Sick Tappy takes on endurnace race for a podium finish (From Croydon Guardian)

Motorhead Tappy defies illness to take ProAm podium

2:29pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport By Tim Ashton

West Ewell motorhead Duncan Tappy defied illness to rewrite the history books in the latest round of the ProAm Class of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

The 28-year-old roared to a ProAm podium finish at the Nurburgring to give his team ART Grand Prix and manufacturer McLaren GT their first ever podium in the championship.

But it nearly never happening as, after a flying practice session and topping the timesheets by more than three tenths of a second, Tappy fell ill overnight and it looked like he may not be able to compete in the fifth round of the six-round series.

Tappy, who partners French driver Gregoire Demoustier, said: "I started feeling unwell Saturday evening and things went from bad to worse overnight. I was unable to keep anything down, which is not ideal going into a three-hour endurance race, and I didn’t get a minute’s sleep.

"On Sunday morning I felt pretty week and dehydrated. I was struggling to stand, so needless to say that racing was a challenge. But I knew there was no other option. I had to find a way to put it to one side and fight through it, for my team mate, everyone at ART Grand Prix and McLaren GT. Let’s say it was a good save in the end."

Tappy is joint 11th in the ProAm rankings and the final round of the Series takes place at Navarra, Spain, on October 14.