GTWC America: Samantha Tan fights back with second place in Road America

Bouncing back from a challenging start to the weekend, Samantha Tan and Neil Verhagen secured a ninth podium of the season with a second-place ProAm finish in race 2 at Road America, retaining their class championship lead in GT World Challenge America.

Samantha Tan, ST Racing, BMW M4 GT3, GT World Challenge America, 2024 Road America — Photo credits: Fabian Lagunas / SRO

Despite a challenging start of the weekend for Samantha Tan and her ST Racing teammate Neil Verhagen, the duo bounced back with a stellar performance in GT World Challenge America's second race at Road America, where they claimed a second place finish in the ProAm class, returning to the podium for the ninth time of the season.

Tan and Verhagen, who extended their lead in the championship standings after two runner-up finishes at VIRginia International Raceway last time out, had consistently finished in the top three in class at every race this year, climbing the top step on three occasions - at Sebring and twice ay COTA.

The Canadian team was aiming to keep momentum in this dominant campaign at Road America - and their pace was looking promising, but changeable weather in Saturday's first race put a halt to their uninterrupted podium streak when the team opted for wet weather tyres. The strategy gamble didn't pay off and, on a rapidly drying track, Tan was soon forced to complete an extra pit stop to switch to slicks, which proved costly. Nevertheless, the duo were determined to fight back in race 2 and delivered a superb run to finish second - in yet another impressive performance for Tan, who matched most of the Pro entries' pace in the second stint.

The opening days of the weekend at the iconic Elkhart Lake circuit in Wisconsin were marked by heavy rain in testing and practice, making it difficult for teams to find the optimal setup for their cars.

Tan was out on track for the first part of the session and managed to place the #38 BMW within the top three in the ProAm class. Verhagen took over driving duties and, by the end of the session, the duo had clocked a time good enough for second in class. The second free practice session began later in the day - this time, Neil Verhagen was first out on track and ran consistently within the top three overall for the majority of his driving time. The duo ended 6th fastest and second in the ProAm class, just behind the #32 Porsche.

The qualifying sessions at Road America took place under much-improved weather conditions compared to the previous days, with the rain finally subsiding to allow for dry running on Saturday morning. Tan was behind the wheel of the #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3 for the first qualifying session, which would determine the starting grid for Race 1 - marking effectively the first dry running of the weekend.

Samantha was soon up to speed, posting her first timed lap that placed her 8th overall and third in the ProAm class. As the session progressed and times tumbled, the Canadian driver/owner managed to hold onto third place in class until the end of the session. Up front, Philip Ellis put in a blistering lap to secure pole position overall and in ProAm for the Regulator Racing Mercedes.

Neil Verhagen took over for the second qualifying, which would set the grid for Race 2. After a mid-session pit stop to switch to a new set of rubber, Verhagen went back out and set personal best sectors, clocking a lap of 2:04.453, which momentarily placed him 5th overall and 4th in the ProAm class. After a few late improvements from the competition, Verhagen ultimately ended the session 6th overall and 4th in ProAm, with Turner Motorsport's Robby Foley claiming pole position.

Drama however continued after the session when it was announced that the pole-winning Mercedes of Ellis had been penalized due to a ride-height infringement during post-qualifying scrutineering. As a result, the DXDT Racing Corvette of Alec Udell inherited pole position for Saturday’s first race, reshuffling the starting grid and moving the ST Racing duo up a spot in both sessions.

The first race of the weekend at Road America was met again with unpredictable weather conditions. After a dry qualifying session, rain showers descended upon the circuit just before the start of the race, making tyre choice a critical factor. The ST Racing team took a gamble, opting to start on wet weather tyres as the track was still damp.

Samantha Tan was behind the wheel for the first stint, and she made a brilliant start, avoiding a collision between two other cars and immediately moving up to sixth overall, taking the lead in the ProAm class just before the safety car was deployed.

As the race resumed, it became apparent that the track was drying faster than expected; the competitors who had started on slick tyres were able to take advantage of the improving conditions, forcing those on wets to pit for a tyre change. Tan pitted a few laps after the restart, dropping down to 12th overall and seventh in ProAm. Despite the setback, she continued to push hard, steadily improving her lap times once on slicks. However, she found herself nearly two minutes behind the overall leader, making it difficult to regain positions without the help of another safety car.

Samantha however demonstrated strong pace, matching the times of the leaders. She began closing the gap to the ProAm rivals ahead, gaining a position to Elias Sabo and significantly gaining ground on Washington and Pedersen at almost two second per lap pace.

Tan handed over the #38 BMW M4 GT3 to Neil Verhagen while running in sixth place in the ProAm class, though one lap down, with 49 minutes to go.

Verhagen rejoined the race and continued the charge, gaining a position due to a penalty for Trent Hindman's RS1 Porsche. As the race neared its conclusion, the #28 sister car from ST Racing came to a halt on track, bringing out a full-course yellow with 10 minutes to go.

Although Verhagen was able to regain a lap due to the pass-around, the race returned to green before he could close the gap to the pack, leaving him out of contention for a podium finish.

In the final minutes, Robby Foley took the ProAm lead, while a half-spin for Jeff Burton dropped the Regulator Racing Mercedes from first to fourth in class. Verhagen crossed the line in fifth in ProAm and ninth overall, salvaging valuable points despite the challenging circumstances.

"When it rains, it pours—except it didn’t rain today when we made the gamble to use rain tires in the race", Samantha commented. "So we could only salvage P5 at the checkered. But tomorrow is a new day."

The weather cleared for Sunday’s race, offering a dry track and more stable conditions. Neil Verhagen started the race from sixth overall and fourth in the ProAm class: he had a solid getaway, holding his position and quickly setting a competitive pace. As the field settled into the race, Robby Foley retained the overall lead, with Verhagen battling closely behind the DXDT Corvette of Bryan Sellers.

By the third lap, Verhagen had found his rhythm and began closing in on Sellers. He reduced the gap to under a second, but despite his efforts, the positions remained unchanged until the pit stops.

With one hour remaining, Verhagen clocked his fastest lap, a 2:06.261, bringing him even closer to the Corvette ahead. When the pit window opened, most ProAm teams opted to extend their Pro drivers’ stints, and Verhagen climbed the order.

Verhagen pitted on lap 22 briefly, running as high as third overall. Samantha Tan then took over after a perfect stop by the ST Racing crew, immediately re-entering the race in a fierce battle for position. She found herself in a tightly packed group of cars, but crucially, she was ahead of her main championship rival, Turner Motorsports' Justin Rothberg, who then encountered issues with a tyre puncture and had to pit again.

Tan showed impressive pace, consistently matching the lap times of the overall leaders. She quickly moved up to fourth overall and second in ProAm after the round of pit stops, positioning herself for a strong finish. Despite being faster than the car ahead, Tan was stuck in traffic behind Adam Adelson’s Pro Porsche and couldn’t find a clear opportunity to pass. With a comfortable gap to the cars behind, Samantha focused on maintaining her position and avoiding unnecessary risks.

Meanwhile, Philip Ellis, driving the #91 Regulator Racing Mercedes, was carving his way through the field. After taking over from his teammate Jeff Burton, he made up significant ground, eventually passing most of the field to claim third in ProAm with just three minutes left on the clock.

In the final stages, Bryson Morris in the DXDT Corvette held on to take the ProAm victory, with the sister DXDT car of Alec Udell and Tommy Milner winning overall despite overcoming a short pit stop penalty. Samantha Tan crossed the finish line second in ProAm and fourth overall, marking a superb recovery after the challenges faced in Race 1.

"Today was redemption day and we were back on the podium with second in class and fourth overall", Samantha stated. "Mega pit stops today by the crew allowed us to fight for the win and maintain our championship lead."

With this result, Tan and Verhagen extended their championship lead, having now collected 190 points and with a 45-point advantage over their nearest rivals with two rounds remaining. The duo will head to Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama, on 6-8 September, looking to continue their remarkable GT World Challenge America campaign.