ST Racing has announced that it will run a pair of M4 GT3s in the 2022 24H Series. This year the team is running an M4 GT4 in the series’ GT3 class; it won the season opener in Dubai and is a contender for the class championship with three of eight races remaining in the season. The move to the M4 GT3 will move the team up to GT3, the series’ premier class.
One of the cars will be a Pro-Am entry, with Samantha Tan, team co-owner and namesake, at the wheel along with others to be named later. The second car will run in the Am class; ST’s release says it, “ will be dedicated to experienced gentlemen racers, each of whom will have the opportunity to learn from the Canadian team’s fast-developing driver coaching program.”
Tan said, “I think I speak for everyone when I say that we have all worked very hard to get here and are ecstatic to be making the next step up to GT3. We’d like to thank all of our sponsors, BMW Motorsport, and BMW USA for their support in helping us achieve our goals as we continue to push the boundaries of motorsport. I’m extremely proud to work with brands that are willing to celebrate diversity and help empower people from various backgrounds to pursue their dreams unapologetically. We’re all very excited to start testing the new M4 GT3 in the fall and will be making adequate preparations until then. Here’s to more wins and podiums with the all-new Samantha Tan Racing BMW M4 GT3s!”
Kenneth Tan, Samantha’s father and team principal, said “I am very excited for our team to be moving up to GT3 in 2022, and would like to thank BMW Motorsport and BMW USA for their continued support of our team and our development. This has been a dream and a goal for a long time, one that sometimes felt so far away given the much bigger budget and expertise needed to be a proper GT3 contender. Now, I feel we are ready to take this big step after four years racing in GT4 and the extensive time we have experienced in the 24H Series. The whole team is ready and very excited for the step up and the new challenges that await us. Our crew and drivers hope to test the new car sometime this fall in Europe in preparation for Dubai. There really isn’t much time between delivery and the race in January. In the meantime, we need to focus on our remaining races for the season. We still have a championship to win!”
The 2022 season begins with the Hankook 24H Dubai on January 21–22. Races remaining in 2021 include a 24-hour race in Barcelona on September 3–5, a twelve-hour race in Sicily on October 1–3, and the 24-hour finale at Sebring on November 18–20.—Brian Morgan
[Image courtesy ST Racing.]
