Klaas Zwart, 'Mr. BOSS'

Klaas Zwart’s life’s is all about speed. He’s one of the men who started the BOSS GP-series together with Marijn van Kalmthout, Henk de Boer and Frits van Eerd. Zwart is also the man behind the Ascari Benetton B197 F1, the car that was developed based on the Benetton Formula 1 car from 1997. Furthermore, Zwart is the creator of the Ascari KZ1 sports car, the car that won the GT3-class in the British GT championship last year. Additionally, he’s the man behind the Ascari Race Resort in Spain.



Zwart made his racing debut at the age of 39 and is thoroughly enjoying his life as a driver. “I want to continue racing this kind of cars at least until I turn 75. This is without a doubt the biggest kick there is.”

Klaas Zwart still remembers his debut in the car racing industry like it was yesterday. “I drove a Ferrari 308 at the circuit of Zandvoort in a race in the Ferrari Challenge. I clocked the 28th time in a field of 28 drivers during the qualification. I then won 24 places in the first lap of the race.”

Zwart was also involved in a crash at the Circuit Park Zandvoort that got its fair share of attention around the globe. “I started a race in third position in my Ferrari 308 and I immediately tried to get past Ferrari-importer Frits Kroymans. Frits didn’t see me though, resulting in a huge crash. Three F40’s and two Porsches were involved in the crash and it was the most expensive accident in the history of Circuit Park Zandvoort.”
Footage of that crash literally went around the world.

Four-time champion
Zwart has now been active in the BOSS-series for twelve years. “I started with a Formula 3000 and I won my first race in my class. I drove a Footwork Formule 1 from 1992 the following year and the second race in this car resulted in a victory.”

He won four championships in the following years. He could have won more titles though. “I threw away a number of championships due to my absence in several races throughout those seasons,” reflected Zwart.

Zwart is the man behind the creation of the Ascari Benetton B197 F1. Four Benetton Formula 1 cars from 1997 were taken apart in order to be rebuilt into the Ascari Benetton. “We have made several parts of the original Benetton more robust and reliable,” explained Zwart the idea behind the changes. Ascari replaced the Renault V10 by a 735 hp Judd 4.0 liter V10. “The new engine is 80 kilos heavier than the original one, but is much more reliable.”

One of the Ascari Benetton B197 F1s is currently located in the USA, the remaining three all compete in the BOSS GP-series. Zwart is the owner of two cars and has sold the third car to Marijn van Kalmthout. “Marijn got the chance to pick which one of the three he wanted.”