TANDY MOVES CLOSER TO PORSCHE LMP1 DEAL

Nick Tandy is expected to secure a seat with the Porsche LMP1 team next season after the manufacturer opted to drop champions Romain Dumas and Marc Lieb from its 2017 World Endurance Championship line-up.

Porsche announced last week that it was axing Dumas and Lieb, who recently secured the 2016 WEC drivers’ title alongside Neel Jani, from its second car’s line-up. Briton Tandy was part of Porsche’s Le Mans 24 Hours winning crew in 2015, racing alongside Earl Bamber and Formula 1 driver Nico Hulkenberg in a third 919 Hybrid, but this year has raced for the manufacturer in the IMSA Sportscar Championship in America – with Porsche opting against running a third car in the WEC centerpiece race in 2016.

Tandy, who had been mooted for a drive after Mark Webber announced he would be retiring from racing at the end of the 2016 season in October, is now expected to take one of Porsche’s three vacant seats.

Porsche LMP1 team principal Andreas Seidl has previously said both Tandy and Bamber were at the top of its list to take any vacant drives, and a decision on its 2017 driver line-ups is expected to be announced this Saturday at the manufacturer’s annual awards evening.

Audi refugee Andre Lotterer is also understood to be in contention for one of the squad’s seats.