| Dries Vanthoor | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Dries Vanthoor.png | ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  Belgian
| |
| Date of Birth | 20 April 1998 | |
| Experience | World Endurance Championship GT World Challenge Europe | |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Tests | 1 | |
| Début |  2024 Rookie Test
| |
| Teams |  Envision Racing
| |
Dries Vanthoor (born 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder, Limburg, Belgium) is a Belgian racing driver who worked as a test driver for Envision Racing during the 2023/24 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.[1] A World Endurance Championship driver for the factory BMW Hypercar team and multiple winner of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, Vanthoor would make his FE debut at the 2024 Rookie Test, although his day was wrecked by a powertrain failure in the #4 Envision Jaguar midway through the day.[2]
Background[]
Beginning his career following the steps of his older brother Laurens in karting, Vanthoor would graduate to single-seaters in 2015, taking part in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC, finishing sixth.[3] But, that would be as far as Vanthoor decided to follow the traditional climb up the racing ladder, with the Belgian pilot instead moving into GT racing in 2016, entering the Blancpain GT Series in both the Endurance and Sprint cups, and partnering his brother in the former.[3] Finishing eighth and eighteenth in the two series, Vanthoor would also make a winning debut at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in the Cup 5 class.[3]
GT Greatness: 2017 - 2023[]
A sophomore campaign in Blancpain would follow for Vanthoor in 2017, although the hihglight of his season would be another debut victory, this time in the LMGTE Am class of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and would end with Vanthoor being named as an Audi factory driver.[3] For 2018 Vanthoor would open his account with a maiden victory at the Bathurst 12 Hours, before his Blancpain was improved to fourth in the Sprint Series, while also claiming his maiden victory in the Endurance series, alongside a maiden campaign in the ADAC GT Masters.[3] It was a repeat campaign again for Vanthoor in 2019 as he raced in Blancpain and ADAC GT Masters again, with Vanthoor's biggest triumph coming in the form of an overall win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.[3]
2020 saw Vanthoor finally claim a major title, wiht the Beligan ace claiming two victories en-route to the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, although there would be no repeats of his former triumphs in the big races of the season as COVID-19 disrupted the calendars.[3] The following season saw Vanthoor successfully defend his Sprint Cup crown, twinned witha third place finish in the Endurance Cup, a feat he would repeat in 2022 alongside a second outright Nürburgring victory and a debut in LMP2.[3] 2023 saw Vanthoor's reign as Sprint Cup champ come to an end as he slipped to third in the Championship, although he would make his debut in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, having been signed by BMW to join their factory programme for the season.[3]
BMW Boost: 2024 - Present[]
For 2024 Vanthoor was moved into BMW's new factory World Endurance Championship programme in the Hypercar class, although as it was the car's first season it proved to be a tricky campaign despite claiming a first podium for the Bavarian marque.[3] Vanthoor would also claim second in the Intercontinental GT Challenge and GT World Challenge Sprint Cup series' as well, while also racing for BMW in their IMSA debut.[3]
Formula E History[]
Vanthoor was signed up to drive for Envision Racing ahead of the 2024 Rookie Test, which mark his first drive in an ABB FIA Formula E World Championship car in what would be the only in-season test for the 2023/24.[1] Partnering Alice Powell, the Belgian ace would focus on race runs in the morning, before an issue on the #4 Envision Jaguar hit trouble in the afternoon, meaning Vanthoor would not return to the track after the lunch break.[2]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Dries Vanthoor's career in Formula E in statistical form:
| Dries Vanthoor's Formula E Test Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Role |
| 2023/24 | Envision Racing[1]
|
4 | Jaguar I-Type 6 | Test Driver |
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 'Powell and Vanthoor set for Formula E Rookie Test with Envision', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 01/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/496932, (Accessed 21/09/2024)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 'Shwartzman doubles up in the DS to top Rookie Test afternoon running in Berlin', fiaformulae.com, (FIA Formula E, 13/05/2024), https://fiaformulae.com/en/news/498550, (Accessed 23/09/2024)
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 'Dries Vanthoor', driverdb.com, (The Race Media, 2025), https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/dries-vanthoor, (Accessed 29/04/2025)