Due to increasing costs and financial mismanagement, the Marc VDS Racing Team has been forced to pull out of car racing, including next year’s European Le Mans Series. The team has ended their run on a high note, having won the 24 Hours of Spa this year.
To add on to the success at Spa, the team will also be remembered for winning the Pro Cup Team Championship in the Blancpain Endurance Series, two years ago. The transition away from car racing will mean that the final ELMS round at Estoril will mark an end of an era for the line-up.
Marc van der Straten was particularly emotional at the team’s farewell, with the President condemning the actions of the few that drove the company over the edge, but despite this he spoke fondly of his father who first inspired the team’s beginnings.
“So much so that today my passion for racing is gone. Collaborators have betrayed both my trust and the family spirit of our team,” he started out by saying.
“I am 67-years-old and I do not have the time left to accept behaviour that disrespects the moral principles I hold dear. I am tired by the lack of professionalism of some of the people I, wrongly, placed in key positions within the team.”
“I’m tired of those who have no other purpose but to financially jeopardise our business, even to the point of bankruptcy. That is why I have decided today to bring down the curtain on Belgian Racing and end my long association with four-wheeled motorsport.”
The team will not completely fold though. Marc VDS will continue its involvement in two-wheel racing. Most notably; in MotoGP.
“But be reassured, the Marc VDS Racing Team is not dead either, quite the opposite in fact. The car is dead, long live the bike! Since the beginning of our adventure in the Moto2 World Championship six years ago we have had one World Champion and two Vice-World Champions.”
“I have enjoyed these exceptional results, which were achieved by professional people for whom success is the only reward they require. It is a team that has secured great results and built new projects happily and with good humour; what more could I ask for?”
