After spending the 2024 season competing in the SRO GT World Challenge championship, ST Racing has announced that the team will expand into the IMSA-sanctioned VP Racing SportsCar Challenge series in 2025, with Samantha Tan driving an M4 GT3 in the new GTDX class.
The GTDX class is new to the VP Challenge series for 2025. Since it started in 2023, the series has had classes for LMP3 prototypes and GT4-spec cars, with both classes running together on race weekends. The GTDX class allows for GT3-spec entries and opens a new door for teams and drivers that may want to race GT3 cars in a shorter sprint race, one-driver format. The series is very similar to the GT America championship in SRO, although that series is for GT4 and GT3 cars only.
The foray into VP Challenge will be Tan’s first experience with driving solo in a GT3 car, though she has plenty of experience in the M4 GT3 and has proven to be very quick. Tan and Neil Verhagen finished as runners-up in the SRO GT World Challenge Pro-Am class championship in 2024 and would have likely won it all if they hadn’t run into technical difficulties in the season finale at Indianapolis.
The VP Challenge series will also be Tan’s first competing along with a faster class (LMP3), though her race experience should allow her to adapt quickly. “I’m thrilled to announce my step into IMSA for 2025, one of the most competitive and prestigious racing series in North America,” she said. “My first full GT3 season this year was incredibly rewarding, pushing me to maximize every moment on and off the track. I’m eager to take on the challenge of a new multi-class format with LMP3, GT3, and GT4 cars, continuing to sharpen my skills against some of the best in the sport. I’m entering this season with a fire in my heart and my sights set firmly on the VP Challenge championship title.”
The rivalry between ST Racing and Turner Motorsport that existed in the SRO GT World Challenge championship in 2024 will carry into VP Challenge, as Turner Motorsport has also announced that they’ll have a GTDX entry in 2025. The driver is yet to be announced. Turner Motorsport has already announced that they’ll return to SRO GT World Challenge to defend their Pro-Am class championship as well, but ST Racing has yet to announce plans for GT World Challenge in 2025.
—David Haueter
[Photo by David Haueter (action photo), SRO]