POSITIVES TAKEN FROM DISAPPOINTING GTWC EUROPE SEASON OPENER AT MONZA

ST Racing with Rinaldi is looking optimistically to round two of this year’s GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup at Circuit Paul Ricard, despite a tough season opener this weekend at Monza.

A first-lap incident brought the team’s debut to an abrupt halt just moments into the race. Unwarranted contact from a rival entry, who was deemed at fault by the race director, put the #38 Ferrari 488 GT3 into the barriers on the approach to Variante del Rettifilo. The car sustained race-ending damage but driver Samantha Tan walked away unscathed.

The pace demonstrated by the Ferrari squad at the brand’s spiritual home in Monza, left ST Racing with Rinaldi confident that results will come soon. The experienced Isaac Tutumlu, winner of the Spanish GT Championship in 2013, made a sterling start to his debut with the team posting the second fastest time of any PRO/AM runner during his 15-minute qualifying session. Samantha meanwhile, during her first racing event at Monza no less, ended her own qualifying session just half a second shy of Isaac’s fastest time. Recurrent electrical issues at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza ultimately led to Q3 being cancelled, denying Jon Miller a chance to improve the grid position even further.

Isaac and Samantha’s combined efforts were enough to secure 4th in-class on the grid, and the team was emboldened by the Ferrari’s flawless reliability across the weekend. ST Racing with Rinaldi is now looking ahead to similarly strong pace at the Paul Ricard 1000km on 3-4 June.

Samantha Tan, team co-owner / driver: “It was over before it all began… It was a positive weekend up until the race! Unfortunately, I got taken out right at the start of the 3H of Monza and didn’t even make it through turn 1. It was a very disappointing start to the season, especially with all the hard work the team put in this weekend. On the bright side, we got acquainted with the car and the Monza circuit quite quickly, despite having only one test day in the car. I’m lucky to have two amazing co-drivers who helped me progress as fast as possible! We all improved in lap time every session, and we’ll take everything we learned this weekend into the next event. Thank you to the Rinaldi Racing team for everything this weekend, from giving us an incredible car to the fun, positive atmosphere in the garage. I know we’ll come back stronger.”

Kenneth Tan, team principal: “It is always very disheartening when our race is abruptly ended by someone else’s errant driving after all the outstanding efforts by the whole team. Until the incident, we had a very strong performance from both the car, the crew, and the drivers given that we have never been to Monza and never raced in a Ferrari GT3 car. So taking all that into consideration and looking at our pace in practice and qualifying, I was convinced of a class podium finish. But alas, someone else decided the day for us. I just feel bad for the crew and drivers, who have all worked so hard to put together a very competitive package but, as they say, we live to fight another day and I know we will be stronger at our next race in Paul Ricard next month. Forza Ferrari!”

Jon Miller, team manager / driver: “Not much to say about the race, but everything to say about the Rinaldi team’s support and Samantha’s own performance this weekend. She adapted to a new platform and new track like a veteran, so of course we’re disappointed not to be able to show our potential in the race.”

Isaac Tutumlu Lopez, driver: “We didn’t finish the race in Monza because Samantha had a crash at the start due to a Mercedes hitting her, she couldn’t do anything and was just a passenger in the car. It’s a shame because I think all of us showed great progress and performance throughout the weekend. Samantha was really fast in qualifying, unfortunately Jon could not do his qualifying lap due to power problems at the circuit. It was a good start to the season so far regarding the performance of the car, the team and the driver lineup, so I’m looking forward to the next race in Paul Ricard and hoping we have luck on our side this time!”

Following the Paul Ricard 1000km, Samantha Tan Racing is chomping at the bit for its return to the vaunted 24 Hours of Spa on 29 June to 2 July, an event at which the North American outfit finished an encouraging 9th in the Silver class on its debut last year. Prior to that, ST Racing will be back in action for rounds two and three respectively of GT World Challenge America at NOLA Motorsport Park in Louisiana on 28-30 April, and the Circuit of the Americas in Texas on 19-21 May.