VICTORY-CONTENDING PACE ON DISPLAY FOR SAMANTHA TAN RACING AT SECOND GT WORLD CHALLENGE AMERICA ROUND OF 2023
Samantha Tan Racing comfortably proved itself a credible frontrunner at round two of this year’s GT World Challenge America at NOLA Motorsports Park, despite technical issues striking in the very closing stages of race two.
The ST Racing #38 BMW M4 GT3 secured a hard-earned 4th in-class in the opening race of the Louisiana weekend, and ran comfortably within the top two throughout the second race after determined stints from both Samantha Tan herself and BMW M factory driver John Edwards. A spirited effort to firmly establish the Canadian team’s position as an SRO frontrunner this season.
Solid qualifying runs on ST Racing’s first competitive outing at NOLA Motorsports Park meant Samantha lined up a hard-earned 5th of the PRO/AM runners with a fastest lap of 1m 35.071s. Replicating the pace that secured him outright pole position at the season opener in Sonoma, John Edwards then posted a 1m 33.053s to bank 3rd on the grid for race two.
Deplorable conditions meant the opening 90-minute race was delayed, and when the green flag was finally flown more than two hours late, a wall of rooster tails on the still-wet-dry track meant visibility was close to zero on the run down to turn one.
A mature start meant Samantha was able to avoid trouble in the tricky conditions, with the native Canadian dutifully holding on to 6th in-class across the opening stages. Combatting a wet setup on a rapidly drying racing line, BMW M Motorsport’s latest brand ambassador was able to make her mandatory driver change while still running 10th in Pro-Am. A significant stint as Samantha continues to extract the upmost potential from both herself and the #38 BMW M4 GT3 at the start of only their second season together.
With two late-race safety cars bunching the field up in the closing stages, John Edwards was on scintillating form, quickly working his way up from 10th in PRO/AM to 7th, and, with just 10 minutes of race one remaining, up to 8th overall and 4th in PRO/AM thanks to a number of opportunistic overtakes.
On a noticeably warmer and drier Sunday, John was again on top form during the opening stint of race two, moving up from 3rd on the grid to 2nd on the run down to turn one at the start. Having shadowed the leader across the opening laps, the native Kentuckian even attempted a brave move for the top spot on lap eight. Despite heavy tyre wear and hard-charging competitors behind, John was still running 2nd as he made his mid-race pit stop.
After the pit stop scramble, Samantha found herself shuffled back to 3rd, though the ST Racing namesake was immediately on the back of 2nd placed Mercedes-AMG, and, three laps later, back up to the runners-up spot with a decisive move into turn one. With the safety car called for the final time with less than eight minutes to go, Samantha successfully withstood enormous pressure when the race went green with just three laps remaining. Only a technical issue on the very last lap denied ST Racing a well-earned overall podium.
Despite its late-race misfortune, Samantha Tan Racing is confident that the #38 BMW’s demonstrative pace at NOLA Motorsport Park promises more successful weekends will follow this season in the GT World Challenge.
Samantha Tan, co-owner/driver: “It was a bittersweet weekend for us at NOLA. Qualifying went well, I went much faster than my time in practice and qualified fifth for race one with John qualifying third for race two. Race one was difficult with the tricky conditions and my lack of experience running GT3 in the wet. John had a great recovery drive to finish P4 and bring home some solid points, narrowly missing out on a podium along the way. In race two we started third overall and John put in another great stint. I hopped in the car after a phenomenal pit stop from the crew and drove my heart out, passing the Mercedes for P2 overall and fending off the drivers behind after multiple safety car restarts to hold second place until the last lap. Unfortunately, on turn 5 of the final lap, we had a technical issue that shut the car off and prevented us from seeing the finish line. Overall, we had the pace to compete up front and I’m incredibly proud of the team’s performance this weekend. ”
Kenneth Tan, team principal: “Another disappointing result given the outstanding efforts by the team and drivers. It demonstrated that we have what it takes to win but luck was not on our side this time around. John drove an amazing stint and the crew’s pitstop was on point. I admit I was a bit concerned pitting the car early and putting Samantha in but she drove a hell of a race and on scrubs nonetheless. That was the best I’ve ever seen her drive and I know there is more to come from her. John’s an amazing driver and he’s been a very positive influence on her. We keep pushing and look forward to the next race in COTA in search of that elusive win. I can feel it!”
John Edwards, driver: “It was a hard pill to swallow on Sunday when we had an issue while running second with only a few corners to go. The car was fast, the team executed well on our pit stop, and Sam did an awesome job under pressure with 2 restarts to manage. While it was hugely disappointing to not get the result, it does give us a lot of momentum going into COTA where I’m confident we can get two podiums and maybe even our first win together.”
Jon Miller, team manager: “NOLA was an absolute rollercoaster and ultimately a heartbreaker on the GT3 side. We had a fast, happy race car that the drivers were completely connected to. John Edwards put in another stellar qualifying performance and his drive on Saturday was one for the ages, nearly missing out on the podium, nabbing P4. Sunday’s race will take a few days to get over. John jumped into P2 and handed the car over to Samantha with a fantastic stop by the crew. Our undercut strategy didn’t pan out perfectly – we dropped two spots to the Mercedes behind us, but jumped the Aston that was leading. That’s when Sam showed up in a big way, muscling past the Merc to regain P2 overall. The racing gods were cruel, though, we encountered a technical issue with half of a lap to go. The team is obviously gutted to miss out on the result, but we continue to show our strengths. We’re looking forward to the next opportunity at COTA.”
The #38 BMW M4 GT3 will be back in GT World Challenge America action at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas for round three on 19-21 May. Just a couple of weekends later on 3-4 June, ST Racing heads to Le Castellet in France for round two of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup – the Paul Ricard 1000km – with the ‘ST Racing by Rinaldi’ #38 Ferrari 488 GT3.