Marc VDS Racing Team

Marc VDS Racing Team is a motorcycle racing team founded by Belgian owner Marc-Oswald van der Straten-Ponthoz, descendant of the founder of the Stella Artois brewery.[1] The team currently competes in motorcycle racing in the Moto2 World Championship under the name Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS. It also previously competed in many auto racing championships, particularly in grand touring classes - namely the FIA GT1 World Championship, the 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.

Marc VDS Racing Team
2021 nameELF Marc VDS
BaseGosselies, Belgium
PrincipalJoan Olivé
Rider(s)Moto2:
22. Sam Lowes
37. Augusto Fernández
MotorcycleMoto2:
Kalex
TyresMoto2:
Dunlop
Riders' ChampionshipsMoto2:
2014: Tito Rabat
2017: Franco Morbidelli
2019: Álex Márquez

History

Mixed motorsport era

A Ford GT1 entered by Marc VDS in the FIA GT1 World Championship

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.

Scott Redding on the Marc VDS Suter MMX Moto2 motorcycle

After their year of development in FIA GT, Marc VDS was one of twelve teams granted entry in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, where they would retain their Ford GT. The 2010 GT1 program also included an entry in the Le Mans Series' 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

In 2013, Marc VDS had a good showing in Moto2, with their riders Scott Redding and Mika Kallio finishing 2nd and 4th in the championship. The team also expanded their motorcycle grand prix programme into the Moto3 category with Kalex-built and KTM-powered machinery with Belgian rider Livio Loi. This expansion proved a challenge, with Loi and Marc VDS barely managing to finish in the points in 4 out of 15 entered races that season. The troubles continued the following season, and despite a good 4th place finish at the third race in 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 Scott Redding returned for this season. Redding and Marc VDS were reasonably successful from the off, consistently finishing in points-scoring positions and even achieving a 3rd place podium position in 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.[4] In October 2015, Marc van der Straten announced that the sportscar racing programme would end at the conclusion of the 2015 season. He claimed he had lost confidence in his managers because they had taken too great a risk with his money.[5] In addition, the SRO Motorsports Group, organizer of the Blancpain GT Series, introduced a new regulation for the 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

Franco Morbidelli on the Marc VDS Kalex Moto2 bike in 2016

In 2016, Marc VDS fielded two bikes in the MotoGP class, ridden by Australian 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 2019, Marc VDS returned to winning ways in Moto2 with Álex Márquez taking 5 wins and 10 podiums en route to the rider's championship. Teammate Xavi Vierge's inconsistent results however relegated the team to just 4th place in the team's championship. The team also joined in the inaugural MotoE season with Mike Di Meglio taking pole, fastest lap, and the win at the Austrian round.

Motorsports results

Grand Prix motorcycle results

Prior to 2018, no team's championship was awarded in the Moto2 or Moto3 classes. If it were, Marc VDS Racing could likely be counted among the most successful Moto2 teams of the modern era.

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

Year Class Bike Tyres Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points Pos.
2010 Moto2 Suter MMX D QAT ESP FRA ITA GBR NED CAT GER CZE IND RSM ARA JPN MAL AUS POR VAL - -
Scott Redding 23 16 11 21 4 11 Ret Ret 22 3 Ret 8 5 Ret 2 4 5
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 - -
Mika Kallio 20 17 Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret 17 Ret 13 9 15 10 10 16 6 2
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 - -
Mika Kallio 10 7 9 5 9 10 10 2 11 4 9 4 15 16 6 Ret 7
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 - -
Mika Kallio 5 3 Ret 2 5 9 4 12 7 1 6 9 5 4 7 2 14
Scott Redding 2 5 2 1 1 4 2 7 3 8 1 6 4 7 DNS Ret 15
Moto3 Kalex-KTM Livio Loi 15 16 25 Ret 23 22 14 21 19 22 15 18 18 12 Ret - -
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 - -
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
Aiden Wagner 26
Moto3 Kalex-KTM Livio Loi 17 12 4 Ret 20 19 25 25 - -
KTM RC250GP Ret
Kalex-KTM 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
Scott Redding 13 Ret 9 13 Ret 11 7 13 Ret 13 12 6 3 12 10 11 11 15
Moto2 Kalex D Esteve Rabat Ret 4 12 3 2 1 3 2 Ret 5 2 3 2 1 DNS DNS 1 - -
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
Esteve Rabat 15 9 13 18 Ret DNS 14 11 16 14 10 15 17 Ret 14 16 18 17
Nicky Hayden 15
Moto2 Kalex D Franco Morbidelli 7 25 14 4 4 8 11 3 Ret 2 8 2 5 3 3 2 2 3 - -
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
Esteve Rabat 15 12 13 Ret 11 11 15 12 18 17 19 12 Ret 15 15 16 18 10
Hiroshi Aoyama 18
Moto2 Kalex D Franco Morbidelli 1 1 1 Ret 1 4 5 1 1 8 1 3 Ret 1 8 3 3 2 - -
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
Thomas Lüthi 16 17 18 Ret 16 Ret Ret 20 17 16 22 C 22 17 20 20 16 16 Ret
Franco Morbidelli 12 14 21 9 13 15 14 DNS WD 13 19 C 12 11 14 11 8 12 Ret
Stefan Bradl 16
Moto2 Kalex D Joan Mir 11 7 4 11 3 3 Ret 5 2 Ret 8 C 5 6 Ret 11 2 10 Ret 328 3rd
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
Álex Márquez 7 3 5 24 1 1 1 Ret 1 1 2 Ret 3 3 5 6 8 2 30
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 - -
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
Sam Lowes DNS 4 4 2 4 DSQ 8 3 2 1 1 1 Ret 14 3
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 VAL FRA - -
Mike Di Meglio 10 7 6 Ret 6 2 2

Rally Raid

YearRaceClassVehiclePilot
Co-pilot
Class result
2010 DakarCarVW Buggy TDI Stéphane Henrard
François Béguin
21 [8]

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 Bas Leinders
Maxime Martin
6 13 19 8 16 Ret 20 4 9 Ret Ret 11 Ret 5 3 5 11 5 3 Ret 62 8
41 Markus Palttala
Renaud Kuppens (1-7)
Matteo 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 Bas Leinders
Marc Hennerici (1-9)
Ricardo 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 Maxime Martin
Frédéric Makowiecki (1-2,4-5,7-8)
Yann Clairay (3, 10)
Bertrand 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
YearTeamClassCarNo.Drivers123456 Points Pos.
2011 Marc VDS Racing Team Pro CupBMW Z4 GT3 40 Bas Leinders

Maxime Martin

Markus Palttala (1-2, 4-5)

Marc Hennerici (3)

Ret11 85 2nd
Ford GT3313
41 Markus Palttala

Jonathan Hirschi

Antoine Leclerc

DNSDNS11
Alpina B6 GT3 Dylan Derdaele

Dino Lunardi

Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof

6
Pro-Am CupFord Mustang

FR500 GT3

92 Éric Bachelart

Marc Duez

Jean-Michel Martin

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

Maxime Martin

Markus Palttala

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

Bert Longin

Henri Moser

Nick Catsburg (6)

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

Bas Leinders

Maxime Martin

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

Henri Moser

Markus Palttala

Andrea Piccini (3)

36 5 21 Ret 7
14 Jens Klingmann

Dirk Müller

Andrea Piccini

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

Maxime Martin

Jörg Müller

Ret - -
77 Lucas Luhr

Markus Palttala

Dirk Werner

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

Maxime Martin

Dirk Werner

31 58 5th
46 Lucas Luhr

Maxime Martin (3)

Markus Palttala

Nick Catsburg (4)

3 1
Blancpain Endurance Series results[9]

24 Hours of Le Mans

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

24 Hours of Nürburgring

Year Team Driver Car Class Laps Overall result Class result
2012 Marc VDS Racing Maxime Martin
Bas Leinders
Markus Palttala
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 154 4 4
2013 Marc VDS Racing Maxime Martin
Andrea Piccini
Yelmer Buurman
Richard Göransson
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 88 2 2
2014 BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Maxime Martin
Jörg Müller
Uwe Alzen
Marco Wittmann
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 GT3 60 DNF DNF
Bas Leinders
Markus Palttala
Nick Catsburg
Dirk Adorf
60 DNF DNF
2015 BMW Sports Trophy
Team Marc VDS
Maxime Martin
Lucas Luhr
Markus Palttala
Richard Westbrook
BMW Z4 GT3 SP9 GT3 156 2 2
Augusto Farfus
Jörg Müller
Nick Catsburg
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 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 Markus Palttala VAL
VAL
BRH
8
BRH
9
TOU
TOU
NUR
6
NUR
21
UMB
UMB
BUG
BUG
22nd 178
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 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 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. Khorounzhiy, Valentin (21 September 2018). "MotoGP outlines reduced 22-bike 2019 field, Marc VDS drops out". autosport.com. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  8. "2010 Dakar final standings - Car". motorsport.com. 18 Jan 2010. Retrieved 24 Nov 2019.
  9. "Blancpain Endurance Series". RacingSportsCars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2019.


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