Duncan will be driving with ART Grand Prix this season

The Brit, a two time McLaren Autosport Award finalist, will be racing the McLaren MP4-12C GT3, in tandem with French driver Grégoire Demoustier.

Tappy has enjoyed notable success as a single-seater driver. He is a Formula Ford Festival Winner and Formula Renault UK Champion and has scored podiums and wins in Auto GP and Superleague Formula.

ART GP, owned by Frédéric Vasseur and Nicolas Todt, have dominated international junior single-seater categories for the past decade, achieving a record number of wins and titles in GP2, F3 Euroseries and GP3 and setting the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastien Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Nico Hulkenberg, Paul di Resta, Romain Grosjean, Jamie Green and Tiago Monteiro on the road to enduring success as racing drivers.

Frédéric Vasseur said: “At ART Grand Prix, we have always set the bar very high in terms of what we aim to achieve in any category we enter. Therefore, we knew that we wanted our inaugural season in GT racing to be lead by a driver with pace, intelligence and full commitment to the team’s cause.

Duncan on track at Monza in round one of the Blancpain Endurance Series

“I was already aware of Duncan through his titles in single-seater racing and he definitely confirmed to us that he is the right man for the job, during the first round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza. We are therefore very pleased to have signed him for the rest of the season.”

Duncan Tappy said: “I am delighted to be teaming up with two of most prestigious names in international motor sport in ART Grand Prix and McLaren.  The car had a few normal teething issues at Monza but we were very competitive for most of the race and we managed to bring it home in the end.

“It’s already obvious that the ART-McLaren package has huge potential and I am really relishing the challenge ahead of contributing to their success in this category.”

The second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series takes place on 2-3 June at Silverstone.

Duncan Tappy was switched to the Turkey-Galatasaray SK car for the event this weekend. With a new team and car, there was work to do to get the car handling as it should to suit Duncan’s driving style.

Driving for Turkey this time, Duncan leads the Brazilian and Russian cars

After working on significant understeer problems, by qualifying things had improved but there were still issues with traction. Duncan qualified sixth in his group and took the start of race one in twelfth. After a good start Duncan had moved up to ninth. He succumbed to a move by Antonio Pizzonia in the closing stages and crossed the line in tenth.

For race two from fifth on the grid, Duncan again moved up in the early stages. In turn three he managed to overtake John Martin and the next lap on turn two he made an excellent move on Filip Salaquarda. Duncan managed to hold third position to the pit stops.

His new set of tyres then ‘went off’ quickly and within a few laps he was suffering from low speed oversteer. Without being able to attack, and struggling to defend, Duncan lost the valuable ground that he’d gained and finished the race in fifth place.

Duncan said: “It was great to be back in the car but I would have preferred to have not had the handling problems. Race two was especially frustrating as I couldn’t attack as I’ve been able to in previous races. Fifth isn’t a bad result but once you’ve been on the podium nothing else is good enough.”

Duncan in action for Japan at Assen

After a last minute call-up to race in the Japan car, Duncan had the angst of waiting for his car to be finished before being given the green light to race. A three lap shakedown was all Duncan and the team had before qualifying yesterday (Saturday). With no time to work on set-up, the car wasn’t expected to handle well but was only one second off the pace.

By race day today, refinements had been made and Duncan was ready to start race one at the back of the grid. It had been decided to use old tyres to get the set-up right for race two but Duncan found the car to have a reasonable pace and so Duncan decided to charge. He managed to gain two places from the start and another two as racing got underway. With others crashing or making off-track detours, Duncan had managed to progress to seventh by the time he crossed the finishing line.

Starting race two in seventh on new tyres, Duncan again made up places at the start. By the pit-stop window he was up to fourth. Because of pitting last, Duncan didn’t have the advantage of new rubber as early as the others and emerged in fifth. One by one Duncan managed to overtake Pizzonia into the first corner then another out of turn four on the middle straight. After taking Gommendy he was second behind Australia’s John Martin. After two laps following, Duncan out-braked him into a corner and drove away to take a win.

The Superfinal wasn’t quite the fairytale ending that Duncan hoped for after a clutch problem at the start lost Duncan ground and he finished sixth, but this can’t take away that after the opening round of the series Duncan leads on points.

Duncan said: “Today has been fantastic. I knew I had a tough job from the back but I love a challenge! The cars are great to drive and being able to overtake makes for exciting racing for drivers as well as spectators.

“It’s fantastic to be back on the top step – especially in such circumstances. I didn’t even know I had a chance of racing until Thursday. The team has done an absolutely fantastic job and I have to say a huge thank you to Anthony Reid and his crew for the amazing job they have done this weekend. I hope that I can come back and defend the Superleague lead but we’ll have to see what happens.”

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Third in the championship for Duncan

Duncan showed fantastic pace in Italy for the final round of the AutoGP series, qualifying on the front row and securing third place in the championship.

He ran well in practice, running third, and then put in a near perfect lap to qualify second alongside team-mate and eventual title winner Romain Grosjean.

Yesterday’s race one proved a challenge when Duncan was pushed wide at the first corner, Primo Variente, and lost places. From there Duncan held onto fourth to the line.

Race two, today, saw Duncan starting from the opposite side of the track but it was the same first corner that caused problems. Having made a good start, Duncan was on the outside of the bend and again was pushed, this time with the only place to go being the wrong side of the chicane to avoid an accident.

Having run most of the race in third, and pushing for second from Jan Charouz just 0.645 seconds ahead, Duncan was penalised for the first corner error and took a drive through penalty. He emerged in 12th place and in the time remaining managed to salvage one position to finish 11th.

Thumbs up to a solid 2010 spent at the front of the field

Duncan has scored series points steadily throughout the season. Just one DNF at Spa mars his finishing record, with two podiums and a total of eight point scoring finishes from the 12 races contributing to his tally of 37 points that gives him the bronze spot for the inaugural AutoGP series.

Duncan said: “It’s been a very frustrating weekend as I’d got great pace again and it was the same corner that stopped me getting onto the podium in both races. I was so close and was really strong in race two because I’d saved a new set of tyres.

“It’s not the way I’d have chosen to end the season but I have to take away that I’ve put in solid performances at every event, have been a challenger for the title and finished third in the standings in an ultra-competitive series. The team has been great and I’m already looking forward to next season – whatever that might bring!”

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Duncan in action at Navarra

Duncan took sole possession of third place in the AutoGP standings after scoring a pair of fourth places in the first major international races to be held at the new Navarra track in Spain.

Qualifying showed real promise for Duncan yesterday when he pulled out all the stops in a last minute ‘hot lap’ on slicks at the end of a wet session with a drying track. He finished fourth fastest and a whole second ahead of team-mate and championship rival Romain Grosjean.

Race one took place yesterday afternoon and after a good start Duncan had moved up to third. A tangle with Ricci dropped him to fifth but he managed to retake Jan Charouz almost immediately to regain fourth. Grosjean pitted early and jumped Duncan who in turn managed to jump Ricci when he pitted and Duncan emerged from the stops in fourth again.

Today’s race was a sprint with no stops. After losing a place at the start Duncan was in sixth. He then fell to seventh battling with Sims but then retaliated and passed Sims and Filippi. He then caught Natacha Gachnang and overtook to finish in fourth place again.

Duncan said: “The car had good pace this weekend and race one in particular was hard work given that I started and finished in fourth.

“It’s been productive in that I’m now four points ahead of others for third, when we came in level, but I’ve not made as much progress in challenging for the title as I’d hoped. It will be pretty hard to go for the title now but at least I haven’t gone backwards.

“The last round is at Monza, where I’ve raced before, so I’m looking forward to that next weekend.”

Series standings

1. Edoardo Piscopo, DAMS, 40
2. Romain Grosjean, DAMS , 36
3. Duncan Tappy, DAMS , 29
4. Luca Filippi, Euronova Racing, 25
5. Jan Charouz, Charouz-Gravity Racing, 24
6. Carlos Iaconelli, Durango, 24

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Duncan in action in Portugal

Portugal brought challenges for Duncan who reacted by moving forward through the field with a vengeance.

After qualifying seventh Duncan didn’t have the start he’d hoped for when Robert Doornbos pushed Duncan towards the pit wall leaving him no option but to lift off and lose positions.

From tenth Duncan overtook three cars to lie in seventh before the pit stops. A front left wheel nut issue caused a delay which lost two places. From ninth Duncan then gained another place in the closing stages to cross the line in eighth place.

Race two started with two storming laps that saw Duncan move up from eleventh place to an amazing fifth. Another wheel nut issue cost one place and a further place was claimed by Liverpool with a push-to-pass manoeuvre in the closing stages.

Duncan said: “Portimao’s an interesting track – really bumpy but a good experience. It’s been one of the best races for overtaking which can be tough in identical cars. I’d have preferred to have been battling at the front but it’s a good feeling to be passing so many cars in one weekend.”

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Duncan kept his podium streak alive at Adria

At a twisty and challenging Adria circuit, Duncan Tappy notched up another podium with a third place in race two today. Duncan found the pace that he’d missed in qualifying yesterday and he converted his start positions to valuable points and a trophy.

In the first race Duncan was boxed in at the start but made an excellent recovery to make his way back to tenth, helped by an excellent pitstop.

Race two was a different story with a great start, gaining two places at the first corner. Taking advantage of a slowing Lyonnais car, Duncan claimed his podium spot a quarter of the way through the 40 lap race, a place he held after the pitstops and to cross the line.

Duncan said: “Today brought a good result on a difficult circuit. It’s very twisty and overtaking opportunities are few and far between.

More success for Duncan and Flamengo

“I was on old tyres for race one and less than half a second off the pace so I knew that on fresh rubber I’d have a good chance of making up places.

“I had much more grip for the second race and I was pushing the Spurs car and hoping he’d make a mistake. He didn’t but it was good racing and I’m pleased with the points and the podium.

“I’m disappointed that we very narrowly missed out on a Superfinal place so that’s my goal for Portimao in two weeks.”

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Duncan celebrates his Superfinal success with John Martin

Duncan had his most successful Superleague race meeting of his career with his race finishes classifying him as the highest points scorer and putting him on pole position of his first Superfinal race appearance.

Having qualified in the midfield Duncan was determined to do well at his home track. Race one was tough after initial place gains on the opening lap. From there the tight competition made overtaking difficult. A good stop was enough to hold 10th position and a move on AS Roma gained another place to cross the line in ninth.

Duncan was determined to attack in race two and with a car on top form he gained places at the start and then pitted. A great stop meant that after all the pit stops Duncan was in 5th place. A mistake from Seville allowed Duncan to move into fourth and then a brave challenge on AS Roma got Duncan his podium position and the top points score of the races which in turn meant starting from pole position in the Superfinal.

For the final five lap sprint Duncan started on the inside line of the sloping track for his first standing start in the Superleague car. Duncan wasn’t as quick off the line as those around and a hard battle ensued at the first corner.

Duncan in action at Brands Hatch

Duncan fought hard and claimed third, the position he held to take the chequered flag, his first Superleague overall podium and a cheque for 50,000 euros.

He said: “It’s been a hard weekend but a brilliant one. I had a tough first race and was determined to make the Superfinal so took some risks in race two that fortunately paid off.

“I’m gutted I didn’t get a better start but it’s a tricky track to do a standing start from at the best of times let alone for the first time. I’m pleased I hung on to third and hope to use the experience to my advantage in more Superfinals.”

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Duncan brings home more silverware

This weekend saw Duncan lifting another trophy – this time in the Superleague Formula following his AutoGP success last weekend at Magny-Cours.

It wasn’t plain sailing with a difficult qualifying session when Duncan had a spin which left him with his fastest time from his third lap and not able to put in another attempt.

Starting on the back foot, Duncan was ready for a fight – which was in vain when a clutch problem led to him retiring from the race. The up-side was the Superleague complete reverse grid which put Duncan on pole for race two.

Duncan drove well, leading from the start to the pitstops, in which Julian Jousse in the AS Roma car just managed to put in a quicker stop and clinch the lead as Duncan came back onto the track.

From there it was a case of pushing and maintaining position with his good pace, although a fight for third behind him kept the competition nicely at bay.

Duncan said: “The great thing about the Superleague format is that you can have a bad start to the weekend and still turn things round.

“Of course I’d have liked to have held the lead but if you’d asked me before the weekend I’d have definitely taken second so I can’t be too unhappy with the outcome.

“I need to say a big thanks to the team who had to contend with changing drivers after Franck’s spell in the car, as well as then having a fast clutch change between the races.”

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Duncan on the podium for the first race at Magny-Cours

All the hard work paid off for Duncan in France this weekend when everything ran like clockwork and a strong qualifying performance, great car and hard pushing through the race delivered Duncan his well-earned podium finish.

The feature race started well with Duncan gaining a place from Romain Grosjean off the line to lie in third. Duncan’s strategy was a late pit-stop and, having put in fast laps while the others pitted, he managed to gain a place from Guerrieri.

Grosjean’s faster pit-stop catapulted him into the lead but with Tambay retiring Duncan held second as he crossed the line.

Alongside Duncan on the race two grid was series leader Grosjean who failed to avoid the stationary car ahead at the standing start causing a safety car incident. Duncan made great progress on the opening lap moving up three places to fourth, including overtaking Guerrieri on the outside of the hairpin.

From there Duncan couldn’t find an overtaking opportunity despite putting pressure on throughout the race but fourth brings valuable points and Duncan now lies third in the series standings.

Duncan said: “Everything fell into place this weekend and we’ve shown the beginnings of what we can deliver. It’s been a fantastic weekend, my confidence is increasing and it’s just a shame we’ve got a long wait until the next race but I’ll be ready to push for the win.”

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