SAMANTHA TAN RACING ENDS 2023 WITH FIGHTING DRIVE AT INDIANAPOLIS 8 HOURS
Samantha Tan Racing has drawn its 2023 motorsport program to a close with a combative drive to a sixth-place finish in-class at the Indianapolis 8 Hours, overcoming a pit road technical gremlin in the process.
Having qualified 3rd fastest of the Pro-Am runners around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s celebrated road course, ST Racing kept itself well in contention for category victory during the first third of the GT World Challenge America season finale, only for a slow puncture and fuel rig problems to delay an otherwise fault-free run. Samantha Tan Racing nevertheless went the distance at the Indianapolis 8 Hours to finish 6th in-class.
Weekend preparations for the race got off to a good start when team co-owner Samantha Tan and GT3 debutant Jake Walker, the latter on his first outing with the team, collectively set the fastest Pro-Am time in Free Practice. Similarly strong pace in qualifying – during which teammate, and BMW factory driver, Neil Verhagen was one of only a few drivers to dip below the 1m 23s mark – propelled ST Racing into the Pole Shootout, and subsequently bank 10th on the overall grid.
Samantha took the first shift on race day, and having avoided a potential melee at turn one, found herself forced onto the wide line for most of the first half of lap one. Undeterred, Samantha dutifully stayed out of trouble to slot back into the pack and keep the Pro-Am class leaders in her sights until the first round of pit stops just under an hour later.
Jake impressed with a similarly mature drive during his first stint, aided by the BMW M4 GT3’s poise around Indy’s technical 2.4-mile configuration. The 17-year-old had even worked his way up to 3rd in-class (10th overall) when the event’s first caution period was called.
Despite ST Racing’s typically diligent pitwork, a malfunctioning rig meant the #38 BMW rejoined the race with less fuel than planned. This issue would sadly plague ST Racing for the remainder of the race, forcing the team to pit the #38 BMW more frequently. Matters were further hindered when ST Racing was handed a 10-second penalty for an inadvertent pitlane infraction, while a slow puncture cost Samantha yet more time during her final stint. These issues put ST Racing on the back foot, dropping from the top 10 in the early going to 16th overall, and 8th in-class.
Motivated by both his and Samantha’s recent run of top two finishes in GTWC America, Neil Verhagen produced a storming drive to methodically work his way back up into the top 10 across his final double stint. Neil moved to P4 in-class with only eight minutes left on the clock.
Though he was closing in rapidly on 3rd in Pro-Am, time ran out, but nevertheless finished under 60 seconds off the class podium. Unfortunately, a post-race time penalty for exceeding the maximum stint time meant that ST Racing was demoted to 6th in class. The penalty was expected and unavoidable, due to the fueling problems earlier in the race. The team’s hope for one full course yellow to bail them out of that situation never materialized.
Samantha Tan, driver / co-owner: “The weekend started off strong for us, despite a lack of testing and limited practice time due to the weather. Jake and I got up to pace pretty quickly and we made the top 10 shootout in qualifying. I qualified in the shootout for the first time, putting us 10th on the grid and 3rd in class for the start. During the race, we all had great stints but didn’t quite get the result we deserved as a team. We had a few unlucky moments — a broken fuel rig and tire leaks — that led to longer pit stops and silly infringements. We crossed the finish line 6th in class.
Nevertheless, this was a season of immense growth and development. We’ve come a really long way from last year with 1 pole, 1 win and a number of podiums, fastest laps and hard charger awards and look to continue the momentum for next year. A special thank you to our partners, BMW Motorsport, Motul and SK8 Biotech!”
Kenneth Tan, team principal: “The result at Indy didn’t fall our way, which was disappointing given that our crew, drivers and car had the performance to challenge for the win. We had the pace and the car for a podium finish at the Brickyard but a faulty fuel rig during our second driver change threw a wrench in our strategy. With no yellows to use to our advantage we were stuck. It was disappointing to miss out on a result here that meant we finished P4 in the championship, missing P3 by just a single point.
However, we have so much to be proud of. Looking at the big picture and comparing the 2023 season to that of 2022, this year’s campaign is much, much better and we progressed immensely as a team. We are happy and satisfied about that knowing we have come together as a team and are in a much stronger position to start next year and fight at the front of the field from the outset. I am very grateful for the team’s efforts and am looking forward to next season when we can really demonstrate this amazing potential and I can’t wait to get it going again. I also want to thank BMW Motorsport for all their support and helping us elevate our game.”
Neil Verhagen, driver: “It was a weekend full of ups and downs with results not reflective of our true pace. The car was great in qualifying and it was awesome to watch Sam in the top 10 shootout. In the race, the result could have been very different if not for a few small things that made a big difference when added up over 8 hours. Fuel rig problems which resulted in pit delays really hampered us, and at the finish we took a penalty for exceeding my maximum stint length which pushed us down two spots to sixth in class. Overall, while there are things we can learn from and improve on, there are lots of positive takeaways too. It was a great second half of the year with ST Racing and I hope to continue to build off what we’ve achieved together!”
Jake Walker, driver: “We fought hard at the Indy 8 Hour, but we had some events that were out of our control which resulted in a P6 finish. Thank you to the Samantha Tan Racing team for doing a great job and helping me get up to speed quickly for my GT3 debut. Although the results don’t show it, we had great pace throughout the weekend. A special thanks to Jon Miller for the opportunity to work with the team.”
Jon Miller, team manager: “On behalf of myself and Crew Chief Mark Bucsa, I want to thank our wonderful crew, drivers engineers and families at home. We also want to thank the Tan family and our GT4 crew, sponsors and drivers there who brought home a hard fought P2 in the GT4 AM championship. We are extremely proud of the results we’ve achieved in 2023 and of the people who have made it possible. 2024 is just around the corner and we look forward to the next challenge.”
Samantha Tan Racing would like to thank all of its sponsors and partners for a successful program of motor racing in 2023, as well as its legion of fans for their ongoing support. The team is set to return to action in 2024, and is already preparing for another competitive season with the help of BMW M Motorsport.