Back as Fulltime Drivers in 2023, Each Has Found Victory Lane Already
By Tony DiZinno
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – There’s an old saying that “You can’t go home again.” Apparently, Nick Tandy, Patrick Pilet and Alexander Sims didn’t get the memo.
But we’re happy to report this trio is back in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship fulltime in 2023, happily working in new office spaces.
Tandy, Pilet and Sims all enjoyed multiple seasons racing in the former GT Le Mans (GTLM) class, although their only overlap full season came in 2018. Now are all back, all are winners and all are focused on even more success the rest of the year.
Tandy, Porsche and Penske Unite
Tandy and Porsche along with Team Penske and Porsche have reunited in 2023, in the Porsche 963 that captured its first Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) win April in Long Beach. Tandy is back with Porsche after two years with Corvette Racing, racing in the final season of the WeatherTech Championship GTLM class in 2021 and last year in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Penske and Porsche come back together for the first time in 15 years, since running the dominant Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) specification Porsche RS Spyder from 2006 through 2008.
Additionally, Tandy is back in a Porsche prototype fulltime for the first time since 2017. When Tandy raced in IMSA prior to this season, he raced GT cars only.
Those new or renewed ingredients have only added to Tandy’s desire to succeed upon returning fulltime to these shores.
“It feels like home; you get a different atmosphere in IMSA than you do anywhere else in the world,” Tandy said.
“It’s great to be back with Porsche given its legacy in sports car racing and an honor to drive for the Penske organization.
“But you’re only as good as your last season. There’s always pressure, given we’re tasked with this latest generation as drivers and teams to get the best out of the car.”
Pilet, Porsche and Pfaff: Three Ps
Tandy’s longtime Porsche GTLM co-driver, Pilet, is another driver back in his natural habitat.
After serving as a fulltime shoe from 2015-19, he only made two IMSA starts in the last three years, both at Daytona (2020 and 2022).
With so many Porsche stars part of its 963 GTP program, Pilet stayed in the GT category and joined the two-time champion Pfaff Motorsports “plaid Porsche” for 2023.
As the only one of this trio still in the GT ranks, Pilet said the GTD PRO class holds up favorably to the GTLM halcyon days.
“Coming from the GTLM era to GTD PRO has been absolutely no different,” explained Pilet, who won the 2015 WeatherTech Championship GTLM title.
“The competition is still extremely high with a lot of factory drivers and there’s still a lot of old friends on the track.”
Sims’ Surprise Prototype Return with AXR
Sims called his two full years with BMW M Team RLL in GTLM (2017-18) “the most enjoyable form of racing I’ve done in my career.”
From there, he moved to Formula E. But once he decided it wasn’t where he wanted to stay for a fulltime program and with connections made at GM via his Corvette Racing third driver role in 2021, Sims emerged as a GTP seat contender for the Cadillac program. He is sharing the No. 31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R operated by Action Express Racing (AXR) fulltime with Pipo Derani.
“Laura (Klauser) oversees both programs and GM has a lot of great technical expertise,” Sims said. “But I’ll be honest, I never thought about prototypes too much!
“I was so happy with Corvette and GTs and that’s where my focus and career had been for quite a few years.
“But it was right place, right time and it’s amazing how incredibly experienced this team is with their great success in the recent past.”
Early Winning Ways
Through a variety of circumstances and opportunities, Tandy, Pilet and Sims are already winners through the opening three race weekends of 2023.
Sims and Pilet scored shock wins at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. The No. 31 Cadillac benefited from the chaos of the top three GTP cars crashing out inside the final 20 minutes. The No. 9 Pfaff Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) parlayed a long fuel save number into a GTD PRO victory.
“Sebring was weird!” Sims laughed, after co-driving with Derani and Jack Aitken. “We were resigned to fourth without the pace, then we were in the driver’s seat. It was strange, but sometimes you have to take the lucky ones.”
“From an operation standpoint and team effort, Sebring was insane!” Pilet reflected on his Sebring win with Klaus Bachler and Laurens Vanthoor.
Tandy and Penske deployed a strategic gambit to claim the first global win for the new Porsche 963 at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
After Tandy handed over the No. 6 Porsche 963 to Mathieu Jaminet, the team opted to run the race on a single set of Michelin tires. Matt Campbell’s defense in the second Porsche helped ensure faster cars – particularly the No. 10 Konica Minolta Acura ARX-06 – weren’t able to get past Jaminet.
“We rolled the dice and saw what the (No.) 10 did when they came in the lap before us,” Tandy said, referring to the Acura crew changing tires and taking extra time to complete the driver change, “and said to do everything we could to go for the victory. The team result is amazing.”
All three WeatherTech Championship returnees and the rest of the field will be back in action May 12-14 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for the Motul Course de Monterey Powered by Hyundai N.