidi at the wheel – he was still 25 seconds down on the race-leading Attempto Audi R8 LMS with
