Toronto, ON (February 1, 2018) – ST Racing announced today new plans and a new driver lineup for the upcoming season. In 2018, the Team will feature a 2-car/4-driver lineup in the Pirelli World Challenge SprintX program. Samantha Tan and Nick Wittmer will be joined by teammates Aurora Straus and Connor Bloum, both moving over after competing in IMSA’s Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge last year.
Team Principal Kenneth Tan was ecstatic with all the changes for 2018: “We started looking at our options about half-way through the season last year, and decided it was time to move up into the GTS SprintX category for 2018 because it requires more team effort with two drivers taking turns in the same car during the same race and a required pit stop. It’s a good progression for Samantha and the whole team. Furthermore, there was an opportunity for us to have another outstanding female driver to race with us, so we requested, and were granted, two of BMW’s amazing new M4 GT4’s. I have always wanted to see more women in auto racing and now for the first time, we have two driving in our team for a total of 4 fabulous drivers. The whole Team is excited and we can’t wait for COTA. Let’s go racing!”
Both Samantha Tan and Nick Wittmer are looking forward to getting into the new car, and having two new teammates. “The upcoming season is already looking amazing” stated Tan. “We have new cars, new teammates, and we are entering a new class. The BMW M4 GT4s are much faster than the M235s we were running last year and they look incredible. I’d like to thank Laurel BMW for their support and for helping us secure these cars. Stepping up in GTS SprintX, where the races last one hour with a driver change will be different from the TC races as it will require much more planning and strategies before and during the race. We will have to learn how to adapt on the spot!”
“And, how cool to have Aurora and Connor on board with us.” she added. “I’m really happy to have another female on our team and grateful for the opportunity to be able to work with such great drivers. Altogether, I am positive that we will grow as a team and be extremely successful in the upcoming season.”
Tan’s teammate Nick Wittmer was quick to welcome the new addition to ST Racing’s family: “A great big welcome to our new teammates Aurora and Connor. I’m super happy to run this year again with ST Racing in a BMW M4 GT4 in the SprintX races, where Sam and I will be running in the Pro-Am class.” he said. “I think our new lineup will make sure the M4 runs on top.”
While being two female drivers on a racing team, Samantha and Aurora are hoping to inspire and empower all the young girls and encourage them to take their place in the motorsports world.
Aurora Straus, a high-school senior from Cold Spring, New York, has made a name for herself as a racer, student, musician, writer and strong advocate for young girls. The 19-year old is also a part of Harvard’s Class of 2022, with intended majors in English and/or Mechanical Engineering. Straus started driving at 13 years old in a Mazda Miata and never looked back. Last season, she was the highest-finishing rookie in IMSA’s Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge (ST Class) alongside teammate, 26-year old racer Connor Bloum.
Straus can’t wait to go racing with ST Racing. “I couldn’t be more excited to be joining ST Racing for the 2018 season, especially in their debut of SprintX with the BMW M4 GT4s. Last year, Connor and I proved to be extremely competitive in the ST class in IMSA, and moving to the horsepower and perfect handling of the M4 is the right next step. This deal couldn’t have happened without the expert guidance of Nick Longhi and Ken Tan, and I’ll be forever grateful to the two of them for giving me this opportunity. I have no doubt that with the combination of this experienced team, Connor’s record-setting pace, and momentum from 2017, we’ll be making a name for ourselves in the Pirelli World Challenge Series in no time. At this point, I’m just itching to get behind the wheel of that BMW and see what it can do!”
The duo Straus/Bloum put in strong performances in 2017 at Daytona and Sebring in the Continental Tire Challenge. San Diego native and accomplished racer, Connor Bloum shared the same enthusiasm as Straus in joining ST Racing. “I’m really looking forward to my first season of World Challenge in the BMW M4 GT4 with my co-driver, Aurora Straus. After 5 years of competing in the IMSA, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge – with multiple podiums and track records under my belt – I can’t wait to join the PWC series and see what the competition has to offer” said Bloum.
“I was able to test the BMW M4 GT4 in December and was absolutely blown away by the performance and handling of the car” he added. “BMW has been building racecars down to a science. I think the M4 GT4 will be extremely competitive against other manufacturers. Being a part of the ST Racing team is going to be the experience of a lifetime, and driving along side Aurora for another season is just icing on the cake. Both Samantha and Aurora are extremely talented young drivers with incredible potential and I cannot thank them enough for the opportunity. Let’s go win some trophies.”
For ST Racing, the season begins on March 23-25 where they will race at the fabulous Circuit Of The Americas, in Texas. Stay tuned !
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Toronto, ON (November 21, 2017) – The ST Racing Team just returned from Palm Springs, California where they spent three days testing their brand new race car at the state-of-the-art Thermal Club racetrack, and came away elated with the drive capabilities of BMW’s M4 GT4.
But before going to Palm Springs for the test at Thermal, Team Principal Kenneth Tan and ST Racing’s Nick Wittmer took delivery of the new car in Chicago and took it out for a spin at the City’s local Autobahn racetrack.
Mr. Tan was quite impressed with the new M4 GT4. “This is a true race car” he said when he got out of the car. “The M235iR that we ran last season was more of a street car turned race car. This M4 has racecar DNA. And, it has few similarities to the regular street car except for looks and body parts. Testing it last weekend at Palm Springs was very challenging but a whole lot of fun. Every one on the Team worked hard and learned a lot about the car. There is still much to learn about this extremely complex racecar.”
When Samantha Tan joined the Team for the test in Palm Springs, she spent the first part of the weekend drifting on the skid pad and learning control at very high speeds while teammate Nick Wittmer ran the new car on track and helped the crew work out the bugs. The following day, Tan joined Wittmer on track in the new car, and tried to run as many laps as she could while getting a taste of much higher speeds.
Tan’s comments reflected many of the M4’s intricacies. “We were graciously invited to test at Thermal by Daren Jorgensen, and it was a lot of fun” she said. “I did skid-pad practice for the whole first day, so I didn’t hop into the new car until the second day. My first session in the M4 GT4 lasted an hour and 10 minutes, and it was absolutely incredible. It handles really well, much like the M235 but it has a DCT (dual clutch transmission) so it shifts a lot quicker. Overall, the M4 is a lot quicker in every aspect. There is also no brake booster, so my legs were sore the following days. However, at that moment, it really wasn’t a problem. The only small issue that I found was that the front left A-pillar kind of blocks a bit of your vision, so you have to look early to find the apex. Altogether, the test session was successful in getting me more familiarized with the car and most importantly, it was so much fun. I can’t wait to get back into it soon. Lastly, I’d like to thank the Team for setting up the car, and everyone else who came to support and help out.”
At the end of the weekend, after spending a lot of time on track, Nick Wittmer just couldn’t say enough about the new car and the test itself. “It was great running at Thermal Club in Palm Springs. What a magnificent place to go testing. It’s like paradise, always sunny and warm. The M4 GT4 is a really beautiful car. Beautiful in design and so much fun to drive. The comfort of being behind that fabulous steering wheel is just unreal. We had a few bugs in the car on the first day, but we fixed those by the second day of testing, and got the car rolling. We got many laps in and put a lot of mileage on the car, and we’re already looking forward to the next test. We’ll be ready. We’re so looking forward to seeing what the upcoming season will bring.”
Team Principal, Kenneth Tan was quite pleased with the test and gave kudos to the whole ST Racing Team for doing such a great job on the car, and thanked Daren Jorgensen for his precious help in sponsoring the Thermal test.
ST Racing will be announcing their plans for 2018 shortly. Stay tuned !
