| Nationality | Canadian |
|---|---|
| Birth date | 9 August 1997 (age 29) |
| Birth place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Racing licence | FIA Silver (until 2024) FIA Bronze (2025–) |
| Current series | GT World Challenge America |
| First year | 2015 |
| Current team | Samantha Tan Racing |
| Former teams | Kinetic Motorsports, Team Ost Racing |
| Prev series | 24H GT Series |
| Prev series years | 2021-22 |
| Titles | 24H GT Series |
| Title years | 2021 |
Samantha Tan (born 9 August 1997) is a Canadian racing driver and team owner, currently competing in Michelin Pilot Challenge with Random Vandals Racing.[1] She is a global ambassador for BMW M Motorsport.[2] Alongside her father Kenneth, Samantha owns sports car racing team ST Racing and auto tuning shop STR38 Motorsports.
Racing career
Tan began racing at the age of 16, participating in events under the National Auto Sport Association in the Performance Touring E category with a modified 1991 Honda Civic.[3] She moved on to race in the 2014 Canadian Touring Car Championship with a Mini Cooper.[4] Tan made her debut in the Pirelli World Challenge in 2015, racing in a Kia Forte Koup in the TCA class.[5] She returned the following year in 2016 under the same class, this time racing in a Honda Civic Si, finishing the year sixth overall. Tan would race in BMW machinery for the first time in 2017, driving a BMW M235iR for the full season, alongside a new teammate in Nick Wittmer. She would score 23 points and finish 29th in class.
Tan and Wittmer would move up into GT4 participating in the 2018 SprintX GT Championship Series,[6] driving a BMW M4 GT4 now alongside each other in one car instead of as two separate entries. The team would participate in two rounds at Circuit of the Americas and Virginia International Raceway, scoring in all four of the available races as well as scoring a pole position and a podium in the second race at COTA. Tan would continue to improve throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons of the GT4 America Series, finishing in the top-three of the standings in both seasons with teammates Jason Wolfe and Jon Miller. Tan would make her first venture outside of North America in 2021, competing in the 24H Series. Tan would earn her first championships as both a driver and team owner, winning three races including the 2021 Dubai 24 Hour on route to winning the 24H GT Series teams' and drivers' titles with teammates Chandler Hull and Jon Miller.[7]
The following year, Tan moved up to GT3 cars, participating in the GT3 class in 2022 GT World Challenge America alongside Wittmer. Harry Gottsacker joined the pair for the 2022 Indianapolis 8 Hours, where the team finished the race in tenth overall as the only Silver entry. She also made her first appearance at the Spa 24 Hours endurance race in the 2022 edition of the event racing with Wittmer, Gottsacker, and Maxime Oosten, finishing 36th overall and ninth in class. For 2023, Tan participated in both the 2023 GT World Challenge America and the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe series.
Tan continued with the 2024 GT World Challenge America, sharing a car with Neil Verhagen. During the same season, Tan secured a class win in the Nürburgring Langstrecken Serie and made a GT4 European Series appearance at Spa-Francorchamps.
In 2025, Tan debuted at the Circuit de La Sarthe, finishing sixth and fourth in her first Road To Le Mans appearances in the Le Mans Cup. She also celebrated a class podium finish on her first Nürburgring 24 Hours. She also competed in the 2025 IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, winning the GTDX Bronze category and securing several overall GTDX podiums in BMW GT3 machinery.
In December 2025, Tan announced her entry into the 2026 Michelin Pilot Challenge in a partnership between ST Racing and Random Vandals. She will be joined by factory driver Bill Auberlen in the #38 BMW M4 GT4 Evo.[8]
Personal life
Tan was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to a Malaysian mother and a Filipino father, Kenneth Tan. Her mother studies at the University of Chicago, and her father Kenneth is a businessman, team principal, and co-owner alongside Samantha, of Samantha Tan Racing. She also has a brother, Kevin, who is pursuing a career in STEM.[9] While racing in the National Auto Sport Association, Samantha Tan also studied at and has since graduated from UC Irvine with an economics degree.[4][3]
Racing record
Career summary
References
- ^ "Random Vandal Racing announces ST Racing affiliation". therandomvandals. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Turner, Bryce (1 March 2024). "Samantha Tan Returns As BMW M Motorsport Global Ambassador In 2024". Inside Track Motorsport News Magazine. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Frye, Andy. "Meet Samantha Tan, Championship BMW Race Car Driver And Team Owner". Forbes. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ Makse, Brian (12 February 2021). "Meet the upstart Canadian team shaking up the endurance racing circuit". Hagerty Media. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ America, Kia Motors. "Kia Racing Privateer Effort Expands To Three Full-Season Kia Forte Koup Entries In Touring Car For 2015 Pirelli World Challenge Season". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "ST Racing to enter two cars in 2018 Pirelli World Challenge". us.motorsport.com. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
- ^ "ST Racing celebrates Overall GT Teams' title in maiden season". 24H Series. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Samantha Tan teams up with ST Racing by Random Vandals for IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season". racers-behindthehelmet.com. 24 Dec 2025. Retrieved 17 Jan 2026.
- ^ Nguyen, Kimberly (27 January 2021). "Meet the Pro BMW Race Car Driver Who Owns Her Own Championship Team". NextShark. Retrieved 1 March 2024.