SAMANTHA TAN RETURNS AS BMW M MOTORSPORT GLOBAL AMBASSADOR IN 2024

SAMANTHA TAN RETURNS AS BMW M MOTORSPORT GLOBAL AMBASSADOR IN 2024

February 26, 2024.- BMW of North America, LLC announced today that Samantha Tan, the 26-year-old Asian-Canadian driver and co-owner of Samantha Tan (ST) Racing, will continue to support BMW M in 2024 as BMW M Motorsport Global Ambassador with appearances at events in North America and Europe. She will also return to compete in the 2024 SRO GT World Challenge America series co-driving a BMW M4 GT3 with Neil Verhagen in the Pro-Am class. Last year, in their first weekend together, Tan and Verhagen finished second in both rounds at VIRginia International Raceway.

“Finding the right words to convey my excitement and the significance of this moment is a challenge,” shared Samantha Tan. “Being a lifelong enthusiast of BMW, I am thrilled to continue my role as an official brand ambassador for BMW M Motorsport in 2024. This journey has been a dream realized, and it fills me with immense pride to represent BMW and race in their colors. I am eager to start this exhilarating season ahead and look forward to our continued growth and success.”

In addition to her GT3 duties, Samantha will race a BMW M4 GT4 in a SRO GT America series race during the Long Beach Grand Prix weekend on April 19 – 21. Tan will also race a BMW M4 GT4 at select Nürburgring races this summer. Released on Feb. 22, the latest episode of BMW M Motorsport’s Mbedded series features Samantha and her life on and off the track (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rc_z_iTGr0c).

“We are very pleased to re-sign Samantha for another year sharing her passion for the BMW M brand with the world,” stated Adam McGregor, BMW NA Motorsport Manager. “Sam’s approachability and boundless energy allows her to inspire fans of BMW M in a very unique way. Sam and ST Racing had a very successful 2023 and we’re excited to build on that success in 2024.”

ST Racing was established in 2017, winning championships in the Pirelli World Challenge and the Pirelli GT4 America series in 2019 and 2020. In 2021, the team exported their North American success to win the 2021 24H Series overall championship. The next year, ST Racing moved up to the GT3 class, making history after taking the first ever overall win for BMW’s new M4 GT3 at the 2022 12 Hours of Mugello.

Samantha Tan Racing Release

KENNINGTON MARKS HIS 200TH PINTY’S RACE AT OHSWEKEN

KENNINGTON MARKS HIS 200TH PINTY’S RACE AT OHSWEKEN

Kennington Marks His 200TH Pinty’s Race at  Ohsweken
-Starting from the front row, scores fifth place finish
August 17, 2023. In a momentous celebration of the NASCAR Pinty’s Series’ 200th race, the Ohsweken Speedway dirt track came alive with a thrilling 100-lap race. The spotlight, however, was on DJ Kennington, as he not only competed in this historic event but also marked his 200th consecutive series start in the #17 Super Clean Dodge, the only driver to achieve such a milestone.
Kennington scored the win with his #17 Super Clean Dodge in his qualifying heat race and lined up on the front row for the feature event and comfortably raced near the front of the field for most of the event.
Fortunes turned late in the race when the #17 Super Clean Dodge suffered a cut left rear tire. Kennington made a pit stop for fresh rubber and when the crew finished their work he was back on track.
Restarting from the back of the field Kennington had his work cut out for him. As the laps dwindled, Kennington’s charge was a sight to behold. He skillfully navigated the treacherous dirt, overtaking rivals with calculated precision and scored a fifth-place finish.
DJ Kennington Quotes:
“This was a really special night, I’m so proud of this accomplishment but it wouldn’t be possible without the support of so many great people. It’s nice to reach this milestone in our 30th year together with Castrol. The support of my family and everyone that helps us out, we wouldn’t be here for these races if it wasn’t for them. Some tough luck with the flat tire, we ran up front all night. With a few more laps we could have had another podium tonight too. But another good result, we’ll keep pushing forward. Thanks again to everyone for all the support, it means a lot”.
Next up:
DJ Kennington and the #17 Castrol EDGE Dodge team are back in action Saturday, August 26th on the road course at Circuit ICAR in Mirabel, QC.
Four top-10 finishes for Paillé Course//Racing in Saskatoon

Four top-10 finishes for Paillé Course//Racing in Saskatoon

Photo credit: Matthew Manor

Saskatoon, SK, July 28, 2023 – Paillé Course//Racing scored a series of top-10s, on Wednesday, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series was at Sutherland Automotive Speedway, in Saskatoon, SK, to end its trip West with twin-125 races. Marc-Antoine Camirand scored third and fifth-place finishes, while Andrew Ranger comes home with two top-10, with sixth and 10th-place finishes.

 Marc-Antoine Camirand was pumped to be back on track in Saskatoon after his brilliant victory, last Saturday. During the practice session, that he ran on old tires, he felt that his GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n°96 Camaro could be very good on long runs, and then he qualified in fourth place for the first twin-125 race.

“It took some laps at the beginning of the race for my car to be as quick as the leaders. I ran some quick times, and I was able to climb back to third place during this first race. We score another podium finish,” told Camirand.

During the second 125-lap race, his car felt a little more difficult to handle. Sixth at the start, he dropped to eighth place after being caught on the outside groove at the start but managed to climb back positions.

With no yellow flag in this race, he still got back to fifth place, with an understeering car. “My car was really tight in this second race. I feel like I made the best of the equipment that I had. We had a very good trip West overall, with a win, a third and a fifth place, and we are now second in points. However, the points leader had a very good trip too, so he is pulling away in the standings, but now we are back at GP3R, where I want nothing but the win there, in front of my family, friends and fans,” concluded Camirand.

His Paillé Course//Racing teammate Andrew Ranger also scored two top-10s during this doubleheader. He scored a strong sixth-place finish in the first race, after starting from the eighth spot.

“My team worked all week on my car and it paid off. We’re finally happy to let mechanical problems behind, and we score a satisfying sixth-place finish,” said Ranger, who was at the wheel of the GM Paillé/Chevrolet Canada n° 27 Camaro.

During the second race, Ranger had a very understeering car. Starting seventh, he fought to keep his spot in the top-10. “Overall, we are showing progress after a very difficult beginning of the season. I am thrilled to go back to GP3R, where I have had great success in the past. I love this challenging street course that feels like home,” concluded Ranger.

Paillé Course//Racing now heads to one of the most important events of the year, as the NASCAR Pinty’s series hits the streets of Trois-Rivières, for the renowned Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières.

Kevin Lacroix on the verge of victory in the streets of Toronto

Kevin Lacroix on the verge of victory in the streets of Toronto

(Photo by Ray MacAloney / CDN-R.com)

Toronto (ON), July 15, 2023 – Kevin Lacroix took to the streets of Toronto last Friday, finishing second to Alex Tagliani in the renowned ‘Toronto Indy’ event.

It was an exceptionally busy day for the NASCAR Pinty’s drivers, who had to take to the track for a practice session, followed by a qualifying session immediately afterwards. The event itself, the Tiffany Gate Grand Prix of Toronto, took place later in the afternoon.

Lacroix qualified in 4th place, starting from the second row of the grid. Right from the start, he came up against Louis-Philippe Dumoulin, and pulled off the overtake to climb up into 3rd place. Half of the race was spent behind the two frontrunners as he tried to capitalize on their mistakes.

The driver of the #74 NAPA Synthetic Motor Oil |Valvoline car delighted the thousands of fans in the grandstand as he went wide, leaving only a sliver of room between his car and the wall. It was the maneuver of the race, as he lost no time compared to the other drivers ahead of him.

With less than 10 laps remaining, he gave it his all to hunt down the car ahead of him and stole away 2nd place. In the closing laps, Lacroix began to close in on the leader, Alex Tagliani, while also watching his back as Marc-Antoine Camirand began to close in.

In the end, Lacroix was unable to claim the victory, finishing in 2nd place. “The car was good, but not the best around the city circuit,” said Lacroix. “I fought hard to try and keep up with the first two, then Andrew Ranger started to slow down, which allowed me to overtake him. Alex (Tagliani) was faster than me, so it was very difficult to catch him. However, at the end of the race he made a few mistakes, so I was able to close in on him, but he had a good last lap, so there was nothing I could do. Still, I’m very happy with 2nd place.”

The next NASCAR Pinty’s event is July 22nd as the series prepares for its annual trip to Western Canada. The first stop will be at Edmonton International Raceway in Alberta.

Disappointing yet promising race for Thomas Nepveu in Toronto

Disappointing yet promising race for Thomas Nepveu in Toronto

(Photo by Ray MacAloney / CDN-R.com)

 

Toronto (Ontario), July 16, 2023 – It was Toronto’s turn to host the NASCAR Pinty’s field in the city streets. Thomas Nepveu shone at the renowned Toronto Indy event last Friday, in front of thousands of spectators and supporters.

The driver of the #24 Evirum | Home Hardware car had an exceptional start to the day, kicking off the busy Friday with a practice session, followed by qualifying immediately after. He went on to qualify sixth, marking his best qualifying in the series so far this season, and securing him a start from the third row for the main event that took place later that afternoon.

As the green flag waved to kick start the 35-lap race, Thomas was immediately going wheel to wheel through the narrow turns. He battled it out on track with Treyten Lapcevich, the current championship leader, as the two went side by side across multiple laps.

As he continued to charge towards the Top 5, the action was momentarily halted as the yellow flags came out on lap 7. As the field prepared to restart just 5 laps later, misfortune struck for Nepveu as the race returned to green. He lost positions on the restart as he suffered an electrical issue, resulting in the car losing power. He was then rear-ended by a competitor, resulting in another full course caution as Nepveu’s car suffered too much damage and had stopped on track before being assisted back into the pit lane. The team was able to fire back up the car to let Thomas join the track and finish the race in 18th place.

“On the bright side, I’m very happy with how my qualifying went,” said Thomas Nepveu. “I’m disappointed with the race result, but the car had great pace and I think we’ve made great steps forward. It’s a shame that we were dealt some bad luck, but hopefully it will turn around and we’ll be ready to try again.”

Despite the unfortunate outcome, Nepveu showed great promise and will be ready to challenge the pointier end of the field once more in his next event.