Marc VDS Racing Team

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Marc VDS Racing Team
2017

Marc VDS Racing Team is a

Blancpain Endurance Series, and the European Le Mans Series - as well as the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. They have also previously contested in rallying at various rally raid events, such as the Dakar Rally
.

History

Mixed motorsport era

Le Mans Series

Based in Gosselies, Belgium, Marc VDS began competing in the Belcar series as part of the racing program for the Gillet Vertigo, a Belgian sports car, under the Belgian Racing title. By 2005 the Gillet program expanded to include the international FIA GT Championship, although the team was not allowed to compete for the season championship due to the low production of road legal Vertigos. Despite continued development for several years, the Gillet program ended in 2008 and van der Straten rebranded the team as Marc VDS for the 2009 season. The team however remained involved in the FIA GT Championship at the behest of Jean Michel Delporte and Bas Leinders by becoming one of two development teams for the Matech Ford GT, shifting the team to the GT1 category.[2] Marc VDS also expanded their program through the purchase of a Volkswagen Buggy TDI Rally raid for the 2010 Dakar Rally.

After their year of development in FIA GT, Marc VDS was one of twelve teams granted entry in the inaugural

1000 km of Spa as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Shortly after entering FIA GT1, Marc VDS also announced their merger with Michael Bartholemy and Didier de Radiguès' entry in the new Moto2 category of Grand Prix motorcycle racing,[3] where riders Scott Redding and Héctor Faubel would compete on Suter bikes. Marc VDS also added a fourth program to 2010 by co-developing a Ford Mustang with Multimatic Motorsports of Canada for use in the FIA GT3 European Championship
.

Tito Rabat celebrating winning his home GP in Barcelona with fellow Catalan winners of the other classes, brothers Álex and Marc Márquez, en route to his 2014 Moto2 championship
Scott Redding on the Marc VDS Suter MMX Moto2 motorcycle

In 2013, Marc VDS had a good showing in Moto2, with their riders

Argentina, Livio failed to place better than 19th in the following 6 races. Livio was ultimately replaced mid-season with Spanish rider Jorge Navarro for the remainder of the season. 2014 was, however, the first taste of major success for Marc VDS in the Moto2 class, where their riders Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio
finished 1st and 2nd respectively in the rider's championship.

For 2015, Marc VDS dropped their difficult Moto3 programme, as they were presented with the opportunity to run a satellite Honda bike in the premier MotoGP class. Former long-time Marc VDS rider

San Marino
. The team finished a respectable 8th in the team's championship, significantly ahead of even some teams who regularly fielded two riders.

In July 2015, Bas Leinders announced he had parted from the team.

24 Hours of Spa
which stated that pro teams must compete in all races of the series to be eligible for the 24 Hours. Van der Straten did not like this decision, as the team only wished to participate in the 24 Hours of Spa. Accordingly, the Marc VDS Racing Team decided to concentrate solely on two-wheeled motorsports.

Motorcycle Grand Prix era

2016

In 2016, Marc VDS fielded two bikes in the

Jack Miller and their former Moto2 champion Tito Rabat. Rabat was able to finish consistently in the points, but it was Jack Miller who gave the Marc VDS team their first taste of ultimate success at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing, by winning a rain-soaked Assen TT. The win was the first for a non-factory team in nearly a decade, dating back to the 2006 Portuguese GP
.

2017 was another strong year for Marc VDS. In MotoGP, both riders continued with the team, and thanks to more consistent performances from both, Marc VDS finished 7th in the team's championship with 117 points, their best finish in the class to date. In the Moto2 class, rider Franco Morbidelli achieved 8 wins from 18 rounds, sealing another rider's championship for the team. Second rider Álex Márquez also managed three further wins, securing 4th place on the year.

For 2018, Morbidelli was promoted to the MotoGP squad alongside his Moto2 runner-up Thomas Lüthi. Morbidelli was able to consistently finish in the low point-scoring positions, thus being crowned rookie of the year, but Lüthi failed to score a single point that season. The team finished second-to-last in the team's championship in 11th. During the course of the season, team leader Bartholemy left the team by “mutual agreement”, according to a Marc VDS statement, after reports in German media claimed he had been embezzling team funds.[6] As a result of this upheaval and a desire of the MotoGP commercial rights holder Dorna Sports to reduce grid sizes, Marc VDS was dropped from the MotoGP class at the end of 2018.[7] In Moto2 the team finished 3rd in the team standings despite not earning a single win in the class, at the end of the season Joan Mir prematurely ended his three year contract with Marc VDS early to move up to the MotoGP class to take over the vacant Suzuki seat.

In 2019, Marc VDS returned to winning ways in Moto2 with

inaugural MotoE season with Mike Di Meglio taking pole, fastest lap, and the win at the Austrian round
.

In 2020, the team achieved second place in the Moto2 teams' championship on the backs of riders Sam Lowes' and Augusto Fernández's performances (3 wins, 4 further podiums and 6 further top 5 finishes). It was the team's best result since the teams' championship was counted in Moto2. In MotoE, Di Miglio achieved two podium finishes and ended the season in fourth position overall.

2021 saw Marc VDS and rider Di Meglio elect to leave the MotoE class, citing scheduling conflicts with Di Meglio's Endurance World Championship commitments.[8] The team continued in Moto2 with Lowes and Fernández, the former sweeping both races of the season-opening double header from pole in Qatar.[9] With a further win in Emilia-Romagna and two further podium finishes from Lowes and six podium finishes from Fernández, Marc VDS again achieved second place in the teams' championship.

World Superbike

Marc VDS entered the Superbike World Championship with long-time Moto2 rider Sam Lowes racing on a Ducati Panigale V4R, beginning from the 2024 season.[10]

Motorsports results

By rider

Year Class Team name Bike Riders Races Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points Pos.
2022 Moto2 Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex Moto2 Australia Senna Agius 4 0 0 0 0 7 26th
Italy Tony Arbolino 20 3 5 0 2 191.5 4th
United Kingdom Sam Lowes 20 0 2 0 0 55 19th
2023 Moto2 Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Kalex Moto2
Italy Tony Arbolino 18 3 8 0 1 243.5* 2nd*
United Kingdom Sam Lowes 18 1 1 2 1 91* 12th*

Grand Prix motorcycle results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Motorcycle Tyres Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Points Pos.
2010 Moto2 Suter MMX D QAT ESP FRA ITA GBR NED CAT GER CZE IND
RSM
ARA JPN MAL AUS POR VAL - -
United Kingdom Scott Redding 23 16 11 21 4 11 Ret Ret 22 3 Ret 8 5 Ret 2 4 5
Spain Héctor Faubel 22 Ret Ret 12 Ret 25 Ret 25 12 Ret 16 17 30 11 Ret 11 21
2011 Moto2 Suter MMXI D QAT ESP POR FRA CAT GBR NED ITA GER CZE IND
RSM
ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL - -
Finland Mika Kallio 20 17 Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret 17 Ret 13 9 15 10 10 16 6 2
United Kingdom Scott Redding 31 23 25 16 11 5 24 27 7 26 5 5 15 20 7 10 30
2012 Moto2 Kalex D QAT ESP POR FRA CAT GBR NED GER ITA IND CZE
RSM
ARA JPN MAL AUS VAL - -
Finland Mika Kallio 10 7 9 5 9 10 10 2 11 4 9 4 15 16 6 Ret 7
United Kingdom Scott Redding 6 4 11 3 10 2 3 Ret 6 6 Ret 7 3 4 11 3 22
2013 Moto2 Kalex D QAT AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR
RSM
ARA MAL AUS JPN VAL - -
Finland Mika Kallio 5 3 Ret 2 5 9 4 12 7 1 6 9 5 4 7 2 14
United Kingdom Scott Redding 2 5 2 1 1 4 2 7 3 8 1 6 4 7 DNS Ret 15
Moto3 Kalex-KTM Belgium Livio Loi 15 16 25 Ret 23 22 14 21 19 22 15 18 18 12 Ret - -
France Jules Danilo Ret 24
2014 Moto2 Kalex D QAT AME
ARG
ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR
RSM
ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL - -
Finland Mika Kallio 2 4 7 1 1 6 4 3 2 1 2 2 2 7 5 4 2 Ret
Esteve Rabat
1 2 1 4 3 1 1 8 4 4 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 2
Australia Aiden Wagner 26
Moto3 Kalex-KTM Belgium Livio Loi 17 12 4 Ret 20 19 25 25 - -
KTM RC250GP Ret
Kalex-KTM Spain Jorge Navarro 14 Ret 27 15 Ret Ret 12 12 Ret
2015 MotoGP Honda RC213V B QAT AME
ARG
ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER IND CZE GBR
RSM
ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 84 8th
United Kingdom Scott Redding 13 Ret 9 13 Ret 11 7 13 Ret 13 12 6 3 12 10 11 11 15
Moto2 Kalex D Spain Tito Rabat Ret 4 12 3 2 1 3 2 Ret 5 2 3 2 1 DNS DNS 1 - -
Spain Álex Márquez 11 15 15 9 Ret 12 11 9 18 10 4 4 Ret Ret 18 9 Ret 12
2016 MotoGP Honda RC213V M QAT
ARG
AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER AUT CZE GBR
RSM
ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 87 11th
Jack Miller
14 Ret DNS 17 Ret Ret 10 1 7 DNS 16 DNS Ret 10 8 15
Spain Tito Rabat 15 9 13 18 Ret DNS 14 11 16 14 10 15 17 Ret 14 16 18 17
United States Nicky Hayden 15
Moto2 Kalex D Italy Franco Morbidelli 7 25 14 4 4 8 11 3 Ret 2 8 2 5 3 3 2 2 3 - -
Spain Álex Márquez Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 16 18 8 Ret 6 5 25 10 2 Ret DNS 7 Ret
2017 MotoGP Honda RC213V M QAT
ARG
AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR
RSM
ARA JPN AUS MAL VAL 117 7th
Jack Miller
8 9 10 Ret 8 15 Ret 6 15 14 Ret 16 6 13 7 8 7
Spain Tito Rabat 15 12 13 Ret 11 11 15 12 18 17 19 12 Ret 15 15 16 18 10
Japan Hiroshi Aoyama 18
Moto2 Kalex D Italy Franco Morbidelli 1 1 1 Ret 1 4 5 1 1 8 1 3 Ret 1 8 3 3 2 - -
Spain Álex Márquez 5 21 4 1 4 3 1 6 Ret 2 2 14 DNS Ret 1 6 Ret 5
2018 MotoGP Honda RC213V M QAT
ARG
AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR
RSM
ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL 50 11th
Switzerland Thomas Lüthi 16 17 18 Ret 16 Ret Ret 20 17 16 22 C 22 17 20 20 16 16 Ret
Italy Franco Morbidelli 12 14 21 9 13 15 14 DNS WD 13 19 C 12 11 14 11 8 12 Ret
Germany Stefan Bradl 16
Moto2 Kalex D Spain Joan Mir 11 7 4 11 3 3 Ret 5 2 Ret 8 C 5 6 Ret 11 2 10 Ret 328 3rd
Spain Álex Márquez 3 5 2 Ret 2 5 3 3 13 Ret Ret C 18 4 Ret 4 7 7 3
2019 Moto2 Kalex D QAT
ARG
AME ESP FRA ITA CAT NED GER CZE AUT GBR
RSM
ARA THA JPN AUS MAL VAL 343 4th
Spain Álex Márquez 7 3 5 24 1 1 1 Ret 1 1 2 Ret 3 3 5 6 8 2 30
Spain Xavi Vierge 10 DNS Ret 6 5 12 8 Ret Ret 24 Ret 10 8 10 Ret Ret Ret 4 7
MotoE Energica Ego M GER AUT
RSM
VAL - -
France Mike Di Meglio 3 1 Ret 10 10 6
2020 Moto2 Kalex D QAT SPA ANC CZE AUT STY
RSM
EMI
CAT FRA ARA TER EUR ARA POR 262 2nd
United Kingdom Sam Lowes DNS 4 4 2 4 DSQ 8 3 2 1 1 1 Ret 14 3
Spain Augusto Fernández Ret 13 13 5 8 Ret 5 18 Ret 4 11 8 DNS 15 8
MotoE Energica Ego M SPA ANC
RSM
EMI
FRA - -
France Mike Di Meglio 10 7 6 Ret 6 2 2
2021 Moto2 Kalex D QAT DOH POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED STY AUT GBR ARA RSM AME EMI ALR VAL 364 2nd
United Kingdom Sam Lowes 1P 1PF RetP 3F Ret RetF 7 5 4 14 4P 4 RetP 4 Ret 1P 3 7
Spain Augusto Fernández 14 6 5 Ret Ret Ret 5 Ret 3 3 3 6 3 6 4 2F 9 3
2022 Moto2 Kalex D QAT INA ARG AME POR SPA FRA ITA CAT GER NED GBR AUT RSM ARA JPN THA AUS MAL VAL 253.5 5th
Australia Senna Agius 9
Italy Tony Arbolino 5 8 6 1 Ret 3 Ret 4 10 10 7 12 Ret 7 5 6 1F Ret 1F 3
United Kingdom Sam Lowes 3 4 10 Ret Ret RetF DNS Ret Ret 3F Ret DNS DNS 19 12 DNS
2023 Moto2 Kalex D POR ARG AME SPA FRA ITA GER NED GBR AUT CAT RSM IND JPN INA AUS THA MAL QAT VAL 334.5* 2nd*
Italy Tony Arbolino 3 1 2 4 1 2 2 7 10 6 17 4 2 11 6 1F 4 10
United Kingdom Sam Lowes 7 10 13 1P F 15P Ret 7 11 7 Ret 9 Ret 19 Ret 10 Ret 14 7

Rally Raid

Year Race Class Vehicle Pilot
Co-pilot
Class result
2010 Dakar Car VW Buggy TDI Belgium Stéphane Henrard
Belgium François Béguin
21[11]

FIA GT1 World Championship

Year Car No. Drivers
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points Pos.
QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR
2010
Ford GT1
40 BelgiumBas Leinders
BelgiumMaxime Martin
6 13 19 8 16 Ret 20 4 9 Ret Ret 11 Ret 5 3 5 11 5 3 Ret 62 8
41 FinlandMarkus Palttala
BelgiumRenaud Kuppens (1-7)
ItalyMatteo Bobbi (8-10)
Ret DNS 18 10 18 15 22 14 14 15 12 17 19 15 12 10 20 15 15 Ret
2011 40 BelgiumBas Leinders
GermanyMarc Hennerici (1-9)
ArgentinaRicardo Risatti (10)
11 DNS Ret 10 Ret 10 Ret 8 11 6 12 10 Ret 12 10 10 Ret Ret Ret 9 132 6
41 BelgiumMaxime Martin
FranceFrédéric Makowiecki (1-2,4-5,7-8)
FranceYann Clairay (3, 10)
BelgiumBertrand Baguette (6, 9)
1 8 5 8 6 Ret 1 Ret NC Ret 3 4 5 6 1 1 Ret 4 15 11

Blancplain Endurance Series results

The Marc VDS Racing BMW Z4 GT3 that won the 2015 24 Hours of Spa
Year Team Class Car No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 Points Pos.
2011 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Pro Cup BMW Z4 GT3 40 Belgium Bas Leinders

Belgium Maxime Martin

Finland Markus Palttala (1-2, 4-5)

Germany Marc Hennerici (3)

Ret 1 1 85 2nd
Ford GT3 3 13
41 Finland Markus Palttala

Switzerland Jonathan Hirschi

France Antoine Leclerc

DNS DNS 11
Alpina B6 GT3 Belgium Dylan Derdaele

France Dino Lunardi

Austria Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof

6
Pro-Am Cup Ford Mustang

FR500 GT3

92 Belgium Éric Bachelart

Belgium Marc Duez

Belgium Jean-Michel Martin

28 - -
2012 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Pro Cup BMW Z4 GT3 3 Belgium Bas Leinders

Belgium Maxime Martin

Finland Markus Palttala

1 1 2 4 Ret 4 122 2nd
4 Netherlands Mike Hezemens (1-5)

Belgium Bert Longin

Switzerland Henri Moser

Nick Catsburg
(6)

11 Ret 6 15 8 12
2013 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Team Pro Cup BMW Z4 GT3 3 Netherlands Yelmer Buurman

Belgium Bas Leinders

Belgium Maxime Martin

10 Ret 1 Ret 3 99 1st
4
Nick Catsburg
(1-2, 4-5)

Switzerland Henri Moser

Finland Markus Palttala

Italy Andrea Piccini (3)

36 5 21 Ret 7
14 Germany Jens Klingmann

Germany Dirk Müller

Italy Andrea Piccini

Ret
2014 Belgium BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Pro Cup BMW Z4 GT3 66 Brazil Augusto Farfus

Belgium Maxime Martin

Germany Jörg Müller

Ret - -
77 Germany Lucas Luhr

Finland Markus Palttala

Germany Dirk Werner

2
2015 Belgium BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Pro Cup BMW Z4 GT3 45 Brazil Augusto Farfus

Belgium Maxime Martin

Germany Dirk Werner

31 58 5th
46 Germany Lucas Luhr

Belgium Maxime Martin (3)

Finland Markus Palttala

Nick Catsburg
(4)

3 1
Blancpain Endurance Series results[12]

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year Team Driver Car Class Laps Overall result Class result
2010 BelgiumMarc VDS Racing Team Belgium Eric de Doncker
Belgium Bas Leinders
Finland Markus Palttala
Ford GT1 GT 26 DNF DNF
2011 BelgiumKronos Racing
BelgiumMarc VDS Racing Team
Belgium Vanina Ickx
Belgium Bas Leinders
Belgium Maxime Martin
Lola B09/60
LMP1 328 7 7

24 Hours of Nürburgring

Year Team Driver Car Class Laps Overall result Class result
2012 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Belgium Maxime Martin
Belgium Bas Leinders
Finland Markus Palttala
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 154 4 4
2013 Belgium Marc VDS Racing Belgium Maxime Martin
Italy Andrea Piccini
Netherlands Yelmer Buurman
Sweden Richard Göransson
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 88 2 2
2014 Belgium BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Belgium Maxime Martin
Germany Jörg Müller
Germany Uwe Alzen
Germany Marco Wittmann
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 GT3 60 DNF DNF
Nick Catsburg
Germany Dirk Adorf
60 DNF DNF
2015 Belgium BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Belgium Maxime Martin
Germany Lucas Luhr
Finland Markus Palttala
United Kingdom Richard Westbrook
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 GT3 156 2 2
Nick Catsburg
Germany Dirk Adorf
155 4 4

Complete NASCAR Whelen Euro Series results

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 1
Year Car No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
2014
Toyota Camry 32 Belgium Bas Leinders
VAL

13
VAL

18
BRH
9
BRH
5
TOU
21
TOU
7
NUR
19
NUR
19
UMB
21
UMB
21
BUG

21
BUG

5
14th 464
46 Finland Markus Palttala
VAL

VAL

BRH
8
BRH
9
TOU
TOU
NUR
6
NUR
21
UMB
UMB
BUG

BUG

22nd 178
Luxembourg Nathalie Maillet
VAL

VAL

BRH
BRH
TOU
TOU
NUR
NUR
UMB
DNS
UMB
DNS
BUG

DNS
BUG

DNS
32nd 106
NASCAR Whelen Euro Series - Elite 2
Year Car No. Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos. Pts
2014
Toyota Camry 32 Belgium Denis Dupont
VAL

10
VAL

DNS
BRH
2
BRH
22
TOU
1*
TOU
1*
NUR
20
NUR
18
UMB
8
UMB
18
BUG

8
BUG

3
5th 561
46 Luxembourg Nathalie Maillet
VAL

12
VAL

16
BRH
21
BRH
12
TOU
14
TOU
17
NUR
6
NUR
19
UMB
DNS
UMB
DNS
BUG

10
BUG

6
12th 481

References

  1. ^ Borghi, Enrico (12 July 2017). "Marc van der Straten (VDS): Milliardär und Mäzen". SpeedWeek.com (in German). Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Marc VDS Racing Team to enter Ford in 2009". planetlemans.com. Planet Le Mans. 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  3. ^ Matthew Birt (10 December 2009). "Ex-Kawasaki MotoGP boss unveils Moto2 plan". motorcyclenews.com. Motor Cycle News. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  4. ^ Dagys, John (30 July 2015). "Leinders, Marc VDS Part Ways". Sportscar365.com. John Dagys Media, LLC. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  5. ^ Watkins, Gary (6 October 2015). "BMW sportscar team Marc VDS Racing stops car racing programme". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  6. ^ Klein, Jamie (6 June 2018). "Bartholemy cleared of Marc VDS embezzlement allegations". motorsport.com. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  7. autosport.com
    . Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Marc VDS Team withdraws from MotoE Cup". GPOne.com. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  9. ^ McLaren, Peter (7 April 2021). "Doha Moto2: 'We saved the best for last!' - Sam Lowes". Crash.net. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
  10. ^ McLaren, Peter (13 July 2023). "Official: Sam Lowes to World Superbike with Marc VDS, Ducati | World Superbikes | Crash". Crash.net. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  11. ^ "2010 Dakar final standings - Car". motorsport.com. 18 January 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Blancpain Endurance Series". RacingSportsCars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2019.

External links