IMSA VP Challenge: Samantha Tan seals GTDX Bronze class title at Road Atlanta
- LIAM REDFORD
- Oct 11
- 7 min read
Samantha Tan claimed the GTDX Bronze class championship title with a superb weekend in the season finale of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge at Road Atlanta, where the ST Racing driver finished both races on the overall GTDX podium, while securing two further Bronze class victories.
Samantha Tan claimed the GTDX Bronze class championship title with a superb weekend in the season finale of the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge at Road Atlanta. The ST Racing driver finished both races on the overall GTDX podium, while securing two further Bronze class victories. Tan drove smartly across the event to ensure she finished in third position in the final GTDX standings as she completed a successful solo season in GT3 specification machinery.
Following a late-summer break, Tan returned to the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge for the season finale at Road Atlanta. In the previous round at Virginia International Raceway, Tan stood on the overall GTDX podium for the first time as she secured two third-place finishes in a weekend which saw her take a step forward in performance. As a result, Tan moved up to third position in the championship standings while she remained the leading driver in the Bronze class.
Tan now arrived at Road Atlanta looking to end her campaign on a high by pushing towards the overall leaders in the GTDX division. The undulating Road Atlanta circuit was one which Tan had limited experience of and therefore making steady progress over the course of the event would be a primary objective as aimed to bank valuable knowledge in the final event of the season.
Free practice one took place early on Wednesday morning and with the track still damp, many drivers opted out of any significant running. However, for Tan, this was valuable experience and she completed the most laps of any driver within the GTDX class. As the track dried, her times improved and she ended the session as the overall fastest driver in GTDX with a lap of a 1:23.654.
The second practice session was held later that day and with the track now fully dry, the running was representative throughout the field. Tan improved upon her fastest time from the first session by almost a second as she completed a further 23 laps, bringing her running total to 45, the most of any driver in the entire IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge field.
As a result, Tan was fully prepared for qualifying which completed a bumper-day of action on Wednesday at Road Atlanta. From the outset, the ST Racing driver took further strides forward as she continued to build up her confidence at the challenging circuit. Her improvements through the middle sector were especially impressive as Tan’s quickest time of a 1:21.220 placed her third in GTDX, while Samantha claimed pole position in the Bronze class.
The first race of the weekend took place on Thursday afternoon with Tan lining up from third position in GTDX. As the lights went out, Kyle Washington got a fast start and he challenged to the outside of turn one. Tan retained the Bronze class lead as she held her ground on the inside as the drivers turned through the downhill esses. The ST Racing driver did a nice job to clear the LMP3 machine of Matthew Dicken down the back straight as she held third position in the GTDX class at the end of lap one.
Tan was running just a second behind Jake Walker as the leading trio in the GTDX class fought for the lead. On lap two, contact between Farhan Siddiqi and Brian Theines saw Theines spin and Tan did well to avoid the stopped LMP3 machine which was stopped on the racing line. As the temperature in the tyres built, Tan extended her advantage over Washington behind with the ST Racing driver regularly lapping one second faster than her class rival.
On lap five, Walker began applying pressure to Adelson for the overall GTDX class lead and therefore Tan was looking to remain within range should a mistake occur ahead. The following lap saw Tan set a new personal best time as her margin over Washington continued to grow. On lap eight, the race entered its first full course yellow period as the GSX machine of Roland Krainz was beached in the gravel following contact.
When the race restarted, the LMP3 machine of Siddiqi was between Tan and Washington therefore the ST Racing driver had a buffer as the green flag was shown. Tan made an excellent restart and quickly built a comfortable margin to Washington with Siddiqi also pitting behind to serve a drive-through penalty.
The race was then neutralised for a second time after Bill Cain went off circuit and brought a number of advertising hoardings back onto the track. After a short period behind the safety car, the race resumed on lap 15 with Theines now behind Tan following his early race spin. The Forte Racing LMP3 machine moved ahead on the following lap and now Washington was just one second behind.
At the head of the GTDX field, Walker had forced Adelson into a mistake and the Turner Motorsport driver was now leading the class. On lap 19, Tan set a personal best time of a 1:22.096 as she looked to mount a late-race challenge on new second-place driver Adelson. The rhythm of the race was disrupted once again as a third full course yellow period was required after Eric Zitza had brought further advertising hoardings onto the circuit following an off-track moment at turn one.
The race resumed with seven minutes remaining and Washington applied the pressure to Tan as the GMG Racing driver closed the gap to just half a second. After a recovering Siddiqi overtook Tan, she fell back into the clutches of Washington who was showing good pace in the closing stages. However, Samantha responded and following a personal best time which saw her dip below 1:22 for the first time in the race, the margin grew once more.
Tan remained consistent in the closing stages to match her season’s best overall result in GTDX as she took the chequered flag in third position, while claiming victory in the Bronze class. As a result, Tan officially sealed the GTDX Bronze class title with one race to spare after a superb debut series in the championship.
For the season finale on Friday morning, Tan was looking to end her campaign on a high. The ST Racing driver lined up from third position on the GTDX grid, while leading the way in the Bronze class following her second fastest lap from qualifying. Due to the low track temperatures, an additional lap was completed behind the safety car before the race got underway.
When the lights went out, Kyle Washington got a good start from the outside of the second row and he was able to move ahead of Tan, while also putting the LMP3 machine of Matthew Dicken between himself and the Canadian racer. Tan was able to pass Dicken before the end of lap one, however Washington’s early race pace enabled him to also overtake Jonathan Hirshberg and therefore one car remained between the Bronze class leaders.
Following the first flying lap, Tan was a second quicker than Washington and her first target was to clear Hirshberg, unless he could pass Washington in his Forte Racing machine. Hirshberg was faster on the straights and by the conclusion of lap six, he had overtaken Washington with Tan now applying pressure to the GMG Racing driver. Tan was running just a quarter of a second behind her rival and therefore one mistake would see the lead change hands in the Bronze class.
On lap nine, Washington was forced to heavily defend his position with Tan making a superb move into the turn 10 braking zone to claim the position. Now into third position in GTDX while assuming the Bronze class lead, Tan was looking to open out a margin over her nearest challenger. On laps 10 and 11, Samantha set back-to-back personal best times with her new benchmark of a 1:21.274 merely half a tenth away from her quickest lap set in qualifying.
As a result, Tan was pulling out around one second per lap on Washington as the race approached the halfway point. The ST Racing driver then encountered GSX class traffic and after catching the GT4 specification cars in difficult places, Washington closed back in. Tan was driving cleanly as she overtook the slower cars and she retained the Bronze class lead as she picked the right moments to make her moves.
By lap 16, Washington was back within one second and therefore Tan was searching for some clean air in order to pull out an advantage. As the second half of the race unfolded, Tan’s pace improved and the ST Racing driver extended her lead in the Bronze class. On lap 28, Tan was the quickest driver in the entire GTDX field as she underlined her progress across the event.
The gap between Tan and Washington opened out to over six seconds before further lapped traffic in the closing stages saw the GMG Racing driver take the chequered flag just three seconds behind. Nonetheless, Tan had driven smartly to claim her second third-place finish in the GTDX class, while claiming double victory in the Bronze class at Road Atlanta.
Tan completed a successful debut season in the IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge by securing the title in the GTDX Bronze class. Samantha was the driver to beat in this sub-division throughout the campaign and she ended the year by claiming overall podium finishes in GTDX. With an excellent solo season of GT3 racing under her belt, Tan will be looking to continue her progress as she assesses her plans for the 2026 season.
