WIMNA NEWSLETTER SPOTLIGHT
Samantha Tan
It was a dream come true for Samantha Tan to make her debut at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France in June in the Road to Le Mans race. Driving the No. 38 BMW M4 GT3 with Swede Gustav Bergström, they finished sixth and fourth in the two races.
The following weekend, Tan competed in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in Germany, finishing second in the SP3T class with Bulldog Racing.
After narrowly missing the 2024 GT World Challenge America Pro-Am title, Tan questioned her future. But in 2025, she’s rebounded with consistent Top 5 finishes in IMSA’s VP Sportscar Challenge and now sits third in the championship.
“Getting to race at Le Mans for the first time and finishing P4, was a dream come true,” said Tan. “Standing on that grid felt surreal. To follow it up with a podium finish at the 24H Nürburgring in my first try was more than I imagined.
But this didn’t come easy. After the heartbreak of narrowly missing the championship last season, I started to seriously question if I was good enough. After giving everything and falling short by the smallest margin—it truly devastated me.
There were days I questioned everything. Whether I was doing enough. Whether I was enough. Whether all the effort, all the sacrifices, were truly leading me somewhere.
But now I realize—I needed to let go and trust what’s meant to be will find its way. These races reminded me of the ‘why’ behind it all. The passion, the purpose, the grit. It’s easy to get caught up in the pressure to constantly prove yourself, but sometimes the breakthrough comes when you least expect it.
I’m more motivated than ever to keep pushing because this is exactly where I’m meant to be and still chasing the dream—one day racing the full 24 Hours of Le Mans.”
Loni Unser
High winds shortened the course for the 103rd Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, presented by Gran Turismo last month.
Loni Unser, a fourth-generation racer, was the top women’s finisher with a time of 4 minutes, 15.988 seconds. She was third in the Pikes Peak Open division with her 2023 #92 Porsche 911 Turbo Cup prepped by BBi Autosport.
She set the 10th-fastest time of the day, as well as her podium in the highly challenging Pikes Peak Open Division. The 27-year-old was also the only female Fast 15 qualifier and had the fastest Porsche of the race. Her first Pikes Peak race was the 100th running, where she followed in the footsteps of her famous Unser family.
“Pikes Peak this year was definitely bittersweet with the shortened course, but the mountain decides and we must respect that,:” said Unser. “I was incredibly proud to finish P3 in class, top 10 overall, and the fastest Porsche up the mountain. The entire BBI team did an incredible job and gave me an amazing car to drive. I can’t wait to show the world the time we know in our hearts we are capable of doing.”
Rookie Emilia Hartford finished second place in her2022 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport in the Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama – Naturally Aspirated class.
Congratulations to these ladies for their incredible runs at “The Race to the Clouds” in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Megan Ryder
The No. 98 Hyundai Elantra N TCR, driven by Harry Gottsacker and Mason Filippi, won the IMSA O’Reilly Auto Parts 4 Hours of Mid-Ohio—with lead engineer Megan Ryder playing a key role in the Hyundai team’s success.
A recipient of the Hyundai Women in STEM Scholarship, Megan entered college unsure of her path. “I got admitted into the mechanical engineering program at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis,” she said. “It was the real-world application—vehicle dynamics, data analysis, race engineering—that really hooked me.”
That passion led her to join the school’s motorsports program and ultimately to a systems engineering internship with Bryan Herta Autosport in 2021. Today, she’s committed to encouraging other young women to follow her into the sport.
“I love to see this movement growing,” she said. “There are so many more female mechanics, engineers, PR people—kicking butt and succeeding. It’s wonderful to see.”
Excerpts from story by David Phillips/IMSA NewsWire
Photos: IMSA/Lumen Digital Agency.
Isabella Robusto
Isabella Robusto took us along for the ride on the rear quarter panel of her RVA Graphics Motorsports Toyota GR86 at VIRginia International Raceway last weekend. After finishing third at the “Monster Mile” ARCA race at Dover on the Friday night, she went on to VIR for the Toyota GR Cup North America race, where she finished 9th and 8th, respectively, in the two weekend races. Keep charging, Isabella! You make us proud!