Even as a child Joe thrived on competition. While successfully playing rugby throughout his school years, Joe was also a keen swimmer and footballer. But it was always motorsport that captivated the young Joe Tandy, and his determination to succeed on the race track soon overcame all else.

At the age of eleven, and after many years as a keep supporter of his father's racing, Joe's first racing car was purchased - a Short Oval Ministock. His passion for the sport was clear from the outset, and every possible spare moment was spent with his father in the workshop, striving to clear all he could about the sport he loved. Joe was not simply interested in motorsport - he was utterly obsessed with it.