Samantha Tan shows promise on IMPC debut despite setbacks
- RACERS
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
Samantha Tan made her debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge showing flashes of genuine top-ten potential during the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona, but a sequence of setbacks ultimately prevented the Canadian racer from converting early pace into the deserved result.
Samantha Tan made her debut in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Random Vandals by ST Racing and showed flashes of genuine top-ten potential during the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona, but a sequence of setbacks ultimately prevented the Canadian racer and her crew from converting early pace into the result they deserved.
Sharing the #38 BMW M4 GT4 with veteran BMW ace Bill Auberlen, Tan entered the four-hour classic as one of the most high profile female drivers in the GS field. The reigning IMSA VP SportsCar Challenge GSX Bronze champion and a proven GT4 and GT3 race winner was immediately one of the top performing female drivers among a grid that featured one of the highest female driver counts in series history.
With 35 GS entries packing the Daytona entry list, margins were microscopic in qualifying. Tan handled the session for Random Vandals, producing a 1:54.783 lap that placed the #38 BMW 17th overall. The time left the team just outside the top half of the grid, but well within striking distance in a race rewards consistency and racecraft rather than outright one-lap speed.
From the rolling start, Tan immediately showed good race pace. After settling into the rhythm of the opening laps, she began to carve forward through the GT4 traffic. By the end of the opening lap she was 19th, but that position was short-lived as she quickly capitalised on cars hitting trouble ahead.
As others slipped backwards, Tan picked them off one by one; she moved ahead of Ben Sloss, then continued to build momentum as the stint unfolded. Crucially, her lap times improved steadily, sector by sector, as she found clean air. The BMW began to stretch a gap to those behind, opening more than five seconds over the #23 Toyota while maintaining pressure on the next group ahead.
Her progress was reflected on the timing screens: Tan climbed to 18th, then 17th as the #12 Rafa Racing Toyota pitted with damage. Moments later, she executed another clean pass on Quinlan to move into 16th, in one of the strongest opening stints among the GS midfield for a bronze-rated driver.
By the time the first full-course caution flew on lap 19, Tan had elevated the Random Vandals BMW to P16, having gained more than ten positions through pure race pace in the opening 40 minutes.
Tan remained behind the wheel through the first pit sequence, rejoining just outside the top 20. During the first caution period, the team elected to make a strategy call, bringing Tan back in to top off fuel. The move dropped the #38 to 33rd in GS, but offered the prospect of stretching later stints and gaining flexibility as the race developed.
Back under green, Tan immediately went back to work. She began picking off cars again, advancing to 26th and then passing Megan Tomlinson to reach 25th. Her momentum continued and she soon found herself 22nd, running directly ahead of the recovering #2 CSM Porsche.
However, misfortune struck just as the BMW was regaining rhythm. Tan collected bodywork from another car on the front of the #38, and race control issued the black-and-orange mechanical flag. Forced to pit for repairs, the team used the stop to top off fuel once more, but the unscheduled visit dropped Tan back to 33rd and wiped out her latest recovery.
During the next caution, Auberlen took over driving duties amid a hectic pit lane. Complications in the stall cost further time. Despite this, Auberlen’s pace was immediately evident. He surged forward on the restart, climbing rapidly and fighting through a three-car train. He cleared Wilson, then Cooper, working the BMW back toward the top 20. At one stage, he advanced as high as 14th.
But another blow followed; Auberlen was handed a drive-through penalty for a jump restart, forcing the #38 back down the order once again. The penalty effectively erased the ground he had just made up.
Even with the odds stacked against them, the Random Vandals ST Racing BMW continued to show good speed. Auberlen set the team’s fastest laps of the race, first dipping into the 1:55s and later improving to a 1:54.8, among the stronger laps recorded by any BMW in the closing phase.
In the final stint, Auberlen resumed overtaking, clearing Yeany, then Hill and Slater as the race wound down. The pace was there, but the mountain to climb was a bit too steep after the earlier penalties and lost track position.
At the chequered flag, Tan and Auberlen were classified P20 in the GS class - a result that masked the competitiveness the team had shown throughout the opening half of the contest.
From Tan’s aggressive, intelligent opening stint to Auberlen’s late-race charge and strong lap times, the #38 Random Vandals BMW consistently demonstrated top-ten potential. Tan’s early run, in particular, was one of the most impressive of the first hour, gaining positions through pure racecraft.
Ultimately, the combination of setbacks and misfortunes prevented the team from capitalising on that pace. Yet Daytona also delivered a clear message that Tan and Auberlen look poised to be a genuine contender as the 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge season unfolds. The second round is scheduled for 18-21 March at Sebring.
