Samantha Tan and Michelle Halder celebrate class podiums at 24H Nürburgring
- MIKA BÖCKER
- Jun 25
- 6 min read
It was a successful race for several women in various classes of the 24h Nürburgring—one of the most demanding endurance races on the planet, held on the mighty Nordschleife which brought podiums in the SP3T and AT2 classes for Samantha Tan and Michelle Halder.
It was a successful race for several women in various classes of the 24h Nürburgring—one of the most demanding endurance races on the planet, held on the mighty Nordschleife.
In the SP3T and AT2 classes, two women were able to achieve podium finishes at an uncommonly hot-weather edition of the ADAC Ravenol 24h Nürburgring.
Just one week after racing at Le Mans—where she made her debut in the Road To Le Mans event—Canadian driver Samantha Tan entered her first 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, returning to the MINI brand for the first time since the beginning of her racing career in 2014, when she began climbing the ranks of touring cars in North America.
Since then, Tan has gained high-level experience in both GT4 and GT3 machinery. She is no stranger to the Nordschleife, having raced and won in class in the NLS last year, but the 24-hour race—known for pushing drivers, teams, and machines to their limits—was certainly a new level of challenge. She shared the MINI John Cooper Works of Bulldog Racing with Markus Fischer, Sebastian Sauerbrei, and Toby Goodman.
Another high-profile driver making her 24h Nürburgring debut was young Japanese talent Miki Koyama—a former W Series competitor who later became Formula Regional Japan champion as part of the Toyota GR young driver development program. More recently, she has competed in Japan's premier GT series, Super GT. Koyama, part of the #160 Ring Racing crew driving a Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO in the SP8T class, was involved in a factory-supported effort. She had contested the previous NLS rounds and qualifying races to learn the grueling 25.378 km circuit.
In the AT2 class, Michelle Halder—a driver with experience and podium finishes in top European TCR championships—returned behind the wheel of the #320 Four Motors Bio-Concept Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car, alongside Michael Schmidt, Ralf Peter Bonk, and Marco van Ramshorst.
In the first qualifying session for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, things didn’t go entirely smoothly for the teams with female drivers—each the only entrant in their respective classes featuring women. At the start of Thursday’s session, Nakayama drove the #160 Toyota in SP8T, Schmidt piloted the #320 Porsche in AT2, and Sauerbrei drove the #317 MINI Cooper in SP3T. At that time, the weather was still dry, with fewer problems for the other cars and no significant Code 60 zones, promising a fast session.
After a while, Goodman took over the MINI. In an attempt to beat the time of 10:25.075, he went off track at Pflanzgarten Sprung 1 and touched the barrier. The car returned to the pits slowly and required repairs. The Japanese team also suffered a setback: at the Sabine-Schmitz corner, the #160 Toyota hit the wall head-on. Fortunately, the impact wasn’t severe and caused no major damage. After some maneuvering, the car was able to continue.
The remaining qualifying sessions passed without further significant issues, and there were improvements—particularly in the night session, when the women drivers got into the cars for the first time.
On Saturday, temperatures rose again, prompting concern among tyre engineers, while drivers sweated in their fireproof gear. Nakayama drove the #160, Halder the #320, and Sauerbrei the #317 for the opening stint.
All three made clean and safe starts; Halder was the best-placed driver after the first lap, running 41st overall and 3rd in the AT2 class. Sauerbrei, driving the MINI in the slower SP3T class, was 132nd overall and 6th in class. Nakayama delivered an outstanding opening stint: after one lap, he was 76th overall and 7th in class, but within 45 minutes had moved up to 62nd overall and gained a class position.
After an hour, he handed the car to Alesi, while the other teams pitted a lap later. The specially prepared VW Beetle, racing for the "Fly and Help" charity initiative, was retired after just two laps. Samantha Tan’s MINI regained a position after a tricky start.
Due to the sunny forecast, many hoped for an uninterrupted race free of adverse weather. But the Nürburgring had other ideas: an air conditioning unit meant to cool pit lane equipment overheated itself, causing a power outage across much of the Nürburgring—particularly in the pit lane and fueling zones.
Since racing without refueling was impossible, the event was red-flagged for over two hours. The restart was further delayed due to the regulations, which required restoring the running order from the penultimate lap prior to the interruption.
At the restart around 8 p.m., following the reshuffle, Van Ramshorst was 34th overall and 3rd in class in the Four Motors Porsche. Kotaka was 52nd and 6th in SP8T with the Toyota, and Samantha Tan made her first race appearance in the MINI, now 90th overall and 5th in class—one position ahead of the now-returned VW Beetle.
With 19 hours and 32 minutes remaining, the #160 Toyota driven by Kotaka was involved in a rear-end collision with the #97 Porsche. Both cars made it back to the pits. While the Porsche was quickly repaired with tape, the Toyota had more serious damage—a misaligned left front wheel—and required suspension repairs.
With 18 hours remaining, the track was no longer fully clear. After clean initial stints, the increased pace led to numerous accidents and Code 60 phases. The Schnitzelalm GT4 Mercedes, for example, crashed hard at the Fuchsröhre exit. Other GT3 cars also crashed—at Hohe Acht and the first chicane. These developments affected position changes for the women’s teams.
The damaged Toyota dropped to the back of the field. The #320 Porsche fell to 53rd overall after a pit stop and a driver change to musician Smudo, though it retained its class position. Goodman drove the MINI up to 90th, closing the gap to fourth in class.
Repairs to Koyama’s Toyota continued until about 11 p.m. The team had dropped to 118th overall and last in class. Alesi eventually got the car back on track. For the other women's teams, the race progressed smoothly: Four Motors hovered around 50th overall depending on pit strategy but consistently held a class podium. The #317 MINI, pushed by Fischer, climbed the overall standings but had yet to gain a class position. Nearing the halfway point, the two trouble-free entries were running 43rd and 80th overall.
During the night, Samantha Tan spoke about how different the experience was from her usual races and praised the unique atmosphere, also noted the many barbecues along the track—something she had been told about—and said she could even smell them inside the car.
The next morning, Van Ramshorst had the #320 Porsche in 35th place. The team hadn’t improved their class position but had effectively secured a class podium. Sauerbrei brought the MINI into sunrise in 78th overall and 5th in class, while Kotaka also enjoyed the experience, running in 92nd place.
Neither Bulldog Racing with the MINI nor Ring Racing with the Toyota were yet satisfied with their positions and pushed to improve. However, their progress was repeatedly halted by more Code 60 periods, often involving GT3 incidents. The remaining Falken Porsche stopped on the Döttinger Höhe, and the #27 Abt Lamborghini crashed while lapping a Hyundai in the Pflanzgarten area.
Nevertheless, the SP3T and SP8T entries improved: the #317 MINI made impressive progress and, with six hours remaining, was running 73rd overall and 3rd in class—on course for a podium. Samantha Tan was back in the car, four laps behind the SP3T leader but closing the gap. Alesi ran 88th overall and 6th in class with the #160 Toyota. Being twelve laps behind fifth place, a further climb seemed unlikely.
Meanwhile, Smudo continued to steer the Four Motors Porsche steadily, holding 32nd overall.
An hour later, the Toyota’s comeback was hampered by a nearly 16-minute pit stop under Alesi. The car failed to complete a single lap afterward and was parked in the Stefan Bellof S; after a short delay, it limped back to the pits. Around the same time, the race’s most dramatic moment occurred: Estre, in the Grello Porsche, roughly forced an Aston Martin GT4 off track, causing it to hit the wall, roll over, and land on its roof—leading to a long Code 60 phase.
The #160 Toyota’s woes continued: a Code 60 violation brought a hefty time penalty. Already significantly behind, this did not affect their class standing, but further damaged their overall result.
The other two teams however ran a clean final stint. Michelle Halder rejoined in the #320 Porsche for the closing stages, sitting 32nd overall and third in class. Goodman started from 62nd place in the MINI, now second in SP3T.
There were no further class changes, but the overall standings continued to shift. More accidents—especially in the Stefan Bellof S—allowed the three women’s teams to improve further. Bonk brought the #320 Porsche home in 27th overall and 3rd in AT2, securing a podium for Michelle Halder.
Miki Koyama finished 92nd overall and 6th in SP8T, completing 84 laps. In SP3T, Fischer took the chequered flag for the #317 MINI, finishing behind only the #310 BMW M3 Racing. Samantha Tan’s team had gained nearly 90 places over the course of the race and finished 59th overall, claiming a podium in her first-ever start at the iconic 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
