Renger van der Zande

Renger van der Zande (born 16 February 1986 in Dodewaard, Gelderland) is a Dutch race-car driver. He is the son of the 1978 National Dutch Rallycross Champion with VW Golf Mk1 1600, the Psychologist Ronald van der Zande. In 2016, van der Zande won his first major sports car championship with co-driver Alex Popow and Starworks Motorsport in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC Class. Renger resides in Amsterdam with his partner Carlijn and their daughter.

van der Zande in 1998 with his first go kart

Having won the 2005 Formula Renault 2000 Netherlands championship with Van Amersfoort Racing, van der Zande drove three races for the A1GP Netherlands team in the 2006–07 season. He raced for the Prema Powerteam in the Formula Three Euroseries in 2007 and 2008, and made his GP2 Series début by competing in the second round of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season for Trust Team Arden, where he replaced Mika Mäki. However, he was himself replaced by Euroseries rival Edoardo Mortara for the third round in Bahrain.

Van der Zande in 2005

Having not acquired the budget for a GP2 campaign, van der Zande moved into the British Formula 3 Championship, competing for Hitech Racing. On his debut, he won the first race at Silverstone. He returned to the Euroseries midway through the season, as Atte Mustonen had to pull out of the Oschersleben rounds due to health problems. He returned in Barcelona, again replacing Mustonen at Motopark. This was due to the fact that Daniel Ricciardo had sealed the 2009 British F3 title, before the final round. Hitech team-mate Walter Grubmüller overhauled his points tally, and finished as runner-up in the title race. After scoring a point in the first race in Barcelona, van der Zande won the second race from pole position.

In 2010, van der Zade joined RSC Mücke Motorsport for the debut season of the GP3 series, the feeder series for the GP2 Series, earning one podium finish. The Dutch driver also competed in the Windsor Arch F3 Macau Grand Prix with Team Motopark Academy, finishing 5th.

From GP3, van der Zande advancecd to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2011 with Persson Motorsport, earning a third place finish at the Munich Olympic Stadium event. From there, he continued his journey in sports cars for 2012, joining Konrad Motorsport for the first two rounds of the Porsche Supercup at Bahrain. That year, he also joined the Lotus LMP2 team in the FIAWEC for two rounds, qualifying 5th at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

The 2013 was a busy one for van der Zande. He competed in six races in the American Le Mans Series LMPC class with Mishumotors, earning one pole position and one podium. He also competed in the 16 race BRL-V6 season with Teunissen Racing, winning the championship with six race wins and four pole positions. He also competed in select events in the International GT Open with Seyffarth Motorsport in the Mercedes SLS AMG, earning two wins, one pole, and three podiums. That year, he also raced in the Macau GT Cup with Erebus Motorsport, getting as high as third before contact ended his run early.

Van der Zande expanded his racing career to America for the 2014 TUDOR United Sportscar Championship race season, joining Starworks Motorsports with Mirco Schultis. The duo earned wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Road America, and Petit Le Mans, and earned an additional four podiums. In Europe, he finished first at the 12 Hours of Zandvoort with Car Collection in the Mercedes-Benz SLS, and also competed GT Masters Nürburgring for HTP Motorsport, and the Macau GT Cup with AMG Driving Academy.

For 2015, van der Zande returned to American sports car racing with Starworks Motorsports and co-driver Mirco Scultis in the IMSA PC class. The duo finished 5th in the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship PC class after winning at Detroit and Watkins Glen. He also joined EFFORT Racing for the Pirelli World Challenge Grand Prix of Sonoma, filling in for full time driver Ryan Dalziel. van der Zande earned the Race 1 pole position and earned the win in Race 2. Near the end of the season, van der Zande participated in the 24H Barcelona Trofeu Fermi Vélez, earning the pole position in the #5 Car Collection Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

In 2016, van der Zande joined forces with Starworks Motorsport for a third year, racing with co-driver Alex Popow. After winning Detroit, Watkins Glen, Lime Rock Park and Austin, the pair earned the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship PC class championship in the final race of the season at Petit Le Mans. He also competed in the Blancpain GT Series, finishing second at Spa-Franchorchamps, and also second at the Nürburgring 24 Hour.

In November 2016, it was announced van der Zande would advance to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class for 2017 with Visit Florida Racing, and with Marc Goosens as his co-driver.

Career summary

‡ Team standings.
† – As van der Zande was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key)

† As van der Zande was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Porsche Supercup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete American Le Mans Series Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)