Canadian racing driver and team owner (born 1997)
Samantha Tan (born (1997-08-09)August 9, 1997) is a Canadian racing driver and team owner, currently competing in GT World Challenge America with her team Samantha Tan Racing,[1] a team that she co-owns with her father, Kenneth Tan. She is a global ambassador for BMW M Motorsport.[2]
Racing career
Samantha Tan began racing at the age of 16, participating in events under the National Auto Sport Association in the Performance Touring E category with a modified 1991 Honda Civic.[3] She moved on to race in the 2014 Canadian Touring Car Championship with a Mini Cooper.[4] Tan made her debut in the Pirelli World Challenge in 2015, racing in a Kia Forte Koup in the TCA class.[5] She returned the following year in 2016 under the same class, this time racing in a Honda Civic Si, finishing the year 6th overall. Tan would race in BMW machinery for the first time in 2017, driving a BMW M235iR for the full season, alongside a new teammate in Nick Wittmer. She would score 23 points and finish 29th in class.
Tan and Wittmer would move up into GT4 participating in the 2018 SprintX GT Championship Series,[6] driving a BMW M4 GT4 now alongside each other in one car instead of as two separate entries. The team would participate in two rounds at Circuit of the Americas and Virginia International Raceway, scoring in all four of the available races as well as scoring a pole position and a podium in the second race at COTA. Tan would continue to improve throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons of the GT4 America Series, finishing in the top 3 of the standings in both seasons with teammates Jason Wolfe and Jon Miller. Tan would make her first venture outside of North America in 2021, competing in the 24H Series. Tan would earn her first championships as both a driver and team owner, winning three races including the 2021 Dubai 24 Hour on route to winning the 24H GT Series teams' and drivers' titles with teammates Chandler Hull and Jon Miller.[7]
The following year, Tan moved up to GT3 cars, participating in the GT3 class in 2022 GT World Challenge America alongside Wittmer. Harry Gottsacker joined the pair for the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hours, where the team finished the race in 10th overall as the only Silver entry. She also made her first appearance at the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in the 2022 edition of the event racing with Wittmer, Gottsacker, and Maxime Oosten, finishing 36th overall and 9th in class. For 2023, Tan participated in both the 2023 GT World Challenge America and the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe series.
Personal life
Tan was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to a Malaysian mother and a Filipino father, Kenneth Tan. Her mother studies at the University of Chicago, and her father Kenneth is a businessman, team principal, and co-owner alongside Samantha, of Samantha Tan Racing. She also has a brother, Kevin, who is pursuing a career in STEM.[8] While racing in the National Auto Sport Association, Samantha Tan also studied at and has since graduated from UC Irvine with an economics degree.[4][3]
Race results
Career summary
References
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