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Category: Road Racing

ST Racing is pleased to confirm that BMW Motorsports works driver John Edwards will compete alongside team co-owner Samantha Tan in GT World Challenge America in 2023.

A frontrunner in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, John Edwards put himself firmly on the map competing with BMW Team RLL, the eponymous BMW works outfit of IndyCar legend Bobby Rahal. John’s celebrated successes during that period includes his GTLM class win at the 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona en-route to an incredibly close 2nd in that year’s GTLM championship.

Prior to his GT racing career, John established himself as a young gun to watch when, in 2004, he became the youngest winner in US open-wheel road racing history, in the Formula Dodge Race Series, at just 12 years old. More success followed as the young American was crowned Star Mazda Champion and Atlantic Champion in successive years in 2008 and 2009, results that led to his first Rolex Sports Car Series season – and win – in 2010.

2023 marks a decade since John first officially competed with BMW Motorsport, the then-21-year-old having been picked to join BMW Team RLL in a part-campaign in the American Le Mans Series in 2013. John’s results included a maiden ALMS win at Lime Rock Park and he was confirmed as a full-time BMW Motorsport driver in the inaugural WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for 2014. He has competed with the illustrious Bavarian brand ever since.

John will partner Samantha Tan in #38 ST Racing BMW M4 GT3. No stranger to North American GT competition, Samantha is a multi-time class podium finisher in both GT4 America and TC America. Strong drives by Samantha helped her team secure 1-2 in the SRO GT4 West Pro-Am title honors in 2019 as well as the GT4 America Silver Team championship in 2020. Samantha also secured the Overall GT Drivers’ championship in the endurance-focused 24H SERIES in 2021.

Samantha Tan, co-owner/driver: “I’m ecstatic to welcome John Edwards to the Samantha Tan Racing team! He’s an incredible and highly experienced racing driver, and I’m looking forward to working with and learning from him. For the first time in my career, I have the privilege and opportunity to work with a factory driver, and I’m confident this will bolster my own progress as a driver. Our thanks to BMW Motorsport for the support. I look forward to the start of the GT World Challenge America season!”

John Edwards, driver: “I’m thrilled to be joining STR for my first full season of SRO! I know the team has been working hard in the off season and I am looking forward to bringing home some wins with Samantha this year!”

Kenneth Tan, Team Principal: “We are pleased and excited to have John Edwards join our team and co-drive our #38 BMW M4 GT3 with Samantha. We are grateful to continue our collaboration with BMW Motorsport, utilizing their support now and looking forward to what the future may bring. 2022 was a challenging year but allowed us to learn and develop. I know we will be even more competitive this season and I can’t wait to be in Sonoma for our first race at the end of March. And of course to taste some excellent wines in the area… Cheers!”

Jon Miller, Team Manager: “The enthusiasm within the team for the upcoming season is higher than ever. We have some performance testing planned soon with our new and returning drivers in our GT3 and GT4 programs. We’re all ready to get back to work and back to racing after a busy off season.”

ST Racing’s 2023 GTWC campaign begins at the Sonoma Raceway, California, on March 30th to April 2nd. Updates on the ground will be available through ST Racing’s social media channels on Facebook, Twitter: @STRacing_Team and Instagram: @samanthantanracing and on their website: http://www.st-racing.org

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Category: Road Racing

Road race season is set to get underway in March 2023 at the Speed-Fanatics Motorsport Circuit at Mission Raceway Park in Mission B.C. with lots of great events planned for the 2023 season.

The Sports Car Club of B.C. (SCCBC) has a full slate of 6 race weekends plus the annual visit from the International Conference of Sports Car Clubs (ICSCC) a races series run at numerous tracks in Washington & Oregon states along with a visit to Mission once a year. The SCCBC runs two closed wheel race groups for high powered GT cars, sedans & sports cars. They also run two open wheel groups, one for formula fords and formula vees plus a run group for the very quick formula 3, formula 4 and formula continental racers. 

On Saturday they also run a novice race group for drivers who have taken driver training and are looking to upgrade to a senior license. The SCCBC runs two race driver training courses every year for those with no track experience to those who have some level of track experience and want to obtain their novice race license, they are always very popular and well attended. On Sunday of all race weekends there is a vintage race group for all the cars from by-gone days. 

For more information on the SCCBC check out www.sccbc.net They are always on the lookout for volunteers to help the race season run smoothly,checkout www.meta.bc.ca for more details.

This year the Speed-Fanatics Motorsport Circuit will also be hosting three rounds of the Pacific Challenge Cup, a series for open wheel formula vee racers. This is the second year for the series that runs events in California, Oregon, Washington states along with the races in Mission B.C. Information about their series is available at www.pacificchallengecup.com

The 34th running of the B.C. Historic Motor Races is set to take place May 13-14, 2023 with vintage racers from B.C., Alberta as well as Washington and Oregon states. Always a great event for the vintage race fans with lots of great old race cars from the years gone by. For more information www.bchmr.ca and www.vrcbc.ca

There are also lots of opportunities at the track with track days for those wanting to take their street cars or track day cars out to see what they can do in a controlled supervised environment. There events have three groups for beginner, intermediate and advanced drivers. 

There are also qualified instructors on site for anyone wanting advise on honing their driving skills. There are also time attack and time trials events for those wanting to compete for championships in both timed categories. New for 2023, the events will take place during the day and under the lights at night.

The motto for all these events is “Take it to the Track not the Street”

These events are run by Speed-Fanatics Motorsports Club (www.speedfanatics.ca) (Track Days and Time Attack), Speed-Fanatics is also holding a race driver training course in 2023 for drivers that have some track days experience, Speedy Goat Motorsports Club (www.speedygoat.ca) (Time Trials, Track Days, Auto-X and ice racing), Velocity Autosports (www.velocityautosports.ca) (Track Days), All 3 clubs are also holding events at Area 27 in Oliver B.C. and the Vancouver Island Motorsports Circuit, Cowichan B.C. during the 2023 season.

The VCMC Motorsport Club is also holding 3 night time Time Attack events in 2023, see www.vcmc.ca for more information.

For the motorcycle road racing fans the Speed-Fanatics Motorsport Circuit holds a slate of races and track days during the 2023 season put on by the Westwood Motorcycle Racing Club. For more information on their events check out www.wmrc.ca

All in all 2023 is looking to be another great year for road racing on the west coast as everyone is looking forward to getting back on the track and having some fun in 2023.

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Category: Road Racing

St. Catharines, Ontario – The Radical Cup Canada presented by Michelin adds a new stop to the schedule for next year. RCC teams and drivers will be headed to the Honda Indy Toronto on July 14-16 for a triple header weekend.

To add a twist to the weekend, FEL Motorsports has teamed up with the American Radical series, Blue Marble Radical Cup North America, to present a “race-within-race” where both series races will occur on track at the same time and yet only compete against the competitors from their own series.

“We are so thrilled to be able to add Honda Indy Toronto as a stop for the Radicals this year. We want to thank Tom Drewer, Global Motorsport Director of Radical Motorsports Ltd., for working with us to get the Radical Cup North America North of the border to put this together,” said Jessica Benevides, FEL Motorsports Manager. “We also want to thank Jeff Atkinson, President at Honda Indy Toronto, for the opportunity to put both the SCCC and RCC on the schedule at the 2023 Honda Indy.”

“This really shows Radical’s commitment to our large Canadian customer base, and obviously other successful premium make Cup series have done similar things in the past,” said Radical’s Global Motorsport Director, Tom Drewer. “With contingents from both North and South of the boarder, we’re expecting one of the biggest Radical grids ever assembled. I want to thank Chris Bye and the team at FEL Motorsports along with Honda Indy Toronto for working with us to make this happen.”

Visit felmotorsports.com for more details and to register for the 2023 RCC Honda Indy Toronto.

About FEL Motorsports

FEL Motorsports grew out of a deep base of automotive roots from FEL Automotive Learning and Promotion. FEL Motorsports is focused on growth and sustainability in the Canadian Motorsports landscape by giving back to its teams through prizing and prize money.

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Category: Road Racing

ST Racing is pleased to announce it will return to the GT World Challenge America as part of its racing program in 2023.

In a part-campaign in GTWC America in 2022, Samantha Tan Racing completed solid outings at both Sonoma Raceway and the Virginia International Raceway, during which the speed of the team’s BMW M4 GT3 was put beyond doubt, before Samantha Tan, Nick Wittmer and Harry Gottsacker rounded out the season with a Silver Cup class win and a top 10 finish overall at the Indianapolis 8 Hours.

Prior to that, ST Racing’s lofty accomplishments with SRO include both West Pro-Am Cup Teams’ and Drivers’ championships in 2019, and SprintX Teams’ honours in 2020, both as part of the Pirelli GT4 America series.

With momentum on its side, ST Racing will look to further establish the M4 GT3’s credibility on the North American stages in 2023. The #38 BMW will be driven at all rounds by team co-owner Samantha Tan, with her teammates set to be revealed in due course.

Samantha Tan, co-owner / driver: “I’m ecstatic to be back in the GTWC paddock again – this time for the full season! We were met with many difficulties last year which prevented us from competing at the majority of events, but we will once again step up for the challenge this upcoming season. This year, our BMW M4 GT3 will be run by the STR38 Motorsports crew, a team of highly experienced and dedicated engineers/mechanics from around the world managed by a familiar face, Jon Miller. I look forward to another great year of racing with SRO!”

The GTWC is scheduled to begin at the Sonoma Raceway on 30 March to 2 April, followed later that month with rounds three and four at NOLA Motorsports Park on 28-30 April.

Rounds five and six take place on 19-21 May at the Circuit of the Americas. The Texan facility has proven particularly successful for Samantha Tan Racing over the years, with the Canadian team taking SprintX Pro-Am and TC class wins at COTA in Pirelli GT4 America, as well as podium finishes in TC America.

The Virginia International Raceway, another fruitful hunting ground for ST Racing, will host rounds seven and eight on 16-18 June, with the GTWC North America returning to action at Road America on 18-20 August after the series’ summer break. After the penultimate weekend at the vaunted Sebring International Raceway on 22-24 September, the GTWC North America draws to a close at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on 5-6-7 October.