Jeroen Bleekemolen – Facebook

Для наших возможных англоязычных читателей мы подготовили оригинальную версию интервью с Йеруном Блекемоленом.

For possible English readers and especially for Jeroen Bleekemolen we made an english version of interview with him.

At the beginning of the year you competed in three endurance races: 24H Dubai, Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hour of Bathurst. What the main differences between them?

They are all very nice races. Daytona is definitely one of the classic Endurance races in the world. It has a big history and it’s very special of course to drive on the banking of the speedway. 24h Dubai has grown into one of the bigger GT3 races and I love going there. It’s traditionally my first race of the year and I have managed to win two times overall. It has more then 90 cars competing in the race so the traffic is just brutal. Bathurst is one of the most challenging tracks in the world. Very fast, blond corners with walls. You won’t get away with mistakes. This year the race was very touch with a lot of accidents and therefore also a lot of safety cars. It was great to win in Pro-Am and finish 3rd overall.

This year you continues to racing at IMSA with Riley prepared Mercedes AMG GT3. What other racing programmes you have this year?

Beside 24h Le Mans and Dubai I will also race in the Pirelli World Challenge and the Intercontinental GT Challenge with Black Swan Racing. And I will compete in the 24 hours of Nürburgring too.

Whats the main differences between american and european racing?

The atmosphere is very different. I love the old school tracks in America and the show they make out of a racing event. But also racing in Europe is great. The level is extremely high and very professional. A combination of both is perfect!

This year you will race in 24 Hours of Le Mans behind the wheel of Risi Competizione prepared Keating Motorsport Ferrari 488 GTE. Last year for this team you competed in LMP2 category. Why Ben Keating decided to move to GTE-Am?

Ben Keating won an entry for Le Mans in GTE-Am with a good season in IMSA last year. That’s why we are going to Le Mans in this class. With a team like Risi and a good line up we should be strong.

When you will get your first taste of Ferrari 488 GTE?

At the Le Mans Test day we will drive the GTE car for the first time. We did do a short test already at Cota a few weeks ago in the 488 GT3 to get familiar with the car as they are quite close.

Can you tell about Le Mans from driver’s side? How difficult is it in driver’s terms?

Le Mans is actually not the hardest race of all the 24 hours races because you have all the long straights where you can rest a little. At the same time there is always traffic so you can’t really relax. But the stints you do in the car are long because the tires can go a long way. Sometimes you stay in the car for 3 hours, which is much longer then in other races. Apart from that all, Le Mans is one of the biggest races on the planet. You feel it when you arrive and you experience it the whole week. Very special.

You also won this race in 2008 in LMP2 category, when you driven Porsche RS Spyder alongside Peter Van Merksteijn and Jos Verstappen. Tell your memories from this race.

With the Porsche RS Spyder we had a great car. The team was also really strong, as well as the line up. So we knew beforehand we were our own biggest competitor. No mistakes were required and that’s what we did. We had a really good race with no issues and a great time with the whole team. I still get a big smile on my face thinking back to that race

Some says, that Jos Verstappen have a difficult nature. As man who worked with him, how you can describe him?

I had a good relationship with him as a teammate. He is straightforward and speaks out his mind. We never had any issues and I enjoyed driving with him. It was actually kind of cool, because I used to watch him race in F1 as a kid. And every now and then he would bring Max along, already winning everything in go karts at the time.

How you can describe his son — dutch superstar Max Verstappen — and when in your opinion he can fight for F1 championship title?

I hope this year but it depends on how good the Red Bull car and Renault engine are. He is amazing. The biggest talent I have seen in racing. For sure he has a great future ahead and he should be able to become one of the legends of our sport. A true racer and always fun to watch.

You also grown in racing family. Your father Michael raced in F1 and your older brother Sebastiaan also racing driver. How easier is to begin career in motorsport family?

I think the main advantage being from a racing family is you grow up with it, so you have a lot of knowledge already before you even start. The name has helped me in my first years to find sponsors. But in the end it’s a sport and results count, so in most cases after a few year you have to get good results to move up. Growing up in a racing family has been so much fun. I have raced against and together with my brother and dad. Looking back that has been really cool. We finished 2nd in the Dubai 24h together, a great memory.

You raced in DTM in 2003-2004 years with Opel factory team. Tell about this experience.

That was my first real professional contract. The year before I got my first contract to race in the Netherlands for a manufacturer in the Dutch Touring Car Championship. But this was what I was dreaming about. I was young and all my teammates were established names. I could learn a lot and from those years on I have been able to be a professional driver. DTM is very competitive, I really liked it.

You won two titles in Porsche Supercup. How this championship helped you in your further racing career?

It is a great Championship. Very hard competition and all the same cars. I loved it. And people know how hard it is to win so for sure people rate you higher after winning it twice.

You also raced in V8 Supercars. Tell about this racing series.

Really cool. The whole show is great and the racing is so close. I hope to get the chance to do more in the future. It is just so much fun to drive there. And competing in the big Bathurst 1000 or at Surfers Paradise are very special.

Had you any race or racing series, where you didn’t compete, but wanna race there?

I’m very happy with all the racing I have been able to do. Whether it’s all the big Endurance races, racing in the States, A1GP or totally different things like V8 Supercars or Brazil StockCar. I hope to be able to keep doing what I’m doing for many more years. Thanks for interview and good luck in Stock Car Brazil race!