Samantha Tan Racing brought a resolute season in GT World Challenge America to a close at the Indianapolis 8 Hour with proven class-leading pace and an eventual top five in-class.

 

ST Racing was among the early contenders for victory in both the PRO class (renamed ‘FGTWCA PRO’ for Indianapolis, with GTWC America competitors sharing an enlarged grid with their Intercontinental GT Open contemporaries) and PRO/AM in the early going, thanks to the blistering pace of its dual BMW M4 GT3s. Regrettably, recurring technical gremlins ended up stymying the Canadian team’s chances, though its mechanics and drivers worked bullishly together to get both cars to the chequered flag at Indy’s only night race of the year.

 

While disappointed by the circumstances at Indianapolis, team co-owners Samantha and Kenneth Tan are nevertheless proud of the marked progress made by ST Racing across a hard-fought GTWC America campaign in 2024. One that produced three class wins and 11 further podium finishes across seven rounds, and saw the Canadian team lead the PRO/AM Teams’ standings for the majority of the season.

 

Samantha Tan, team co-owner / driver (#38): “This one really hurt. I started the race, P6 in class. After a very strong start, I was running P2 in class before mechanical issues forced us into the garage for over half an hour. We were able to get the car back out but the same issue occurred again and we were back in the garage. We needed to pass one car to win the championship but we were over 20 laps down. We pushed until the end, but finished one position short. Ultimately, the mechanical issues took us out of contention for the race and the championship. We lost by 1 singular point. We gave it our all and it was one hell of a season. I know we can keep our heads high, but… my heart is truly in pieces right now. That’s just racing though. It was an honour to race with Neil and JCD this season — to learn with and from them. We’ll keep pushing. Thank you to my team for everything."

 

Kenneth Tan, team co-owner: “There are no words that can express the heartbreak I felt for the team and Samantha after losing the championship due to a faulty, almost inconsequential, part in the fuel system. However, I felt so encouraged after seeing the team’s passion, dedication, and the will to never give up. The crew was only focused on finding the problem and fixing it as quickly as possible so Sam can go back out and try to recover and win the championship, even for just one extra point. That was all it took to win but in the end, we did everything right and it was just not meant to be. I am very proud of our crew, our engineers, our drivers and everyone who put all their efforts for our team to win. There is no doubt in my mind that we are a winning team. Shout out to our sister car 28 and the Choksey family for being a part of the journey this year; to our crew chief, Marc Bucsa, who worked tirelessly for the past two seasons in putting together an amazing crew that evolved to a team this year and ensured that our cars were always well prepared for each race. To our team manager, Jon, who has helped Sam and the team get to where we are today. I feel so bad but in the end, we can keep our heads up high knowing that we did everything else perfectly and we should have won the Indy 8H and championship had it not been for a defective batch of fuel part. We’ll lick our wounds and be back stronger in 2025.”

 

For the 2024 Indianapolis 8 Hour, BMW M Motorsport legend Bill Auberlen and teammate Varun Choksey were joined aboard the #28 BMW M4 GT3 by Philipp Eng. Tellingly, the three-time Spa 24 Hours winner, Rolex at Daytona 24 class winner, and 2015 Porsche Supercup champion also took overall victory at the Indianapolis 8 Hour in 2023.

 

Samantha Tan and BMW M works driver Neil Verhagen meanwhile were joined in the sister #38 BMW M4 GT3 by Pirelli GT4 America Silver-class championship leader John Capestro-Dubets.

 

After a solid start to its weekend in both Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying, ST Racing put the hammer down in the first of three 15-minute qualifying sessions, as Varun (#28) and Samantha (#38) banked the second and fifth fastest times in PRO and PRO/AM respectively. Valued circuit knowledge for John and typically fast pace by Neil were enough to secure the #38 15th on the overall grid and 6th in the PRO/AM class. Varun, Philipp and Bill meanwhile, the latter a three-time class winner already at the Indianapolis 8 Hour, moved on to the Pole Shootout at Indianapolis, with the trio eventually qualifying 7th overall on the 23-car grid and 2nd in the PRO class.

 

Having escaped a contentious fight into turn one on the opening lap, a rapid Philipp Eng was immediately in the fight for the PRO lead. Just over one lap into the eight-hour endurance event, the Austrian was already in a five-car fight for 3rd overall. Six minutes later, the #28 was up into the PRO lead, and after 12 minutes, Philipp – now 5th overall – was already seven seconds clear of his nearest class rival. 

 

Slightly further back, Samantha was similarly putting the pace of the sister #38 BMW M4 GT3 to good use. The BMW M Motorsport ambassador, having held on to 6th in-class during a frenetic opening lap, thereafter started a meticulous climb to 2nd in PRO/AM across the opening 20 minutes. It was a flying start to the race for ST Racing, one that Samantha opted to extend into a double stint – keeping herself in podium contention as a result – when the event’s first full caution was thrown. Varun, now into the #28 BMW from Philipp, started his first stint still in the top seven.

 

Sadly, a fighting drive by Samantha was brought to a stuttering halt shortly after the first hour when a fuel pump issue brought the #38 BMW onto pitroad. An incredible turnaround by the ST Racing mechanics behind the wall meant Samantha was back into the race within the hour.

 

Further technical issues unfortunately also curtailed Neil’s stint in the car shortly after half-distance. Undeterred, and determined to make the finish of the eight-hour event, ST Racing’s mechanics redressed the issue once again, allowing Neil Verhagen to eventually take the chequered flag 10th in the PRO/AM class. A frustrating though nevertheless well-earned accolade given the team’s extraordinary efforts.

 

A charging stint by Varun meant ST Racing’s recent GT3 graduate was able to hold 2nd in PRO and even move up to 6th overall during his opening stint before handing over to season-long teammate Bill Auberlen. At two-thirds distance, and with Philipp back in for his second stint, the #28 BMW M4 GT3 was still 2nd in-class and within striking distance of the PRO leader.

 

An unfortunately timed full-course caution ended up unrepresentatively dropping the #28 BMW off the category podium heading into the closing stages. ST Racing was nevertheless able to conclude its GTWC American season with a top five in the PRO class at Indianapolis.

 

Neil Verhagen, driver (#38): “I want to start by expressing my deepest thanks to Samantha Tan Racing and BMW Motorsport for an incredible season. While finishing second in the championship doesn’t quite reflect all the hard work and dedication we put in, I’m proud of the journey we’ve had. The race at Indy was the turning point that ultimately ended our championship title hopes, but what happened was beyond our control and we deserved more. It was heartbreaking to lose the championship by just one point and to see how much it impacted the team emotionally, but we should all be proud of what we achieved together. Over 13 races, we secured 10 podiums, 3 wins, and 2 poles. A huge thank you to Samantha for giving it her all every single weekend—her improvement throughout the season was remarkable. And to Ken, Mark, and Jon—thank you for your trust in me to compete in the full season with ST Racing. We’ll come back stronger.”

 

John Capestro-Dubets, driver (#38): “What an amazing experience, I absolutely loved every moment behind the wheel of the STR M4 GT3. I want to thank everyone that was a part of this effort. Absolutely gutted for my teammates as they’ve come into the final round leading just to have something out of their control take it all away. This team is truly a family and I’m honored to have been drafted in for this event. Till next time, can’t wait to be back in GT3!”

 

ST Racing would like to extend its congratulations to BMW M Motorsport, which took a well-deserved third win overall at the Indianapolis 8 Hour in only the fifth annual running of the event. The team would also like to commend fellow BMW M customer Turner Motorsport for a fair and competitive championship fight in 2024.