Sixth Place In Pirelli World Challenge

Gormley, Ontario - On the weekend of September 11-13, the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Salinas, California, hosted the last event of the Pirelli World Challenge calendar, the pinnacle that everyone was waiting for. Amongst the TCA competitors was rookie Samantha Tan, who contested her first full season in her No. 38 GPI/Kinetic Kia Forte Koup and concluded with 1084 points, allowing her a sixth place overall in the championship.

This last outing began with high expectations considering the amazing evolution of Samantha’s skills and precision. Tan and the Kinetic Motorsports Kia team were prepared for great results after her dynamite standing start from the 7th position but were forced to realize that it was not going to be easy. Minutes after the green flag was waved, Samantha and Emilee Tominovich collided in corner two which caused the engine to stall but was able to restart at the back of the pack, including all of the slower TCB cars. After slicing through traffic, with a car pulling to the right a bit out of alignment, she was catching up with her class when a double yellow slowed the pace down, with only 6 laps to go. The Safety car came out and separated her from her class putting her a lap down and out of contention for a better finishing position and precious points towards the championship. Samantha finished 9th.

Starting from that same position for the second race, Samantha was able to demonstrate her ability to respond quickly when two cars stalled on the grid ahead of her. She very narrowly avoided them by pressing her GPI/Kinetic KIA Forte Koup between the wall and the two cars, with centimetres to spare on each side. This outstanding reaction prevented Tan from what could have been a disaster. Disaster that her GTS teammate, Mark Wilkins, could not avoid when he stalled on the grid a day later. Double yellows flew immediately from the pit wall and at the restart, she got caught in traffic. By the time she caught up with the rest of her field, Samantha got slowed down by a punctured a tire. She managed to complete the race but finished in 10th.

Starting in 10th position for the third race, she ran strongly, gaining positions throughout the race and capitalizing on good opportunities in traffic. Unfortunately, the two lead cars collided and yellow flags flew to slow the race pace with just a three laps to go. The race finished under yellow which prevented her to gain anymore positions. Samantha finished 5th just .2 seconds behind Emilee Tominovich, with who she was competing against for the rookie of the year honours.

Very proud of his daughter’s achievement this year, Kenneth Tan revealed: “Under the tutelage of Pierre, Samantha has significantly improved, evolved, and matured as a racer. Pierre’s coaching philosophy and methods are very compatible with her character and that has allowed her to progress quicker as a racer.”

Samantha Tan has shown tremendous improvements this season, in fact, if we extrapolate the overall results to add points to the first event at COTA, the end scenario would have been completely different and a fourth place could have been anticipated. In the end, Samantha has proven her talent and her ability to overcome challenges. All in all, it was a very good second season for Samantha. With a realistic goal of a top 10 finish in the PWC championship, she was able to exceed the set expectations.

“Samantha certainly has the ability, the speed and the precision to run at the front, which is a real accomplishment for a driver in only her second year of racing”, admits Samantha’s coach Pierre Savoy. “She just need a bit more time to be able to put all of that in one lap right at the beginning of qualifying to start at the front of the pack. I have no doubt that next year, we will see Samantha start at the front regularly.”

“I believe I have gained a lot more experience this year than last year; due to my coach, the expertise of my fellow teammates Jason & Kris, the advice I received from Nic and Mike, and obviously, the races I have run alongside the other skilled drivers. I have no doubt that I will run a better, stronger season in 2016 thanks to this racing season”, concluded Samantha.

Samantha’s race fans can follow her on Facebook (STRSamantha) and on Twitter (@STR_Samantha).

To learn more about Samantha Tan, visit www.samanthatanracing.com.