photography. Joy Wong
opposite
photography. Joy Wong
clothing
jacket. Nanushka
opposite
red sweater. Veronica Beard
earrings. Jenny Bird
While the majority of motorsport racers are driving to survive, Samantha Tan is driving to inspire. As one of the few female race car drivers on the track, Tan isn’t just surviving but thriving as she heads up her own eponymous race team and consistently jostles for podium finishes in the fastest GT class across the US and Europe. Tan has not only mastered her need for speed but honed her razor-sharp focus in both sprint and 24-hour endurance races, pushing her mind and body to the limit. So much so, that she’s one of the few drivers who’s been snapped up by both BMW and Ferrari. Not just content with keeping her sights firmly set on this year’s championship prize, she’s also determined to lead a more diverse starting grid.
It’s fair to say that the Netflix Drive to Survive effect has brought new sponsors and fans to the world of motorsport in their droves. While Formula 1 remains on pole position for now, other motorsport categories such as NASCAR and sportscar racing are hot on their heels. Having earned her stripes in sports car racing, Tan secured her spot on the GT World Challenge America and GT World Challenge Europe series, racing the fastest sports cars in the top GT3 class. It’s a long way from where Tan started off taking performance driving lessons to navigate the treacherous Canadian winter roads. But it’s there where she found her love of driving, “I’ve always just felt such a connection to my cars, the adrenaline, the competition. It’s just so much fun for me.”
Tan’s skills behind the wheel allow her to compete in team sprint races which typically last around an hour and a half as well as 24-hour endurance races. But Tan’s race day routine means she’s ready for anything that’s thrown her way. “On race day, I do my full skincare routine in the morning and have a little bit of a chill time to get myself prepared. A couple of hours before the race I find some quiet time to get focused and mentally prepare myself while also keeping myself hydrated ahead of the race. I’ll also review a video of a fast lap I did the previous day or that my teammate did to get back into the zone.”
photography. Victor Chada
For endurance races, Tan could be in the car for multiple two-hour stints as different drivers take the wheel over the course of the race in the ultimate test of mental fortitude. Tan considers, “It’s extremely difficult for me to sleep after I get out of the car because all my adrenaline is going and I want to stay up to watch my teammates to make sure the car is okay. But you just have to go to the quietest area of the trailer and just close your eyes. I’ve also been getting better at hyping myself up again by blasting my hype music before I get back in the car.”
While racing car drivers often get a bad rep for being selfish, Tan sees her successes as a team effort. She insists, “Racing truly is a team sport and we all have to rely on one another… There’s a lot of other team players who contribute to the win.” Having teammates that she can count on is vital. For Tan, while looking for a partner who is consistent on the track, she also values “someone who brings a lot of positivity and who is a pretty easy-going person – nobody likes negativity going into a race… It’s definitely the team synergy that has led to a lot of our successes.”
Left with just a car in 2017 after the team Tan had partnered went into receivership, alongside previous negative experiences where she lost out on vital modification car parts, Tan took the plunge and launched her own racing team, Samantha Tan Racing. BMW recognised Tan’s expertise, snapping her up to be an official brand ambassador. Tan has relished the independence that being her own boss has afforded her and her team, while adapting to new responsibilities and challenges. She muses, “I’ve learned a lot about business and entrepreneurship from being in the racing world and having to deal with my own sponsorships… It has definitely required a lot of trial and error but I’m really happy to say that I think we’ve found a really great balance. Part of my success is attributed to finding the right people at the right time.”
photography. Joy Wong
opposite
photography. Victoria Stevens
clothing
gray suit. Djerf Avenue
tshirt. Free as a Tee
earrings. Jenny Bird
opposite
full look. Jonathan Simkhai
In particular, managing her own team has allowed her to bring more diverse representation to the fore in the traditionally male dominated sport. While Tan’s successes are the direct result of her hard work and steely determination, regardless of her sex or race, she’s steadfast in her belief that we need to have more honest and open discussions about diversity in racing. She insists, “If you don’t use those identities, you’re almost erasing that part of yourself. I’ve always been about celebrating our differences and diversity. By talking about it, we’re continuing to normalise it, and that’s really important. Representation is incredibly important for the next generation. If you can see it, you can be it… When young girls come up to me and say that I’ve helped them in some way to get interested in motorsport, or get into cars, that’s always so heart-warming. It’s definitely a big motivation for me.”
While Tan is optimistic that progress has been made for women to “fight with the male drivers”, she doesn’t necessarily agree that the separate W series – a women only league – is the right way to go. As with female investment across the board, Tan believes more needs to be done to facilitate greater funding parity between male and female drivers.
Tan is also candid about her own mental health journey thriving at the elite level of her profession where a split-second decision could be costly. “Racing at its core is the pursuit of perfection. So it’s definitely a lot of pressures going into the weekend. Sometimes I get impostor syndrome, and candidly, therapy has helped me a lot in developing healthier ways to regulate my emotions. But I also have an incredible support system.” In a sport which can be heavily dictated by external factors outside of a driver’s control, whether that be a technical fault with the car or reckless decision from another driver, Tan has learnt to embrace uncertainty. She muses, “The only thing that you can control is yourself so I focus on what I can control. It’s a really good life lesson that I apply outside of racing as well.”
As Tan accelerates into the final straight of the season, she has her eyes firmly set on her journey to becoming number one.
photography. George Bucur
photography. Victoria Stevens, Joy Wong, George Bucur + Victor Chadarov
fashion. Ashley Pruitt + Janelle Miller
talent. Samantha Tan
hair + make up. Rena Calhoun + Tami El Sambati
words. Katie Shuff
