ST Racing took a bittersweet GT4 podium finish on its endurance racing return with the 24H SERIES in Barcelona. One earned after a fighting comeback from five laps down.

 

ST Racing, the Overall GT Teams’ champion of 2021 made a return to the 24H SERIES at this past weekend’s Hankook 24H BARCELONA with their BMW M4 GT4. Team co-owner Samantha Tan and team manager Jon Miller – both Overall GT Drivers’ champions of 2021 – were joined for the 24-hour event in Catalunya by BMW M Motorsport works driver Neil Verhagen, Fabian Duffieux, and Indy 500 star Pippa Mann.

 

In a confidence-boosting start to the weekend, fast runs by Samantha, Fabian and Pippa helped the #428 BMW qualify 2nd on the GT4 grid. A strong stint from Neil meanwhile kept the BMW out of trouble for the frenetic opening laps, and after just 20 minutes, ST Racing had moved into the GT4 lead. By the end of his stint, Neil had opened up a 15-second advantage, and set a fastest lap – 1m 51.200s – that would go unbeaten by every other GT4 competitor for the rest of the event.

 

By one-third distance, ST Racing held a two-lap advantage. Sadly, during the eighth hour, the team lost 20 minutes in the pits when a stone pierced the BMW’s radiator. This misfortune not only cost the race lead, it also dropped the #428 M4 to 5th in-class, five laps down.

 

Consistent and quick stints by Pippa, Jon and Neil during the night – alongside typically meticulous pit work by ST Racing’s European partner Bas Koeten Racing – meant the BMW was already back into the top three shortly after half-distance, and had clawed back the deficit entirely by Sunday morning. As the race entered its final hour, ST Racing was back in the lead of GT4, three laps ahead of the pack. 

 

In another brutal turn of bad luck, the M4 GT4 briefly rolled to a halt during Samantha’s final stint with suspected fuel pressure issues. The 90-second lead was eradicated. While Samantha could not stop her nearest rival – Britain’s Venture Engineering – taking the GT4 lead almost in sight of the flag, she did not allow the GT4 Mercedes to eke out its advantage in the final sprint to the line.

 

When the checkered flag was unfurled, ST Racing was just 1.011 seconds behind after 24 full hours of racing.

 

Though disappointed to have lost a potential win – twice! – ST Racing is nevertheless buoyed by the pace of its BMW M4 GT4, and feels confident it can comfortably be among the frontrunners once again on its next endurance race outing. The team is also incredibly proud of the manner in which Samantha, Jon, Neil, Fabian and Pippa worked so seamlessly as a team in their first race together.

 

Samantha Tan, co-owner / driver (#428): “The 24H Barcelona was an emotional rollercoaster, filled with moments of pure exhilaration and heartbreaking disappointment. We started from the front row, and after just six hours, we had built a commanding 4 lap lead thanks to our strong stints. But racing can be cruel. A stone pierced our intercooler, forcing us into the garage. Our crew was incredible, fixing the issue in just 20 minutes, but by the time we were back on track, we were 5 laps down from the leader. Still, we refused to give up.

 

Through the long hours of the night, we fought back, pushing harder with every lap. By the early morning, we reclaimed the lead. The hours ticked by, and soon, we were 3 laps ahead again. I climbed into the car for the final stint, determined to bring it home. But it just wasn’t meant to be. A technical issue caused the car to repeatedly lose power and enter limp mode. I had to stop and reset the car on track three times. Every second felt like a lifetime, and in the chaos, the class leader passed me.

 

I gave everything I had, fighting to the very last moment, crossing the line just one second behind. One second… after 24 hours. P2 doesn’t feel like enough. It doesn't even begin to reflect the relentless drive that went into this 24H race.

 

But through it all, I couldn’t be prouder—of myself, my teammates, and our incredible crew. We fought with everything we had. Thank you all for your tireless work and support — let this be motivation for the next one.”

 

Kenneth Tan, co-owner: “I am heartbroken. Well, a little bit anyway. We had P1 in the bag with less than an hour to go. But the gremlins in our car decided the outcome. I am very proud of our team having executed the strategy to perfection. The result says otherwise but it was purely caused by things totally out of our control. The whole team; the drivers, the crew, the engineers, mechanics, everyone, executed everything extremely well. In the end, finishing a 24 hour race is an achievement and we are proud of that and a podium finish is even better. Thank you to everyone and to Creventic for running an amazing race. We will be back soon. Perhaps Dubai 24H next?”

 

Jon Miller, STR38 team manager / driver (428): “This will be a race that we won’t soon forget. It was the most dramatic finish to an endurance race that I’ve ever been a part of. It’s incredibly bittersweet, but I think the whole team takes pride in our incredible recovery drive and the knowledge that we were absolutely the car to beat this weekend. A huge thanks is due to the Bas Koeten Racing crew and our engineer for the faultless hard work this week and all of the drivers who did not put a wheel wrong all week long. We can hold our heads high for the personal performances and we are already looking forward to the next chance to win together.”

 

Neil Verhagen, driver (#428): “Finishing second in the Barcelona 24 Hours would normally be something to celebrate, but this one really stings. I want to start by thanking Bas Koeten Racing and my incredible teammates—Samantha, Jon, Fabian, and Pippa—for all their hard work throughout the weekend. Everyone gave it their all, but unfortunately, we faced technical issues throughout the race. Going into the final hour, we had a 4 lap lead, but three technical issues in that last hour cost us the victory, and we lost the race by just a couple seconds. It’s heartbreaking to lose a race like that, but that’s motorsport, and we’ll come back stronger.”

 

Pippa Mann, driver (#428): “Sometimes a second place finish feels like you’ve won the race, and sometimes it’s just heart-breaking. We did everything humanly possible to try and win this race for STR and BMW, but the racing gods decided it just wasn’t our day. On the positive side we can all be very proud of our performance - the entire Bas Koeten team running the car for STR were incredible, our pit-stops were consistently good, and all of the drivers gave their all.

 

From a personal point of view, I’m just so grateful to have had this opportunity to join Samantha Tan Racing for this event. Having four fast team-mates, all of whom were focused on one goal, was a very cool experience, and joining a team of this caliber for an event like this was truly a “pinch me” moment. Massive thank you to Jon Miller, and to Sam and Ken Tan for allowing me to be part of, and welcoming me to this team for this event.”

 

After a short break, Samantha Tan Racing will close out its 2024 motorsport season at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Indianapolis 8 Hours on 3-6 October. The event is the season finale of the 2024 GT World Challenge America, at which ST Racing hopes to secure this year’s PRO/AM Teams’ and Drivers’ championships.