Cor Euser: 'The old guys are still capable of hitting the gas.'

In 2009, Cor Euser already competed in the Big Open Single Seaters once. After that magnificent experience at Spa-Francorchamps, the veteran driver has returned to the grid of the BOSS GP-series this year. “This really is an amazing playground for old guys,” jokes the 53-year-old.

Give Cor Euser a vehicle with four wheels and there’s no doubt about it that he will go fast. He raced in a Formula Ford and in his illustrious Marcos this season, which is his 30th year of racing. Euser stepped behind the steering wheel of a G-Force Indycar during the Masters of Formula 3 weekend at Circuit Park Zandvoort. The driver from Brabant always puts the pedal to the metal and that’s exactly what he did this time around. He finished in fourth position twice in a field of eighteen drivers and was the fastest driver of all the racers who were not driving in a Formula 1 car.

Cheap racing
Being the son of a butcher, Cor Euser didn’t exactly stem from a rich family. There was no money available to race. Therefore, the young Cor had to find a low budget way to realize his car racing dream. He bought four-wheelers back then at a maximum price of 250 Dutch guilders and sawed off all the parts that he didn’t need. Euser then got hold of a roll cage and had his desired racing car. “That was the perfect way to learn how to keep a car under control,” was Euser quoted as saying.

Discovery
Euser’s racing qualities were discovered during a racing course in the winter of 1979/’80. He was then immediately included in the Marlboro Racing Team Holland. His team-mates in those days were Huub Rothengatter, who made it into the Formula 1 Grand Prix’ later on, and Arie Luyendijk, who became a legend in the car racing industry by winning the Indy 500 twice.

Indy Cars
Cor Euser competed with some of the greatest out there during his best years. He locked horns with drivers such as Ayrton Senna, Jean Alesi and Mauricio Gugelmin in the Formula Ford 2000, drivers who all made it into the Formula 1 Grand Prix’ later on. Going that far was also Euser’s personal ambition, but he never managed to achieve that goal. “I did drive Indy Cars in 1991 though. That was with Tony Bettenhausen’s team. It went really well, as I finished in tenth position in my first race ever in that class. Someone like Arie Luyendijk, who had already gained valuable experience the previous year, finished only one spot ahead of me. Unfortunately, my agent from back then pulled a fast one on me and my adventure in the Indy Cars came to an abrupt halt. That was a real shame.”