Marc van der Straten: Racing’s Dual Champion Owner Passes

Early Years and the Gillet Vertigo Experiment

Marc van der Straten came from a distinguished Belgian family linked to the Stella Artois brewing empire, a lineage that provided the financial backing for his racing ambitions. His father, once a competitor himself, steered Marc toward an unusual first project: the low‑volume Gillet Vertigo, a Belgian sports car many outside the Ardennes had never seen. Van der Straten campaigned the Vertigo in the domestic Belcar series under the Belgian Racing banner before entering the international FIA GT Championship in 2005. The car’s limited production meant it never met homologation rules, so the team could not score championship points despite racing at the top level—a costly hobby that pushed van Straten to reconsider his direction by 2008.

Rise Through GT with Marc VDS

In 2009 the outfit was rebranded as Marc VDS and quickly became a development partner for Matech’s Ford GT1, earning a slot in the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010. The team’s first notable victory came in the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro Cup in 2013, with Yelmer Buurman, Bas Leinders and Maxime Martin sharing the accolades. The following year Marc VDS claimed outright victory at the 24 Hours of Spa, a triumph still quoted by BMW fans today. Regulatory changes introduced by SRO forced teams to commit to a full season for Spa eligibility, and van Straten balked at both the financial strain and a perceived mismanagement of his funds, pulling the plug on the sportscar program in October 2015.

Moto2 Dynasty and Unexpected Wins

Even before the GT era, van Straten had merged forces with Michael Bartholemy and Didier de Radiguès to enter Moto2 in 2010, fielding riders such as Scott Redding and Héctor Faubel on Suter chassis. The spec‑engine class levels the playing field, so success hinged on chassis development and team execution—areas where Marc VDS excelled. Tito Rabat captured the 2014 title, followed by Franco Morbidelli in 2017 and Álex Márquez in 2019, a remarkable haul of three world championships in a single decade. The team also ventured into MotoGP from 2015 to 2018, producing a rare non‑factory win when Jack Miller triumphed in the rain‑soaked 2016 Dutch TT at Assen.

Boutsen VDS and the GT3 Comeback

At the close of 2023, Marc VDS partnered with Boutsen Racing—run by Olivier Lainé and Olivia Boutsen, sister of former F1 driver Thierry Boutsen—to form Boutsen VDS, reviving the Marc VDS brand in GT World Challenge Europe with a Mercedes‑AMG GT3 for 2024. The new outfit quickly made its mark, securing a Silver Cup double in endurance and sprint races that same year and capturing the overall Silver Cup title in 2025. After switching to the Porsche 911 GT3 R for 2026, the team earned an eighth‑place finish at Spa just weeks before van Straten’s death, demonstrating a continuity that his original one‑man operation never achieved.

Legacy and the End of an Era

Van Straten never discarded the chequered‑flag cap that made him instantly recognizable in both the GT and Moto2 paddocks, wearing it even on his final race weekend at Spa. Over a fifty‑year career he navigated two very different racing worlds, delivering victories from the longest GT endurance event to three Moto2 world titles. His passing adds a quiet but notable chapter to a list of racing losses in 2024, a team owner whose name many fans never learned yet whose livery a large number would instantly recall. For a man who spanned decades of motorsport, that final lap with the cap aloft feels as fitting an epitaph as any trophy could be.