IMPC: Samantha Tan recovers through the field before setback ends Indianapolis charge
Samantha Tan endured a mixed IMSA Pilot Challenge outing at Indianapolis, with the Canadian climbing from 24th to 15th in the opening stint before a setback brought her progress to an end and ultimately left the #38 ST Racing by Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4 27th in GS.
Samantha Tan endured a mixed IMSA Pilot Challenge outing at Indianapolis, with the Canadian climbing from 24th to 15th in the opening stint before an off-track incident brought her progress to an end and ultimately left the #38 ST Racing by Random Vandals BMW M4 GT4 27th in GS.
Tan's first stint had been one of the strongest drives for the #38 BMW, as she made steady progress through the field amid a series of early cautions and was running as high as 15th before the incident forced the car into the pits and left it two laps behind. Bill Auberlen subsequently recovered a handful of positions in the closing stages, but the result could not reflect the pace shown by Tan before the setback.
Indianapolis came at the end of a particularly busy period for Tan, who had returned to Europe just one week earlier to compete in the Supercar Challenge at Hockenheim, Germany, making her return to GT3 machinery before heading back to the United States for her primary 2026 campaign in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS class.
The Canadian stepped up to GS this season, joining Auberlen at ST Racing by Random Vandals in the #38 BMW M4 GT4. Tan had already demonstrated that she could compete with the highly competitive GS field, securing back-to-back top-ten finishes at Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio, while subsequent outings at Watkins Glen, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Road America and Virginia International Raceway had continued to show potential despite mechanical problems and misfortunes preventing the pairing from consistently converting their pace into the results they were targeting.
On Saturday Tan took responsibility for qualifying the #38 BMW. She set a 1:31.257 to place 26th in the GS class, leaving the ST Racing by Random Vandals entry to start the two-hour race from 24th in class.
Tan made a cautious but clean opening lap, finding herself boxed in through Turn 1 but avoiding the trouble around her. She moved up to 23rd shortly afterwards and became involved in a battle with the #64 CSM Porsche of Houk for position, before fighting her way past Hampton to reclaim 23rd.
The first caution arrived after ten minutes when Chaves spun the Toyota Supra into the barriers at Turn 7, triggering a full-course yellow. Tan took advantage of the restart to move into 21st, continuing to make steady progress as the race settled.
The green-flag running was again short-lived, however, as the leading TCR entry, the #77 Stallion Motorsports Cupra, suffered a front-suspension failure at Turn 1, immediately bringing out another caution. Racing resumed on lap 13, with Tan continuing her forward progress.
A Toyota was tagged into a spin in the middle of the pack shortly afterwards but was able to rejoin without another interruption, while Ward was forced to pit with damage. Tan climbed to 19th as she continued to move forward wth determination.
Another major incident involving the #66 Aston Martin and several other cars, including the #46 Team TGM Mustang, brought out a further full-course yellow. Some drivers were forced to take evasive action, once again compressing the field and creating another opportunity for Tan to gain ground.
The third restart produced another strong run from the Canadian, who climbed to 17th and continued improving her lap times as the field settled. Tan was soon circulating in the 1:32.5 range and continued to move forward, eventually reaching 15th position.
At the 40-minute mark, the first scheduled pit stops were beginning to unfold and Tan initially remained on track, giving the team an opportunity to gain further track position through the strategy. The BMW was therefore in a promising position, with Tan having made significant progress from her starting place and running 15th in class.
Unfortunately, the race changed dramatically moments later; the #38 BMW slid through the gravel, bringing out another full-course yellow and ending Tan's strong opening stint. The incident forced the BMW to be towed back to the pits, where Auberlen was able to take over the car, but the time lost during the recovery left the ST Racing entry effectively two laps down and 28th in GS.
The race returned to green with 55 minutes remaining, leaving Auberlen with a difficult recovery task. The veteran driver settled into the 1:32s and began working his way back through the field, closing in on Kris Wilson's #64 Ford. Wilson was only around two seconds ahead and Auberlen was almost a second per lap quicker on lap 51. He rapidly closed the gap and completed the pass over the following laps, moving the #38 into 26th position.
Auberlen continued to circulate strongly but the deficit left the BMW with limited opportunities to recover further positions. He made his final pit stop with 12 minutes remaining and rejoined in 28th.
The race was interrupted once more with five minutes remaining when overall leader Gabby Chaves, who had not yet completed his final pit stop, slowed after running out of fuel and stopped on track, triggering another full-course yellow. Rain was also beginning to appear around the circuit, adding another variable to the final stages.
Auberlen was able to gain one further position during the restart, moving into 27th before the chequered flag.
The result was ultimately not representative of what had been a very promising first stint for Tan. Starting 24th, she had made her way through a chaotic opening phase of the race and climbed as high as 15th before the incident.
Despite the Indianapolis setback, Tan and Auberlen continue to build experience together in Tan's first GS campaign, with the #38 pairing having now collected 1,360 points after nine rounds of the 2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season. One round remains on the calendar, with the championship finale scheduled for Road Atlanta on October 1-3.
