Zandvoort is back on the GT World Challenge powered by AWS calendar this term. The Dutch track has always staged a very popular event, with both fans and competitors enjoying its unforgiving layout. This year’s field includes four local drivers, all of whom are at the start of their GT racing careers. What’s more, each has a good shot at scoring class victory on home soil.
Thierry Vermeulen, who will compete in the Gold Cup, could also contend for a strong overall result. The 22-yar-old hails from Venlo, a city close to the Dutch border with Germany. His father Raymond is Max Verstappen's manager, while Jos Verstappen provided Thierry’s early coaching.
Unlike most high-level drivers Vermeulen skipped karting entirely, making his debut as an 18-year-old in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Benelux. His first GT3 outing was at the Kyalami 9 Hours in 2021, and he made his GT World Challenge debut the following year, driving an Audi for the Car Collection Motorsport squad in a handful of Endurance Cup rounds.
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He returned in 2023 to contest the full Sprint Cup campaign with Emil Frey Racing. Backed by Verstappen.com Racing and paired with the vastly experience Albert Costa, he took a few rounds to find his feet in the #69 Ferrari before making a significant breakthrough at Hockenheim. Vermeulen promptly scored three successive podiums, including a runner-up finish at Zandvoort.
There were just two podiums last term, though he continued to show flashes of very impressive speed. In 2025 his education continues: he'll race an Aston Martin in Endurance and a Ferrari in Sprint. These are very different GT3 cars and jumping between them will be a challenge, but it will also help him to develop as a driver.
While Vermeulen will be aiming for Gold Cup victory, the other Dutchmen on the grid are competing in the Silver Cup. They include Loek Hartog, a rising star who is establishing his reputation at the wheel of Porsche machinery.
Hartog was born in Hoogmade, a village in South Holland which is less than 40 kilometres from Zandvoort. Hartog won the Carrera Cup Benelux in 2020 and has since raced in the ultra-competitive Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany, finishing as runner-up in the latter in 2023.
He made his GT World Challenge debut in 2024, driving the #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche in Endurance. The car scored Bronze Cup wins at the Nürburgring and Jeddah, while he also dominated Porsche Carrera Cup North America.
This year he’s back behind the wheel of the #97 Rutronik Racing entry for a full-season effort. In Endurance the car will again challenge for Bronze Cup honours; in Sprint, Hartog will share driving duties with series newcomer Eshan Pieris in the Silver Cup class.
The #992 Paradine Competition BMW combines two Dutch drivers in a single car. Mex Jansen is the slightly more experienced member of the crew having run the full Endurance campaign last year with Walkenhorst Motorsport. Prior to this, he enjoyed a successful 2023 season competing in ADAC GT4 Germany, scoring five podiums for the Walkenhorst squad
In 2025 he’s shifted from Aston Martin to BMW, and he’ll compete with two different teams: in Sprint he’s aligned with Paradine, while he’ll also race an M4 GT3 EVO for Century Motorsport in Endurance. Still only 18, Jansen could have a big future ahead of him.
His teammate is Maxime Oosten, a 21-year-old from Beetsterzwaag. The 2024 ADAC GT Masters runner-up, Oosten made his GT World Challenge debut as a teenager at the 2022 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. He was slated to contest last year’s Endurance Cup round at Monza, but a crash in qualifying forced his team to withdraw from the event.
Already something of a BMW expert, he will hope to impress this year in what is a Sprint-only programme with Paradine Competition. He’s also racing in GT World Challenge Asia and scored a brace of Silver-Am wins during the opening event at Sepang.
In addition to four very competitive Dutch drivers, the Zandvoort weekend will feature a field packed with top international talent such as defending Sprint Cup champion Maro Engel, three-time title-winner Charles Weerts, and series newcomer Arthur Leclerc.
A full weekend ticket costs just 35.00€, while kids under 14 go free and all fans can attend free of charge on Friday. Single-day tickets for Saturday and Sunday are also available at a cost of 25.00€ per day. For more info, please click here.