Samantha Tan recovers positions in opening laps, before misfortunes limit Canadian Tire Motorsport Park result
- RACERS
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Samantha Tan had another encouraging start of the race, before a frustrating end took away a potential top ten in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at her home round of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where a solid first stint saw the Canadian climb several positions on the opening laps.
Samantha Tan had another encouraging start of the race, before a frustrating end took away a potential top ten in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge at her home round of Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where a solid first stint saw the Canadian climb several positions on the opening laps.
Despite a determined recovery drive from teammate Bill Auberlen, a late drive-through penalty ultimately relegated the duo to 17th place in a result that failed to reflect their competitiveness.
The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge crossed the border into Canada for the sixth round of the 2026 season, returning to the historic Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport. One of North America's fastest and most iconic road courses, and a former Formula 1 Grand Prix venue, the flowing, high-speed circuit presents a unique challenge, with commitment and precision rewarded around a layout where overtaking opportunities are limited.
Samantha Tan arrived at her home event in the midst of a promising yet unfortunate rookie IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign. After claiming the 2025 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX Bronze title, the Canadian stepped up to the highly competitive GS class alongside BMW veteran Bill Auberlen in the #38 Random Vandals by ST Racing BMW M4 GT4.
Although the opening rounds at Daytona and Sebring were hampered by misfortune despite encouraging pace, the team steadily built momentum with consecutive top-ten finishes at Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio. They carried that confidence into Watkins Glen, where another competitive run was unfortunately cut short by a late mechanical issue, leaving Tan eager to bounce back on home soil.
The weekend began with the team steadily building pace over two practice sessions, consistently running just outside the overall top 20 while focusing on race preparation around the fast and demanding Canadian circuit.
Tan then took qualifying duties for the #38 BMW during the 15-minute GS qualifying session.
The session was interrupted by a red flag after Koch's Toyota came to a halt, freezing the clock shortly after Tan had completed only one representative lap. Her initial time of 1:30.6 left her 20th before the interruption, though it offered little indication of the BMW's true potential.
With just three minutes remaining after the restart, every driver effectively had one final opportunity to set a competitive lap.
Tan improved significantly on her final run, posting a 1:24.629 to secure 18th on the GS grid, leaving the driver-owner with the task to charge from the midfield in Sunday's two-hour contest.
As the field accelerated towards Turn 1, pole sitter Hannah Greenemeier was spun around after contact from Chaves' Toyota Supra, triggering an early full-course caution as drivers scattered to avoid the stranded Aston Martin.
Tan reacted superbly; keeping clear of the incident and threading her way through the opening-lap chaos, she made an excellent getaway to climb from 18th to 12th before the race was neutralized, immediately placing herself inside the battle for another top-ten finish.
Racing resumed at the end of lap two, but the tightly packed GS field meant that Tan remained under some pressure. Koch's recovering Toyota managed to move ahead, dropping the Canadian to 13th, before several fast cars working their way through the field also found opportunities to pass. Despite defending determinedly, Tan gradually slipped to 14th and later 16th as the opening stint settled into its rhythm.
She nevertheless remained in close contact with the midfield battles and benefited when Bob Michaelian's Mustang developed problems and dropped out of the top ten, keeping the ST Racing BMW within striking distance of the leading pack.
On lap 11 a heavy accident involving Scott Thomson and Tally's TCR Cupra at Turn 4 brought out another lengthy full-course caution. With barrier repairs and debris cleanup required, pit lane eventually opened on lap 21 for the scheduled GS pit stops.
Tan brought the #38 BMW into the pits, handing over to Bill Auberlen after a solid opening stint. While she had enjoyed relatively little uninterrupted green-flag running, she had once again demonstrated good racecraft by gaining multiple positions on the opening laps and placing the car in a position for the experienced BMW veteran to continue the charge.
Following the driver change and service, Auberlen rejoined further down the order in 21st after the pit sequence had shuffled the field. The race had barely returned to green before another caution was required after the #37 CarBahn BMW of Shields stopped on circuit, once again compressing the field.
With just over an hour remaining, racing resumed and Auberlen immediately began making progress.
As Dan Arrow's Winward Mercedes sustained front-end damage and subsequently received a mechanical black flag, Auberlen advanced to 15th. Moments later, Evan Slater spun the #60 Mustang at the final corner, creating further drama that Auberlen expertly negotiated as he climbed into 13th.
The final cycle of fuel stops followed shortly afterwards. Auberlen completed the BMW's final scheduled stop on lap 38 before rejoining 17th after the pit sequence had settled. He resumed his charge, dispatching several slower TCR cars while steadily closing on the tightly packed GS midfield.
As the closing stages approached, Auberlen found himself in an intense battle involving Burkhard's CSM Porsche and Kenny Murillo's Mercedes, with the trio separated by only a handful of seconds.
Unfortunately, with just 10 minutes remaining, contact between Auberlen and Murillo at Turn 10 resulted in race control issuing a drive-through penalty to the #38 BMW.
Auberlen served the drive-through on lap 66 and rejoined 17th, ending any realistic hopes of salvaging another top-ten finish. He ultimately took the chequered flag in 17th place, after another race in which the final result failed to reflect the team's potential.
It marked another frustrating chapter in an otherwise competitive rookie campaign, with the team repeatedly demonstrating top-ten potential despite setbacks. Following six rounds, Samantha Tan and Bill Auberlen occupy 14th place in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge GS standings with 960 championship points.
The championship now heads to the equally iconic Road America on 1-2 August, where the Canadian will look to finally convert her team's pace into outright result.