Alongside her GTWC America campaign with BMW, Samantha Tan is set to contest the European Endurance Cup as well, in partnership with Rinaldi Racing and with Ferrari machinery.
Ahead of the GT World Challenge Europe collective testing at Circuit Paul Ricard, France, Samantha Tan Racing announced a partnership with German outfit Rinaldi Racing for the upcoming GTWC Europe Endurance Cup, forming ST Racing with Rinaldi.
ST Racing co-owner and driver Samantha Tan will therefore compete in a double program in GTWC America with her BMW M4 GT3 and in Europe, with Ferrari machinery.
Tan, 25, will share a Ferrari 488 GT3 with Jon Miller, with plans to switch to the new 296 GT3 at a later date. The full line up is also set to be announced in due course.
Samantha Tan made her international debut in 2021, having previously raced in North America, achieving success on the SRO platform since 2017, when she entered Pirelli World Challenge in the TC class. From 2018 to 2020, the Canadian driver and her team competed in the GT4 America West and SprintX - also finishing runner up in 2019, and has entered selected races in TC America.
In her first international season, Tan claimed six titles in the CREVENTIC 24H Series, securing among the others GT4 class and overall championships. One year later, she debuted in GT3 and brought the brand new BMW M4 GT3 to a first worldwide victory at the 12H of Mugello, at only her second race in GT3.
Tan and ST Racing's teammate Nick Wittmer showed impressive pace in a partial GT World Challenge America campaign later on in the season, where the Canadian duo were fifth in ProAm at debut at Sonoma – but were then forced to miss most of the remaining rounds due to logistic difficulties.
The young Canadian made her debut in GT World Challenge Europe at the Spa 24H, the series' flagship event in 2022, claiming a solid ninth place in the silver class.
She will now be back for a full campaign in the European series Endurance Cup, where she will again compete for Silver Cup honours.
“I am beyond excited to be announcing our participation in GTWC EU with Rinaldi Racing. They are one of the top Ferrari teams in the business, and I look forward to competing on a new platform, the 488 GT3, in one of the most competitive GT3 series on the globe", Samantha said. "I am pleased to be able to work with Jon again and learn from his expertise this year, and I can’t wait to kick off the season in April!”
The series' schedule includes five events, on some of the world's best racing venues: Monza, Paul Ricard, Spa Francorchamps, Nürburgring and Barcelona.
“With heavy focus on our growing BMW GT program in the US, we decided to change the way we race in Europe this year", commented STR Team Principal Kenneth Tan. "In Rinaldi, we’ve got one of the best racing teams there to support our race car."
The German squad has run programs in GT3, GTE as well as LMP3, and currently also competed in European Le Mans Series.
"Rinaldi Racing is highly respected by the factory and has an impeccable reputation with a proven track record. I am very happy to work with them and also very excited to go to Monza next month to watch Samantha compete in one of the most competitive series with one of the top teams."
Samantha Tan is no stranger to Ferrari machinery as well, having entered selected rounds of last year's Ferrari Challenge North America, where she collected pole positions and race victories in the 488 Challenge EVO car.
"The level of competition in the SRO Endurance Cup is extremely high and while we’re familiar with the tracks and the people, the championship and Ferrari platform will present a new environment and learning curve that we’re excited to tackle together.” - concluded Jon Miller, who also fills the role of Team Manager at ST Racing.
"I’m thrilled to rejoin Samantha as a co-driver and to grow the existing relationship that I have with Rinaldi."
2023 GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Calendar:
R1 Monza, Italy / Endurance / 22-23 April
R2 Le Castellet, France / Endurance / 3-4 June
R3 Spa Francorchamps, Belgium / Endurance / 29 July-2 July
R4 Nürburgring, Germany / Endurance / 29-30 July
R5 Barcelona, Spain / Endurance / 30 September-1 October
