Samantha Tan joins Bulldog Racing for 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours in MINI John Cooper Works
- RACERS
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
From Le Mans to the Nordschleife, one week apart: Canadian star Samantha Tan will make her Nürburgring 24 Hours debut with MINI John Cooper Works and Bulldog Racing, joining a strong line-up for the legendary endurance classic in 2025.
From Le Mans to the Nordschleife, one week apart.
The 24 Hours of Nürburgring is one of the most demanding races in the world — and in 2025, Samantha Tan will take on the iconic event for the first time as part of the MINI John Cooper Works and Bulldog Racing line-up, in the SP3T class.
Over 130 racing cars will tackle the 25.378-kilometre Nürburgring circuit, known as the ‘Green Hell,’ with a team of four drivers piloting the Bulldog Racing MINI. The line-up features a mix of seasoned Nürburgring experts and rising talents: Markus Fischer, Sebastian Sauerbrei, Toby Goodman, and Canada’s Samantha Tan — making her Nürburgring 24 Hours debut.
Samantha is an accomplished GT3 driver and team owner of Samantha Tan Racing, having made remarkable progress over the sportscar ladder over the last few years - now returning to her racing roots, with the manufacturer she started her journey with, in the Canadian Touring Car Championship.
Tan arrives at Nürburgring fresh off an impressive weekend at Circuit de la Sarthe, where she finished P6 and P4 in her first Road To Le Mans outing, driving the #38 BMW M4 GT3 for Team WRT.
Currently racing full-time in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge with STR, Tan is also a BMW Motorsport Ambassador and a proven competitor across multiple endurance series. Her motorsport journey began in 2014 racing touring cars — with MINI as her very first brand. She soon progressed into GT4 competition, claiming a runner-up finish in the 2019 GT4 America Sprint X West ProAm class and third overall in the 2020 GT4 America Sprint X series.
In 2021, Tan launched her first international campaign in the 24H Series, winning both class and overall championships in the ST Racing BMW M4 GT4. The following year, she transitioned to the GT3 platform, scoring a landmark victory at the Mugello 12 Hours — the first ever for the new BMW M4 GT3 — and earning recognition worldwide.
Tan then contested the full GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in 2023, taking a class win and finishing third in the ProAm standings. Her momentum continued in 2024 with a near-title-winning GT World Challenge America ProAm season alongside BMW factory driver Neil Verhagen, a class victory in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie (NLS), a podium in GT America at Long Beach, and a competitive GT4 European Series appearance at Spa-Francorchamps.
Notably, Tan already holds a class victory at the Nordschleife from her outings in the SP8T class of NLS — a key asset as she takes on the immense challenge of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring for the first time.
She most recently returned to NLS for the 2025 second round, again in GT4 machinery.
Her teammates also bring strong credentials to the team: Markus Fischer is aiming for back-to-back class victories after a standout 2024 performance where he set the fastest lap in the #317 MINI John Cooper Works Pro; Sebastian Sauerbrei brings unmatched Nürburgring expertise, with countless test kilometres and experience across all weather conditions; Toby Goodman, just 23 years old, already boasts a MINI Challenge Trophy podium and consistent success in endurance racing.
With her expanding endurance racing background and proven success in any machinery, Samantha Tan is ready to make a strong debut at the 2025 24 Hours of Nürburgring with MINI John Cooper Works.
