SAMANTHA TAN RACING LAUNCHES STR ESPORTS TEAM AT IRACING’S 12 HOURS OF BATHURST
ST Racing eSports drivers, Cameron Martineau and Chris Walsh tackle the virtual mountain in the #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 at the 12 hours of Bathurst on February 11th, 2022.
Canadian team, ST Racing campaigns the BMW M2 CSR, BMW M4 GT4 and BMW M4 GT3 out of their new home base in Orange County, California. ST Racing is gearing up for the 2022 SRO GT World Challenge America season after debuting two new BMW M4 GT3s at the Hankook Dubai 24HR in early January. To compliment the growth of the team and the strong relationship with BMW Motorsport, it’s a natural progression for ST Racing to extend these efforts into the digital realm.
Samantha Tan commented: “I’m excited to launch this official entry and new competitive part of the team - the STR eSports division, competing in the iRacing 12H of Bathurst with the BMW M4 GT3! We’re thrilled to have experienced sim racers, Cameron Martineau, and Chris Walsh (who I actually raced against in TC America in 2021) driving for us! The eSports industry has grown tremendously over the past few years and I’m looking forward to expanding our motorsports efforts into the gaming world. In case you missed it, our ST Racing BMW M4 GT3s are already available for download on Assetto Corsa Competizione.”
ST Racing Driver and STR eSports Competition Manager, Jon Miller says: “It seems obvious that we should have done this sooner, but it’s been in the works for some time now. During the lockdown at the start of the pandemic, sim racing took off and I entered the SRO GT Rivals series. I convinced my friend and experienced sim racer, Bill Anderson to help me with sim setup, strategy, spotting and practicing. I hired a Sim coach to learn more about the digital nuances and we had a ton of fun. We also took it seriously and managed to score a podium at the Barcelona round of GT Rivals. When I crossed the line, I was screaming, I was sweating and I was as excited about that podium as I would have been for a real life race. It was a lightbulb moment.
Bill and Cameron have a strong grasp on the sim racing landscape and the opportunities and challenges involved. They have both been instrumental in planning and launching this new eSports effort for STR. Adding Chris Walsh is a huge win, too. It puts another SRO BMW Motorsport driver on our roster. The crossover effect is real and we’re excited about what this means for our partners.”
Cameron Martineau has an iRating placing him in the top 100 drivers in the USA. When Cameron isn't racing in the virtual world he races go karts, and finished second in the 2020 LaFayette Motorsports Park Championship. Cameron lives in New Hampshire and is a Mechanical Engineer in the automotive field. Chris began his racing career on motorcycles, racing superbikes in Washington. He transitioned to four wheels in 2020 and began his professional racing career in 2021 in SRO TC America series driving the BMW M2 CS Racing. He captured a podium finish in his first professional race at VIR. Chris is an active duty Air Force member currently serving in the Air Force World Class Athlete program and is stationed in North Carolina.
The iRacing 12 hours of Bathurst will start at 5pm EST on February 11th. To watch, tune in to the STR eSports twitch streams: www.twitch.tv/walshusa and www.twitch.tv/str_cameron