Samantha Tan and her team ST Racing narrowly missed out on the ProAm championship title in the 2024 GT World Challenge America season after a strong season was derailed by a technical issue at the 8 Hours of Indianapolis, but ultimately finished as Vice-Champions after a remarkable campaign with 3 class victories and 10 class podiums.
It was a heartbreaking finale of the 2024 GT World Challenge America season for Samantha Tan and her Samantha Tan Racing team, as the Canadian outfit, entering the last race in the lead of the ProAm championship, ended one point short of the title after an early-race technical issue that dropped the BMW M4 GT3 over 30 laps down.
Driver/owner Samantha Tan had been the protagonist of another remarkable opening stint, where she climbed the order and passed the championship rivals in the early stages, keeping the #38 BMW in second place in class after the first hour of racing — before a fuel pump issue shuttered her championship hopes.
Together with full-season teammate Neil Verhagen and John Capestro Dubets, who joined the squad for the final 8-hour race, Samantha still made it back on track after a great effort from her team, and all drivers pushed to the very end despite being over 30 laps down — but they were sadly denied the crown, ending ProAm class Vice-Champions after a superb season in GT World Challenge America, that included 3 class victories, 10 class podiums, and 4 overall top-three finishes, with only three races where they had finished off the podium this year. A commendable effort for the team, who dominated the first part of the season but was hit by misfortunes at the worst timing.
Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen had missed a match point at Barber Motorsports Park, the penultimate race meeting, when they couldn't seal the deal but still collected a third place in ProAm on their first visit to the Alabama circuit. Coming into the 8 Hours of Indianapolis, the flagship event of the SRO America season and run in conjunction with the final race of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the title was on the line with double points available for the event.
Joined by John Capestro Dubets for the endurance race, the ProAm championship leaders would have to battle until the end with the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW for the crown.
Working on setup in practice, the team aimed for a consistent weekend. During the pre-qualifying session on Friday, Verhagen was in the #38 STR BMW first, with Tan taking over with 40 minutes to go. She finished P11 in ProAm, P19 overall. Verhagen returned for the final minutes, ending P12 in class, just 0.8 seconds off Laurin Heinrich's Wright Motorsport's Porsche, who led the Pro class and overall.
During the 15-minute Q1 session in the afternoon, Samantha Tan delivered a competitive first lap, moving into the overall top ten and P3 in ProAm, with a time of 1:26.099 with 10 minutes to go. She improved to 1:25.615, staying in the top five and ending P5 in class and P15 overall in Q1. After John Capestro-Dubets' Q2 — where he finished P8 in class and 15th overall — they stayed P15 overall and 5th in ProAm in the aggregate results. Verhagen's Q3 session concluded with a solid run of 1:23.706, securing P16 overall.
On race day, the 5th edition of the Indianapolis 8 Hours began under sunny skies at the Racing Capital of the World. Samantha Tan took the start in the #38 BMW from 15th overall and 6th in ProAm, for what would be a crucial race for the ST Racing team.
The race started cleanly, with everyone cautious into the funnel of Turn 1; Samantha held her position on the first lap, while Patric Niederhauser led from pole in the Herberth Motorsport Porsche, also leading the ProAm class.
Samantha immediately applied pressure on championship rivals Turner Motorsport BMW driven by Justin Rothberg, patiently waiting for her chance. She went past on lap 6 to take fifth. Once ahead, the Canadian set her best lap, almost nine-tenths faster than Rothberg, and immediately started hunting down Jefri Ibrahim.
She overtook Ibrahim and Kyle Washington on the same lap, moving up to third in class by lap 11. Tan delivered consistent lap times, building a solid gap while settling into her rhythm, stretching her lead over Rothberg.
By lap 20, she had over a 10-second margin, maintaining a consistent pace. However, a caution was deployed when Elias Sabo ended up in the gravel after contact with the #75 Express Mercedes of Kenny Habul, second in ProAm.
During the caution, most teams pitted for driver changes, but Samantha remained in the car and moved up to second in ProAm after the pit stops. When the race went back to green, Tan tried to manage traffic but kept P10 overall and second in class until the race leader, Niederhauser, finally stopped on lap 43.
Drama however struck shortly after, when Samantha's car came to a halt with a fuel pressure issue, causing a major blow to their championship hopes. Although the car restarted, it limped back to the pits, and the team lost over 30 laps while resolving the problem.
Almost 40 minutes later, Samantha returned to the track with 6 hours and 10 minutes remaining, now 31 laps down. The focus shifted to completing the race and securing as many points as possible, with Samantha immediately returning to her 1:26 pace and later running in the 1:25 bracket.
Meanwhile, the #29 Turner Motorsport BMW, running second, had taken the championship lead by one point. Verhagen took over from Samantha and delivered a strong stint, setting the team's fastest lap at 1:24.279.
As night fell, the ST Racing team continued to push, with Capestro Dubets and Verhagen trading stints and steadily improving lap times. Despite another fuel pump issue, they managed to climb up the order, eventually reaching P10 in ProAm with 35 minutes to go.
With just 16 minutes remaining, the class-leading Turner BMW made a strategic last pit stop; although they lost the class lead to the #10 Herberth Motorsport Porsche, they maintained their crucial points advantage as the first point-scoring car.
In the end, Verhagen crossed the line P19 overall, P10 in class, leaving the team just one point short of the ProAm championship title.
"This one really hurt", Tan wrote, understandably disappointed. "After a very strong start, mechnical issues took us out of contention for the race and the championship. We lost by one point."
"We gave it our all and it was one hell of a season", she continued. "I know we can keep our heads high, but my heart is truly in pieces right now."
Samantha Tan however concluded the season as the GT World Challenge America Vice-Champion, capping off an impressive year with numerous successes.
Her performances in 2024 established her as one of the fastest AM drivers in the series, often battling with the Pros and matching their times. Samantha's significant progress this season is likely to set the stage for even greater achievements in 2025.