In 2025, Van Amersfoort Racing (VAR) mark an extraordinary milestone: 50 years in motorsport. From modest beginnings to competing on Formula 1 race weekends, the team’s journey has been shaped by resilience, opportunity, and above all, an enduring love of racing. For team owner Frits Van Amersfoort, the years have passed with remarkable speed, even though the landscape of motorsport has transformed around him.
As he looks back on the start of this journey, Van Amersfoort reflects on just how quickly time has flown.
“It’s a question that I’ve been asked often over the years,” he admitted. “It sounds weird, but it feels like yesterday that we got started. Of course, the racing world has changed a lot over the years, but the thrill of racing feels the same.”
From humble beginnings to the international stage
Those first steps into the sport required resourcefulness and determination. Every small achievement felt significant as the team found their footing in a competitive world.
“It started out with me building up our stock of equipment, then buying a small transporter, organising a small awning and I was pretty proud of it. It only had one car in it, but that’s how it started.”
Reaching the half-century is, in itself, a point of pride. Survival in racing has never been straightforward, and Van Amersfoort does not shy away from acknowledging the challenges that threatened to derail the journey along the way.
“I’m happy to keep the team alive for 50 years! That was probably the biggest hurdle. It’s not easy all of the time. We’ve had challenging years but since being back in F2 and F3, things have gone well, and I’m proud to be here.”
Racing’s changing landscape
No team lasts five decades without witnessing change, and in Van Amersfoort’s eyes, the most striking transformations have come in recent years. He recalls a time when the scale of operations was smaller, simpler, and less demanding on resources. Today’s environment, however, demands far more from every competitor.
“I think the last two decades especially things have changed. I remember even 10 years ago racing wasn’t the same as it is today. Look at things now, every team is big, they run almost every series they can, and they employ a lot of people. That’s how racing is now – the racing level has increased an incredible amount on and off the track.”
For VAR, joining the FIA Formula 2 and Formula 3 Championships was a turning point. They were not part of the inaugural seasons but have since proven themselves with race victories, pole positions, and consistent points finishes. Van Amersfoort finds these categories as rewarding as they are challenging.
“F2 and F3 are still a big challenge, especially F2. We keep learning every day and maybe in all the years we’ve been a team, it’s the best thing we’ve done. The years we had with Max were great, but in this Championship, everything that’s involved and that goes into it, it’s a different league.”
He believes the dynamic between drivers and teams underlines why these championships are so demanding.
“The driver can’t do it alone without the team, and the team can’t do it without the driver. It’s different to how it was in the past. That’s why it’s so massively interesting. The challenge for the team year after year, and the learnings, it takes so much to compete at this level.”
Experience, people, and perspective
With half a century of experience to call on, Van Amersfoort continues to bring perspective to a team that has grown into a sizeable operation. He knows the sport has become more polished and professional, yet insists that his own lessons remain relevant.
“Maybe it’s good that the old man is still there! Now with 50 years of experience, everyone can still learn things and welcome advice. I’ve learned over those years, even with all the money involved in racing nowadays, there’s still the social side.”
More than technology or finances, he stresses the importance of people. For Van Amersfoort, ensuring that his team feels supported is a responsibility he takes seriously.
“I’m still looking at the team nowadays and I want to make sure everyone is able to work at their best. Because if they’re not, I feel like it’s an attack almost – I feel responsible.”
His empathy for his staff comes from experience. Having done nearly every job in the team himself, he can relate to what his employees face on a daily basis.
“Everyone in the team, whatever they’re doing, I’ve done. Whether it’s a tyre guy, sweeping the floors at the factory, being a team manager, engineer, driving the truck, so I understand you. I understand what you need, your feelings and understand you, so I can help.”
Although he now attends fewer races in person, his emotional attachment to the team is as strong as ever.
“It’s sport, it’s people. To keep the group together and motivated, I think I can still play a role in that. Now I don’t visit all the races in a season anymore, it’s time to relax a little bit more, but I’m more nervous watching on the television than at the circuit!”
Looking back, looking forward
Milestones invite reflection, and Van Amersfoort has no shortage of memories. A recent encounter brought him right back to where it all began.
“I recently went to a friend’s birthday celebration, and he handed me an envelope of black and white pictures, and they were of me somewhere on the way to Zandvoort back in 1980 fettling with a Formula Ford car. It reminded me of how it all began.”
Still, when asked to single out the highlights, he admits the task is almost impossible. The names and victories are many, though certain moments stand apart.
“It’s very hard to say what has been the best moment over the 50 years. Of course you have the big names. We had the opportunity to sign Max for 2014, and the rest is history. Then we continued that with Charles afterwards too.”
The triumphs across multiple categories have further cemented VAR’s reputation, yet Van Amersfoort takes equal pride in the partnerships and friendships forged along the way.
“We’ve won in FRECA, F3, F2 and more. Over the years, we’ve found some good people, Rob Niessink, my partner in crime since 1988. I could show you my phone and you’ll see Rob’s number is saved above my wife! And his is the same too.”
As for the future, he expects motorsport to continue evolving, but one thing will always remain constant.
“The next 50 years – I mean racing will change a lot by then as well like it has done over the years, but the passion will be there as always.”
