Samantha Tan recovers to 12th at Road America after another encouraging display in IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
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Samantha Tan enjoyed a competitive performance at Road America, where a well-executed race and strong strategy allowed the ST Racing by Random Vandals duo to recover to 12th place in the highly competitive GS class after starting from the lower half of the grid.
Samantha Tan and teammate Bill Auberlen enjoyed a competitive performance at Road America, where a well-executed race and strong strategy allowed the ST Racing by Random Vandals duo to recover to 12th place in the highly competitive GS class after starting from the lower half of the grid.
Tan arrived at Road America looking to build on the encouraging progress shown during her rookie IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge campaign. After capturing the 2025 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX Bronze title, the Canadian stepped up to the highly competitive GS class in 2026, partnering BMW veteran Bill Auberlen in the #38 Random Vandals by ST Racing BMW M4 GT4.
While her debut season has featured its share of bad luck, Tan has consistently demonstrated increasing confidence and pace against one of the strongest GT4 fields in North America. Following difficult but promising outings at Daytona and Sebring, Tan and Auberlen began converting their speed into results with back-to-back top-ten finishes at Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio. They were again running competitively at Watkins Glen before a late mechanical issue denied them another strong finish, while a solid home race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park also failed to yield the result their pace deserved after a late drive-through penalty.
Nevertheless, the Canadian has continued to impress with mature performances and steady development, arriving at Road America determined to translate that growing consistency into another competitive result.
The seventh round of the season took the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge field to the legendary Road America, one of North America's most iconic permanent road courses.
The #38 ST Racing by Random Vandals BMW showed encouraging pace early in the weekend; Tan and Auberlen ran just outside the top ten in the opening practice session, as the team refined the setup ahead of qualifying.
Tan took qualifying duties aboard the BMW M4 GT4; her first representative lap placed her provisionally in the midfield, before she improved to a 2:18.063, initially putting the Canadian 24th.
Unfortunately, the session came to an early end when the #39 BMW of McAlister went off at Turn 3, bringing out a red flag with just under four minutes remaining. As the clock continued to run during the stoppage, qualifying could not be resumed, denying Tan the opportunity to complete a final flying lap on improving track conditions. As several competitors had already improved before the interruption, the ST Racing driver ultimately had to settle for 23rd on the starting grid.
Saturday's two-hour race presented a new challenge, with heavy rain having soaked the circuit before the start, leaving competitors to tackle a wet and slippery Road America.
Starting the opening stint from P23, Tan made a composed getaway and safely negotiated the busy opening corners as the GS and TCR fields filtered through the first lap without incident. Avoiding trouble, she immediately gained several positions to move into 19th.
As the field settled, Tan briefly dropped back to 20th but continued to run consistently while carefully managing the difficult conditions. She initially lost ground to the #14 Circle H Aston Martin before reclaiming a position by passing the #12 RAFA Racing Toyota, maintaining 20th place.
The Canadian soon advanced another spot when Aurora Straus lost several positions ahead, moving Tan back into 19th. Her opening stint was characterized by mature racecraft and consistency, avoiding mistakes while steadily increasing her pace as confidence grew on the damp circuit.
As the rain gradually eased and lap times continued to improve across the field, Tan began extracting more performance from the BMW. She posted laps in the 2:34 range while adapting to the changing grip levels. Although she was later shuffled back to 21st after being passed by the #67 BSI Toyota of Goodman and the #44 Ibiza Farm McLaren of Uretsky, she kept it clean and continued delivering a disciplined stint.
The race changed on lap 13 when the Circle H Aston Martin of Hampton became stranded in the gravel at the Carousel, prompting a full-course caution with one hour and 22 minutes remaining.
When the pits opened, the majority of the GS field dived into pit lane. ST Racing executed another efficient stop, handing the BMW over to Bill Auberlen. Thanks to the team's quick work, Auberlen emerged in 16th place after the cycle of pit stops, gaining valuable track position.
Racing resumed with just over an hour remaining. On the restart, Auberlen initially lost a position to Robby Foley before Kenny Murillo also found a way through as the field battled intensely on cold tyres. The veteran BMW driver eventually settled into 19th while the race entered another strategic phase.
Another twist followed on lap 26 when race leader Liefooghe went off, prompting many teams to pit in anticipation of another caution. The #38 BMW also promptly came in for service, with several differing fuel strategies emerging as the leading three GS cars elected to stay out.
Following the second sequence of stops, Auberlen resumed in 16th place before green flag racing continued with 37 minutes remaining. Light rain once again began falling over the circuit, further complicating the race management.
A subsequent caution for Westphal's stranded CarBahn BMW once again reshuffled the field. Before the yellow, Auberlen had already climbed to 15th through consistent pace.
The final restart came with 22 minutes remaining. Capitalizing on penalties for rivals and continuing to make steady progress through the field, Auberlen climbed as high as 11th place. Although Dan Arrow later found a way past to demote the BMW to 12th, the recovery highlighted the team's strong strategy and the veteran's racecraft in the closing stages.
With just nine minutes remaining, a heavy crash for Sterling's #4 Medusa Motorsport Aston Martin at the Kink immediately brought out another full-course caution. The race ultimately finished under yellow, freezing the order and confirming 12th place for the #38 ST Racing by Random Vandals BMW.
While narrowly missing another top-ten finish, the result nevertheless represented another encouraging weekend for Samantha Tan and Bill Auberlen. After the unfortunate qualifying, the team executed a smart strategy and produced another effective recovery through a highly competitive GS field, with both drivers delivering clean performances in challenging mixed conditions.
Following seven rounds, ST Racing by Random Vandals sits 11th in the GS championship standings with 1,150 points. The IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season now heads to VIRginia International Raceway on 20-23 August.