Jeroen Bleekemolen and Arie Luyendyk jr. will defend the Dutch honour for A1 Team Netherlands in the upcoming A1GP season. For Bleekemolen it will be his third A1GP season, his second time as lead driver. The 25-year old driver from Aerdenhout is considered as one of Netherlands most complete racing drivers of the moment and despite his relative young age can boast an impressive international racing career. Bleekemolen competed in the DTM for several seasons, became the youngest ever Benelux Champion in Formula Ford at 16, competed in the German F3 Championship, the FIA GT Championship, the Le Mans Series and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Another racing talent will support Bleekemolen during the races. Arie Luyendyk jr. will do the rookie tests this season, which kicks off at Circuit Park Zandvoort on September 30, and is also the reserve driver. The 25-year old son of the two times Indianapolis 500 winner followed in his father's footsteps last year by also starting on the famous Brickyard. Before that Luyendyk jr. competed in the Indy Pro Series for a number of seasons, scoring a number of podium finishes. In 2002 he finished as runner-up in the Championship. Arie jr. also competed in Formula Ford and managed to finish on the Zandvoort podium in his very first race in the Netherlands. Luyendijk jr. also drove in the Daytona 24 Hours.
A1 Team Netherlands finished fifth in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport last season and showed that it was more than capable of going for the win, taking victory in the streets of Beijing and a number of top five finishes. With this new and strong driver line-up A1 Team Netherlands should be able to compete with the top runners for the Championship. The foundation for this will have to be laid during the home race at Circuit Park Zandvoort.
"It is always hard to make a selection," admitted Jan Lammers. "There are a lot of good Dutch drivers, but you have to disappoint most of them. The lead driver seat was easier, because Jeroen represented the Netherlands very well last season and deserves to get a shot at the title this season. The rookie seat was more difficult: Renger van der Zande, Yelmer Buurman and a number of others were serious candidates, but they are already too far in their careers to make do with the Friday seat and not yet far enough to get the most out of the lead driver seat. However, Arie jr. can capitalize on the rookie position and give his career a new boost, just like Jeroen was able to do. Apart from this all there is off course the dream scenario of indirectly dealing with Arie Sr. and Michael Bleekemolen. Young talent surrounded by a world of know-how and experience, a recipe for top results."
"This is super!" exclaimed Bleekemolen. "It is an honour to be able to compete for your country and I am very pleased that Jan really wants to continue with me after one season. This way the team shows its confidence in me and that is a good feeling. Last year I learned very much, together with the team and now we have to use this to our advantage. Last season we did win, but also dropped points. Last year I was not able to do the tests and it had been a long time since I last drove in a Formula car. Now we can prepare ourselves in a good way and create a stronger start position. We are going to test for four days and looking forward to this. During a race weekend time is scarce and you cannot make any big steps. Now we are able to try more things and lay a solid foundation this way. It is going to be a great season and the opening race at Zandvoort will be a massive spectacle. With the complete orange coloured crowd cheering, you really are extra motivated."
"I am very excited to drive for the Dutch team in A1GP!" added Luyendyk. "After following the series the last few years I can't wait to jump in the car. My father called me and asked if I wanted to do a demonstration in the A1GP car at Vudel Vol Gas last month in Veghel. I jumped at the opportunity and I had a blast at the event. There are some familiar faces working on the team that actually worked on my former Formula Ford team, Geva Racing. Jan Lammers and my Father have been friends since they raced together in Holland when they both started their careers so it will be great to work with Jan, I respect him greatly as a driver. The event was great and now my relationship has grown to be the Friday "rookie" driver. Unfortunately I did not attend any of the races last year because of my own race schedule but I followed the series on television as well as on the website. It's a very exciting championship and the Dutch team is very strong. This series is so different because every fan has a team to root for because of the unique "world cup" feeling. The schedule this year is great and I'm looking forward to driving on new tracks and seeing new places. I feel a sense of pride knowing I can represent Holland as one of their drivers. Driving the A1GP car at the demonstration was exciting. Fitting my 6'2" body into the car was a little difficult but I loved the paddle shifting and I think it will be a great car to drive on a circuit. The car seems to have the same amount of power and the same down force level of the series I raced in the United States, the Indy Pro Series. My expectations for this year is to learn the tracks, adapt to the paddle shifting and the down force level of the A1GP car. I hope to give the team great feedback and develop the car during the Friday rookie sessions."
The official team presentation of A1 Team Netherlands will be on August 9, where the new car livery will also be revealed. This is the result of the very successful design contest hosted by the team, which resulted in a staggering 1,000 design entries from all over the world.
Before the A1GP season really kicks off at Zandvoort, A1 Team Netherlands will be out on track a number of times. On August 12 the spectators at the Rizla Racing Days at the TT-circuit in Assen will be the first to see the new A1 Team Netherlands car. A week later it is Rotterdam's turn, where the team will do demo runs during Bavaria City Racing. On August 28, 29 and September 18 and 19 the official A1GP test will be held at the Silverstone circuit in the UK.
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