PROMISING DEBUT FOR SAMANTHA TAN RACING FERRARI 296 GT3 ON SPA 24 HOURS RETURN
ST Racing with Rinaldi’s confidence in its brand-new Ferrari 296 GT3 remains high following the model’s competitive debut at the Spa 24 Hours, despite damage sustained during the ninth hour leading to the team’s premature retirement from the event.
Having made its Spa 24 Hours debut last year, Samantha Tan Racing returned to the vaunted event – round three of the Canadian team’s 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup campaign – looking to bank significant track time, and, all things being well, a solid result for the new Ferrari 296 GT3. Supported once again by Ferrari specialist Rinaldi Racing, ST Racing’s tenure with the Scuderia’s new GT flagship got off to a promising start when team co-owner and namesake Samantha Tan, team staple Jon Miller, Isaac Tutumlu Lopez, and ST Racing debutant Leonard Weiss banked the 4th fastest Pro-Am Cup time during a very wet qualifying, as well as 40th on the overall grid.
As is traditional in the Ardennes, race day itself also began with a heavy rain shower, prompting the 24-hour event to start behind the safety car. Amidst the difficult conditions, Isaac Tutumlu Lopez completed a steadfast opening stint – not easy, given that three cars had already aquaplaned off-track before the second lap had even been completed – to keep the #38 Ferrari 296 4th in-class and on the fringes of the overall top 30 during the first hour, a close call with HRT’s Mercedes through Raidillon notwithstanding. Sadly for Isaac, his hard work was upended shortly when an overtly bold passing attempt by the Manthey EMA Porsche tipped the #38 Ferrari into a spin. The former Spanish GT champion thereafter handed the Ferrari over to Samantha Tan.
After a consistent stint from the young Canadian on only her second time at Spa-Francorchamps, Samantha handed the wheel over to Leonard Weiss. Additional care was taken during the driver change to ensure the Ferrari was fully operable, though this precaution did end up dropping the ST Racing back down to 7th in the Pro-AM Cup class.
Heading into the quieter night stages, Leonard and thereafter Jon Miller began working their way back up the order. Shortly after one-third distance, Jon was already back up to 6th in-class and closing in on the Pro-Am Cup top five, a hallmark of the Ferrari’s pace through both the technical infield and up the fearsome Kemmel Straight.
Unfortunately, in an incident not of his making, Jon was forced into the gravel on the exit of Les Combes in his efforts to avoid Pro-Am class rival CrowdStrike Racing and the spinning, Silver-class VSR Lamborghini, the trip into the gravel damaging the 296’s underbody and much of the rear right suspension. A superb effort by the ST Racing by Rinaldi pit crew meant the #38 Ferrari was back out on-track just over an hour later, still 8th in-class. Following a couple of shakedown laps however, the decision was made shortly before half-distance to retire the car from the Spa 24 Hours on the grounds of safety.
Though not the end the team had hoped of its Belgian weekend, team and drivers alike were full of praise for the #38 Ferrari 296 GT3, an inspiration for the remaining two rounds of this year’s GTWC Europe Endurance Cup.
Samantha Tan, team co-owner / driver: “It just wasn’t meant to be for our Lady in Blue. I always struggle to find the words for heartbreaking races like these ones. Even though we started the weekend strong, the 24H Spa is unforgiving. At around 1am, while avoiding a spinning car ahead, Jon went into the gravel and had contact with the two other cars. This resulted in minor suspension damage, which the Rinaldi Racing team quickly fixed, and I went back out. Unfortunately, there was more internal damage than we had anticipated and we had to retire the car shortly after. Thank you to everyone involved in this effort, to Rinaldi Racing for their support & impeccable teamwork, to my co-drivers Isaac, Jon and Leo. we will keep pushing!”
Kenneth Tan, team principal: “To say our race at that Spa 24 was rough is an understatement; Yes – we had a new car – it was only delivered two weeks before the start of the race; Yes – most of our drivers were new to the car; And yes, this was only our second campaign at the vaunted track. But I have to say, it was mostly just plain bad luck and it started with the dive-bombing Porsche (again!) during the second hour that spun our car. Things just unravelled after that. From the track limits, which IMO were a bit arbitrary, right until the hit to our rear right wheel on the 10th hour. Dai, lasciame in pace! We just could not get a break! But that is why we love this race and track so much – it makes you want to come back and get it better and we will. We will keep trying until we get that win and the new 296 GT3 is our key. It is an outstanding race car but still in its early evolution. It will only get better each time it goes out on track and I am excited to see this progression during our next few races. As Enzo Ferrari said - se vuoi fare grandi cose, devi pensare in grande – if you want to build something great, you need to think great things. Forza Ferrari!”
Jon Miller, team manager / driver: “We’re all pretty disappointed to end our race with a DNF. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a car in-front of me tried an optimistic pass and spun himself out in the process. I moved to avoid but ended up stuck in the deep gravel trap in T7 and in the process had a very small contact with a Mercedes who also moved to avoid the spinning Lambo and ended up in the gravel next to me. Once I was removed from the gravel trap I could feel that we had some minor suspension damage. The Rinaldi guys leapt on it and had it fixed quickly but soon after when Sam took over the car, she radioed in with gearbox problems that meant we had to retire. A huge disappointment after a strong qualifying and long build up to the race. Thank you to all of the Rinaldi crew, Michele and Riccardo, Samantha, Ken and our co-drivers Issac and Leo who were fantastic teammates. We’re looking forward to trying again next year.”
Isaac Tutumlu Lopez, driver: “The race started in extremely tricky conditions on a cold, wet track with slick tires. The first hour was good for me, I overtook a few cars and was on the same pace as the other pro drivers. In the second hour, I had contact with a Mercedes and was spun from behind by a Porsche. Despite this, we were still able to claw our way back to 6th in class before Jon was involved in an unavoidable incident while trying to avoid a spinning car ahead. The Rinaldi team did an amazing job repairing the car even though the damage ended up being too severe for us to continue racing.”
Leonard Weiss, driver: “I was really excited to receive the news that I would have the opportunity to race my first 24 Hours of Spa with Samantha Tan Racing! I always dreamed about competing in this event one day. After meeting the team during a solid two-day test, we had a good feeling going into the big one. After a challenging qualifying in changing conditions, we managed to secure a good grid position for the race! It was really nice to drive alongside Samantha, Jon and Isaac. Unfortunately, Jon had an unavoidable accident in the night, leading to us retiring from the race. Overall, we showed great potential, it just wasn’t meant to be. Despite the bad luck, I still had a great time at my first 24 Hours of Spa and I hope to get another chance in the future! I want to thank Samantha Tan Racing and Rinaldi Racing again for their trust in me and for this opportunity.”
Round four of this year’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup will take ST Racing by Rinaldi to Germany for the 3 Hours of Nürburgring on 29-30 July. Three weeks later, Samantha Tan’s eponymous Canadian outfit will be back in action with its BMW M4 GT3 for rounds nine and 10 of this year’s GT World Challenge America, set to be hosted at Road America on 18-20 August.
Following the tragic news announced ahead of this year’s Spa 24 Hours, everyone at ST Racing by Rinaldi would like to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dilano van t’ Hoff.