Chris Dyson and Nick Tandy scored race wins this month in very different Fords!
Factory Porsche driver Tandy (who won the Kyalami 9 Hour last weekend) joined by friends Elliot Mason, James Rhodes and Lewis Selby took the overall win amongst a 35 car Gen 1 Ford Ka field for the 500 minute EnduroKa IndyKa 500 around Brands Hatch’s Indy circuit.
Tandy, perhaps unsurprisingly got the fastest race lap in the JTR-prepped and entered car: a 1:03.678 on lap 365 as he brought the car to the flag in full darkness at a frigid Brands Hatch. The team came home eventually two laps clear with a total of 432 laps after clawing back a deficit from a penalty for a refuelling infringement.
The grid featured a number of other notables including ex McLaren F1 boss Eric Bouillier.
Well my little KA went round and round for 500 minutes and we ended up winning the IndyKA 500! What a great event put on by MSVR and @ka_enduro Absolutely awesome to share the winners milk with great fiends. For me that’s the triple crown ✅Le Mans
✅Daytona
✅Indy 500 pic.twitter.com/OrDAcOhMbw— Nick Tandy (@NickTandyR) November 18, 2019
Chris Dyson meanwhile did all he could to claw back the points deficit to Trans Am Championship leader Ernie Francis Jr. at the season’s finale weekend at Daytona in an altogether different Ford than Tandy’s little Ka.
Dyson and his title rival were both pedalling fire-breathing 700+bhp Ford Mustang tube-frame races as they took the title down to the wire.
Dyson’s push saw him claim pole position in qualifying in his #20, Plaid-sponsored Ford, lead every lap of the 29-lap race, and take the fastest race lap on his way to his third win of the season, but it wasn’t enough to derail Francis Jr.’s drive to a sixth career Trans Am title in his #98 Mustang.
Dyson’s challenge was also reliant on his rival having a bad weekend and, despite suffering a puncture on the final turn of the race (and the season) Francis had enough left to bring his car home second to secure the title.
“I am really looking forward to next season racing against Chris,” said Francis. “(We) battle every race and I think we’ve made each other better drivers because of it.
“We just had to take it home today to clinch the championship,” Francis Jr. continued. “Wish we could have ended the season with a win, but we will be back next year even stronger.”
“I knew the odds against us were very long,” Dyson said following the race. “But I wanted to do everything I could anyway. I just drove the whole weekend as if every lap was one step closer to the championship: flat out. What else can you do? I’ve won here at Daytona a few times in my racing career and our family racing history is deeply entwined with this place. Standing in Victory Lane always feels fantastic. There’s nothing quite like it.”
Daytona marked the fifth time in the 11-race season that Dyson and Francis finished 1-2. Three times Dyson came out on top – at Lime Rock Park, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and here at Daytona – while Francis turned the tables on Dyson at Mid-Ohio and Watkins Glen. In the end, Dyson had four races spoiled by mechanical difficulties while significant misfortune only befell Francis twice. In the end, that proved the margin in deciding the championship.
Dyson also expressed pleasure at the strong drive to seventh place put in by longtime friend and former IMSA teammate Humaid Al Masaood in the #21 CD Racing Ford Mustang. “Humaid did a terrific job this weekend,” Dyson said. “After only testing the car twice, he showed good speed in every session and did quite well in a tough field of competitors. I look forward to hopefully having Humaid with us at many more races next season.”
