Hannes van Asseldonk

Hannes van Asseldonk

Van Asseldonk in 2011.
Nationality Netherlands Dutch
Born 10 January 1992
Boekel (Netherlands)
British Formula Three Championship career
Debut season 2011
Current team Fortec Motorsports
Car no. 23
Former teams Van Amersfoort Racing
Starts 8
Wins 0
Poles 0
Fastest laps 2
Best finish NC in 2011
Previous series
2012
2011
2011
2011
2010
2010
2010		 Toyota Racing Series
FIA Formula 3 International Trophy
German Formula Three Championship
Austria Formel 3 Cup
Formula Abarth
Formula BMW Europe
Formula BMW Pacific

Hannes van Asseldonk (born 10 January 1992) is a Dutch racing driver, currently driving in the British Formula Three Championship for Fortec Motorsports.[1]

Career

Karting and junior formulae

Born in Boekel, Netherlands as the only son of five children to Peter and Dianne van Asseldonk,[2][3] Hannes van Asseldonk tested a kart for the first time towards the end of the 2006 season, before electing to compete in Junior Rotax Max in 2007. Van Asseldonk finished in fourth place in the Dutch KNAF Championship, while also placing tenth in the Chrono Dutch Rotax Max Challenge. He also finished 38th in the pan-European Rotax Max Challenge. Van Asseldonk remained in Rotax Max karts for 2008, moving up to the senior level of competition, and finished the season as champion of the Benelux Karting Series, finishing seven points clear of closest rival Bastian Hummel.[4] As well as this, van Asseldonk finished third in the Dutch Kart-2-Car Challenge and fourth in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals. Van Asseldonk moved into KZ2 karts with AVG Racing in 2009, with his best result in competition being a fifth place in the Chrono Winter Cup; he also finished inside the final top ten placings of the German Kart Championship, utilising shifter karts.[5] He also contested the CIK-FIA World Cup for KZ1 karts with AVG Racing,[6] but could only finish in 55th position.

Van Asseldonk graduated into single-seaters at the start of the 2010 season, moving into Formula BMW. He made his début at the level in the Pacific series with Motaworld Racing, taking part in the season-opening round at Sepang as a guest driver.[7] This was a precursor to his main campaign in the pan-European championship later in the year, competing for the Josef Kaufmann Racing team alongside Robin Frijns and Petri Suvanto.[8] Van Asseldonk had a tough first half of the season, taking only one top-five finish in four meetings; a fifth place finish at Zandvoort during the Masters of Formula 3-support event.[9] The first of two late-season podiums came at Hockenheim for van Asseldonk, as he finished in third place behind Frijns and Jack Harvey; the first time that two Dutch drivers had featured on the podium, while it was van Asseldonk's first victory in the Rookie Cup for first-season drivers.[10] He took another third place at the final meeting of the year – and, ultimately the series – at Monza,[11] with Frijns winning the race again ahead of Côme Ledogar. He ultimately finished seventh in the Drivers' Championship, and second to Carlos Sainz Jr. in the Rookie Cup.

Upon the conclusion of the Formula BMW season, van Asseldonk moved into another series; he joined the Prema Junior team in the newly renamed Formula Abarth championship, for the final three races of the 2010 season.[12] He joined the series at Vallelunga, and qualified fourth for his opening race. Van Asseldonk hit form in the series straight away, and ultimately took the first victory of his career,[13][14] ahead of drivers who had taken part in the full season up to that point; he followed this up with a fifth place in the reverse-grid second race, having failed to advance up the order, after starting in the same position. Van Asseldonk continued his form to the next event at Mugello; he claimed pole position for the weekend's first race by almost 0.3 seconds ahead of closest rival Patric Niederhauser.[15] He repeated his Vallelunga results at the event; he won the opening race after leading from start to finish,[16] and backed that up with a fifth place finish in the reverse-grid race. He closed the season out with another win, at Monza, en route to finishing sixth in the championship despite only contesting three rounds.

Formula Three

Van Asseldonk had been scheduled to make his Formula Three race début with Prema Powerteam at the non-championship 2010 Korea Super Prix,[17] but due to a legal technicality with the Korea International Circuit, the circuit hosting the race weekend, the event was cancelled.[18] He moved into the German Formula Three Championship for the 2011 season, signing for three-time series champions Van Amersfoort Racing.[19] He was joined as part of a three-car team by fellow Dutch driver Jeroen Mul and New Zealand's Richie Stanaway.

At the first meeting of the season at Oschersleben, van Asseldonk qualified on pole position for the weekend's second race, but could only finish in the final points-paying position of eighth after a poor getaway.[20] Indeed, it was not until the fifth meeting of the year that van Asseldonk finished on the podium in a race; he finished third in the second race at Zolder,[21] commencing a run of five third places in six races. He achieved another pole position later in the season at Assen,[22] as well as achieving the fastest lap of that particular race. He ultimately finished the season in fifth place in the Drivers' Championship, losing out to fourth-placed Alon Day,[23] by just one point in the standings. Van Asseldonk also contested the Spa round of the British Formula Three Championship – counting towards the FIA Formula 3 International Trophy standings – with Van Amersfoort,[24] taking a best result of fourth place in the second race, as well as recording the fastest lap.[25] He claimed a win and a second place during a one-off appearance in the Austria Formel 3 Cup at Hockenheim – sharing the victories with Sandro Zeller[26] – and also finished fifth for Hitech Racing[27] on his début at the Macau Grand Prix, finishing as the top rookie driver in the race.[28][29]

Following on from his Macau performance, van Asseldonk signed to compete in the Toyota Racing Series with Giles Motorsport,[30] for the 2012 championship held in January and February. Van Asseldonk made an immediate impact on the series, taking two victories at the opening meeting at Teretonga.[31] After failing to take a podium at the second meeting at Timaru, van Asseldonk finished in third place in the opening race of the third weekend at Taupo, before winning the final race of the weekend.[32] Although he failed to win another race during the season, he finished four of the remaining six races of the season – at Hampton Downs and Manfeild – on the podium, including three second places, to secure himself second place in the Drivers' Championship, although 176 points in arrears of the champion, team-mate Nick Cassidy.[33] Upon his return from New Zealand, van Asseldonk signed a contract with Fortec Motorsports to contest the British Formula Three Championship in 2012.[34] He currently lies ninth in the Drivers' Championship after the first two meetings of the season; his best race result so far is a fourth place finish at Monza.[35]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2010 Formula BMW Europe Josef Kaufmann Racing 16 0 0 1 2 174 7th
Formula BMW Pacific Motaworld Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
Formula Abarth Prema Junior 6 3 1 1 3 76 6th
2011 FIA Formula 3 International Trophy Van Amersfoort Racing 4 0 0 0 0 0 NC†
Hitech Racing
German Formula Three Championship Van Amersfoort Racing 18 0 2 1 5 61 5th
British Formula Three Championship 3 0 0 1 0 0 NC†
Austria Formel 3 Cup 2 1 2 2 2 35 10th
Macau Grand Prix Hitech Racing 1 0 0 0 0 N/A 5th
2012 Toyota Racing Series Giles Motorsport 15 3 2 3 7 738 2nd
British Formula Three Championship Fortec Motorsports 28 0 0 3 1 132 9th

† As van Asseldonk was a guest driver he was ineligible to score points.

References

  1. ↑ "Van Asseldonk joins Fortec for British F3". British Formula Three Championship (Stéphane Ratel Organisation). 1 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Kaligis, Bas (17 October 2008). "Hannes van Asseldonk in de hoogste versnelling bij AVG Racing" [Hannes van Asseldonk in top gear at AVG Racing]. RaceXpress.nl (in Dutch) (RaceXpress). Retrieved 17 April 2012. Vader Peter van Asseldonk legt uit hoe de beslissing tot stand is gekomen. [Father Peter van Asseldonk explains how the decision has been reached.]
  3. ↑ "Stamboom familie van Asseldonk" [Family tree of van Asseldonk family]. van-asseldonk.nl (in Dutch). Peter van Asseldonk. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  4. ↑ "Splendid conclusion" (PDF). BNL Karting Series. Genker Kart Vereniging V.Z.W.; Vroom International. 6 July 2008. p. 2. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Hameed, Nasir (29 May 2010). "Podcast number 430 Saturday Edition. The Josef Kaufmann Racing Special.". F1 Weekly (Grand Prix Weekly). Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "2009 CIK-FIA World Cup (Sarno): KZ1 – Liste des inscrits / Entry list". Docstoc. DocStore. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Kemp, Nikki (3 April 2010). "Brilliant Richard Bradley in lights-to-flag victory". AutoMobilSport (MaP). Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Formula BMW Europe Season 2010". jk-racing.de (Josef Kaufmann Racing). 26 January 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  9. ↑ "Van Asseldonk vijfde in Formule BMW op Zandvoort" [Van Asseldonk fifth in Formula BMW at Zandvoort]. Brabants Dagblad (in Dutch) (Wegener). 6 June 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "F. BMW, Hockenheim: Race 2 results". GravitySportManagement.com (Gravity Sport Management). 25 July 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Formula BMW Europe – Races 15 + 16 – Monza". jk-racing.de (Josef Kaufmann Racing). 12 September 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  12. ↑ "PREMA and Hannes van Asseldonk together in the Formula ACI-CSAI Abarth". premapowerteam.com (Prema Powerteam). 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  13. ↑ Hameed, Nasir (29 May 2010). "Podcast number 430 Saturday Edition. The Josef Kaufmann Racing Special.". F1 Weekly (Grand Prix Weekly). Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Marciello and Maisano: two friends fighting for the title". Ferrari Driver Academy (Scuderia Ferrari). 25 September 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  15. ↑ Caruccio, Antonio (9 October 2010). "Mugello, qualifica: Van Asseldonk pole" [Mugello, qualifying: Van Asseldonk pole]. ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian) (Inpagina). Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  16. ↑ "Mugello: an uphill struggle for Marciello and Maisano". Ferrari Driver Academy (Scuderia Ferrari). 9 October 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  17. ↑ "Van Asseldonk in Corea con Prema: La lista degli iscritti della prova di Yeongam" [Van Asseldonk in Korea with Prema: The list of drivers of the Yeongam event]. ItaliaRacing.net (in Italian) (Inpagina). 28 October 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  18. ↑ "Returning Korea F3 Superprix cancelled". GPUpdate.net (GPUpdate). 3 November 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  19. ↑ "Van Asseldonk to race for Van Amersfoort". German Formula Three Championship (Formel-3-Vereinigung e.V.). 3 February 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  20. ↑ "Stanaway feiert Doppelsieg in Oschersleben" [Stanaway celebrates double victory at Oschersleben]. Motorsport-Total.com (in German) (Motorsport-Total.com GmbH). 25 April 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  21. ↑ "Van Asseldonk tevreden na podium in Zolder" [Van Asseldonk satisfied after podium in Zolder]. Autosport.nu (in Dutch) (FireMultimedia). 13 June 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  22. ↑ "Champion Richie seals title". GravitySportManagement.com (Gravity Sport Management). 17 September 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  23. ↑ "Brilliant season finale". German Formula Three Championship (Formel-3-Vereinigung e.V.). 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012. The only battle that was taken down to the final race weekend was the one between Alon Day and Hannes van Asseldonk for fourth position. In the end, the Israeli got the upper hand.
  24. ↑ Carter, Nick (25 July 2011). "Bumper field and live TV for British Formula 3 at Spa". British Formula Three Championship (Stéphane Ratel Organisation). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  25. ↑ Carter, Nick (29 July 2011). "Magnussen claims win number 4 at Spa". British Formula Three Championship (Stéphane Ratel Organisation). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  26. ↑ Schindler, Rolf (10 July 2011). "Austria Formel 3 Cup-Hockenheim" [Austria Formula 3 Cup-Hockenheim]. Austria Formel 3 Cup (in German) (Franz Wöss). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  27. ↑ "Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix Provisional Entry List". macau.grandprix.gov.mo. Macau Grand Prix. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  28. ↑ "Van Asseldonk snelste rookie in Macau" [Van Asseldonk quickest rookie in Macau]. Autosport.nu (in Dutch) (FireMultimedia). 24 November 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  29. ↑ Waite, Lynne; Thomas, Stella-Maria (20 November 2011). "Spaniard Juncadella takes surprise Macau GP win". Motorsport.com (GMM). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  30. ↑ "Record international TRS entry". Toyota Racing Series (Toyota Racing Management). 15 December 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  31. ↑ "Leitch heads to Timaru with Toyota Racing Series lead". Toyota Racing Series (Toyota Racing Management). 19 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  32. ↑ "Cassidy wins one race to retain Toyota Racing Series lead". Toyota Racing Series (Toyota Racing Management). 29 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  33. ↑ "Cassidy's dream day ends with Grand Prix win". Toyota Racing Series (Toyota Racing Management). 13 February 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  34. ↑ "Van Asseldonk moves to British F3". GPUpdate.net (GPUpdate). 1 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  35. ↑ Carter, Nick (14 April 2012). "Saintly Sainz slithers his way to victory & series lead at Monza". British Formula Three Championship (Stéphane Ratel Organisation). Retrieved 17 April 2012.

External links