Samantha Tan's recovery drive ends in frustration after promising Watkins Glen pace undone by late mechanical issue
- RACERS
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
Although Watkins Glen brought an unfortunate end to the team's run of top-ten finishes due to a late mechanical failure, Samantha Tan's performance on a new track to her once again displayed the progress made so far in her rookie campaign in the series.
Samantha Tan's run of increasingly encouraging results in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge came to a frustrating end at Watkins Glen, where the Canadian and teammate Bill Auberlen were climbing through the pack before a late mechanical problem denied the duo the opportunity to maximize another competitive opening stint.
The fifth round of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season took place at the iconic Watkins Glen International circuit in support of the 44th running of the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen, one of the most prestigious endurance events on the IMSA calendar.
Tan arrived in upstate New York carrying momentum after steadily building progress throughout her rookie campaign in the highly competitive GS class. Following her championship-winning season in the 2025 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX Bronze category, the Canadian stepped up to Michelin Pilot Challenge for 2026, partnering BMW veteran Bill Auberlen aboard the #38 Random Vandals by ST Racing BMW M4 GT4.
While the opening rounds at Daytona and Sebring demonstrated encouraging pace, repeated misfortune had prevented the team from converting their potential into representative finishes. Their breakthrough finally arrived at Laguna Seca with an eighth-place finish, before they improved further at Mid-Ohio with an excellent seventh-place result. Watkins Glen therefore represented another opportunity to continue that upward trajectory.
The opening practice session took place in difficult wet conditions, presenting another learning challenge for Tan on her first visit to Watkins Glen.
The Canadian tried to complete some valuable mileage throughout the session while continuing to familiarize herself with one of North America's fastest road courses. The #38 BMW finished just outside the overall top ten. Dry conditions returned for second practice, allowing Samantha to keep learning the track in more representative conditions ahead of qualifying. The team ultimately recorded the 14th fastest time overall.
Tan took qualifying duties for the 15-minute GS session on Saturday morning, with only 12 laps under her belt. As the circuit continued to evolve, she steadily improved over the course of the session and produced her quickest lap on the final run, stopping the clocks at 1:56.004. The effort secured P24 on the GS grid ahead in Saturday afternoon's two-hour race.
Tan took the start aboard the #38 BMW from 24th position in class. Negotiating a clean opening lap through the busy GS field, she initially slipped back one place before immediately beginning to work her way forward. By the second lap she had overtaken Quinlan's Mustang to reclaim 24th position and quickly settled into a very solid rhythm.
While several competitors around her struggled to find consistency, Tan steadily built confidence and began producing competitive lap times in the 1:56 range.
A puncture for Miller's Unitronic Porsche elevated the Canadian to P22 before she executed another clean overtake on Scully's CSM Porsche to move into P21.
Closing rapidly on Yeany's Medusa Motorsports Aston Martin, Tan completed another decisive pass to climb into 20th position, demonstrating strong race pace as she continued her methodical recovery through the field.
Further opportunities soon emerged; when Choksey's Rafa Racing Toyota Supra suffered a puncture and headed to pit lane, Tan inherited 19th position. Shortly afterwards, contact further ahead resulted in Uretsky spinning at the chicane while battling the CarBahn BMW, allowing Tan to gain yet another place and move into 18th overall.
By this stage of the race, the Canadian had recovered six positions from her starting spot through clean overtaking, consistent pace and avoiding trouble, while simultaneously opening a comfortable margin over the cars behind.
Her next target became Satullo's Mustang. Running within half a second of the Ford, Tan looked poised to continue her progress before having to briefly defend against renewed pressure from Scully behind, maintaining her position through another competitive sequence of laps.
With approximately one hour and 15 minutes remaining, the GS pit window opened. After another extremely solid opening stint, Tan brought the #38 BMW into pit lane on lap 22 for fuel, tyres and the scheduled driver change, handing over to veteran teammate Bill Auberlen, having gained 7 positions in a highly convincing opening stint.
Following the pit cycle, Auberlen rejoined in 20th position and immediately began settling into competitive pace. As strategies unfolded across the field, the experienced BMW factory driver continued circulating consistently before eventually moving back into P19 as the race entered its second half.
Auberlen initially lost a position to Choksey as the various strategies converged, but remained on course to secure another respectable finish before the BMW suddenly developed a mechanical problem with approximately 15 minutes remaining.
After losing a wheel, Auberlen was forced to return to pit lane, immediately ending any hopes of another top-20 finish.
The final classification failed to reflect the potential shown by the Random Vandals by ST Racing team throughout the weekend; Tan, especially, had produced an excellent opening stint, climbing from 24th to 17th through a series of well-executed overtakes and consistently strong lap times, while Auberlen appeared well placed to bring home another solid finish before the late mechanical setback intervened.
Although Watkins Glen brought an unfortunate end to the team's run of top-ten finishes, Samantha's performance on a new track to her once again displayed the progress made so far in her rookie campaign in the series.
Following five rounds, Tan sits 12th in the GS championship standings. The series now heads north to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on 10-12 July, where Tan will contest her home race looking to bounce back and resume the momentum.