At the age of just 14 (and with her parents’ permission), Samantha Tan slid behind the wheel of her first race car (a Ferrari!) and sped down a closed course in her home country of Canada. “I absolutely fell in love,” Samantha says. “That was the moment I decided I wanted to pursue racing.”
Samantha jump-started her career as a solo racer when she was 16, but she now routinely participates in team endurance sprints—some lasting a full 24 hours, during which teammates swap in and out of the car in shifts. It can be grueling.
“Many people don’t perceive racing as a sport,” Samantha says. “But, for context, it takes about 90 pounds of pressure to brake for the car. Doing that for two hours—that’s a full-on leg day!”
Samantha trains in the gym—a mix of cardio and weights—five days a week to get her arms, legs, and core ready for all those g-forces (her car can reach speeds of 165 mph).
And through her regimen, she’s gained a new perspective on exercise: Where it once was about looking a certain way, it’s now about performing a certain way. “I realized I should be working out and feeding my body with foods that make me feel good,” says Samantha. “Because I’m grateful to my body for allowing me to do the things I love.”
All her hard work has paid off in a big way: Samantha is not only the first Canadian woman to become overall champion of a major endurance series, but also the first Asian woman to win a major international endurance racing series.
Here’s how Samantha continues to rise to the challenge of being a groundbreaker in her sport:
Find inspiration in the rearview.
“I get very nervous before I get in the car, so I take 5 to 10 minutes to think about the moments I’ve surprised myself in the past and was able to rise to the challenge. That helps calm me down and reminds me that I am strong enough.”
Rebound at your own speed.
“I had my first big crash in 2017. It really destroyed my confidence. My coach told me, ‘The longer you wait outside of the car, the more you’re going to overthink it.’ So I got right back in a week later. I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it.”
38: Samantha’s BMW Racing number, as well as the number of corners at the French course Le Mans, where she hopes to be the first Asian woman to win first place.
Look inward.
“One thing that’s helped me a lot: finding validation within. Nothing feels better than that kind of self-love.”
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