Samantha Tan

Samantha Tan is a 24-year-old, Chinese-Canadian professional race car driver and owner of Samantha Tan (ST) Racing. She has quickly established herself as a trailblazer within the motorsport community, paving the way for women and minorities while inspiring the next generation to follow their dreams.

In 2021, ST Racing made history by becoming the first Canadian team to win the renowned 24H DUBAI, with Samantha being the first ever Asian female winner of the circuit. Later that month, she also became the first woman to win the 6H ABU DHABI. Samantha is also BMW’s first female POC GT3 team owner.

Next year, Samantha and her team will be racing the all-new BMW M4 GT3 in the top class of sportscar racing. Developed alongside FANATEC, this will be the first race car in the world with a steering wheel that can be used in both a real race car and a simulator without modifications and competes in the fastest, most competitive class in the series against manufacturers like Ferrari, McLaren, Porsche, and Lamborghini. ST Racing is the only team that has received two BMW M4 GT3s in the world. Making its global debut, ST Racing will compete with the new M4 GT3 cars in one of the first official races in January of 2022 at the 24H DUBAI.

Established in 2017, Samantha’s team, ST Racing, was built out of passion, creativity and the unwavering pursuit of excellence. The Canadian-based team has competed in the Pirelli World Challenge and Pirelli GT4 America series’, winning back-to-back team championships in the 2019/20 Pirelli GT4 America SprintX W & Silver classes, respectively. Through her partnership with BMW, Samantha and her team race factory-built cars, which can only be purchased at BMW Motorsport dealers. ST Racing has competed in three 24-hour races to date.

Samantha began racing at the age of 16 with the National Autosport Association at Virginia International Raceway in 2014. She credits her love for cars and the sport to her dad, who has been her biggest influence. Soon after she got her driver’s license, Samantha competed in regional races in a ‘91 Honda Civic, and raced into her time as a student at University of California—Irvine, where she recently graduated with a degree in Economics.

When she’s off the track, Samantha enjoys playing piano, creating art, and also considers herself an avid gamer. She is also an Ambassador for the AAPI Victory Alliance, an organization that works to build Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) political power across the country by providing education on climate change, human rights, and socioeconomic issues.

Samantha currently resides in Irvine, California.