Peter Versluis: "You have to get used to racing with downforce, but it's a huge thrill"

Real racing family
Peter Versluis stems from a real racing family. During the Masters of Formula 3 weekend, the names of Piet and Jan Versluis were to be seen on cars in another racing class. “Those are my father and my brother. Auto racing runs through our veins. They race in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, just like I do.”



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Peter’s roots lie in the car- and rallycross. “I’ve been doing that for about twenty years and I still enjoy doing it,” reveals the 36-year-old driver. “I was introduced to racing on a circuit in 2008 via a number of friends and I immediately loved it. I’m currently driving in the Dutch Supercars for the third season. And yeah, I’ve also raced in Cor Euser’s beautiful Marcos. I currently drive a Ferrari F430 GT 2 for the Mad & Daring Team and I’m the leader in the overall standings of the fastest racing class, the GT division.”



Think big
It really isn’t that strange that Peter Versluis drives around in an impressive racing car such as the G-Force Indycar during the Masters of Formula 3 at Circuit Park Zandvoort. Thinking big is completely normal within the family, because everything is huge at family company VeKa Shipbuilding, located in the Biesboschhaven of Werkendam. “We build tankers, luxury yachts and other big ships up till 20.000 tonnes. We produce about sixty to seventy ships per year. That’s quite a lot, but we have twelve branches worldwide. We have branches in Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, China and Romania.”



Getting to know the car
Driving an extremely fast car such as the G-Force is something completely different than racing during a rallycross or competing in a relatively fast car like the Ferrari in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. That’s something Peter Versluis was confronted with during the qualification of the BOSS GP-series at Circuit Park Zandvoort. His adventure came to an end even before he had completed his first lap. “I drove in this car for the first time only one day ahead of the qualification. I took it easy back then in order to get to know the car a bit and to get used to everything. I wanted to increase the speed a bit today. However, I hit the gas a little bit too early in the curve after the Scheivlak and that cost me,” explained Peter Versluis.



Not giving up after a setback
Versluis didn’t give up that easy though and continued to give it his all. “My weekend will be successful if I make it to the finish-line in both races and record a top ten finish in one of the races,” revealed Versluis. Peter showcased his progression in both races by racing around at the illustrious Dutch circuit faster and faster. In the end, he finished in 11th position once and in 9th position in the other race, thus living up to his own ambitions. “I got used to racing in a car with downforce more and more. You have to be confident that it’s really possible to hit the gas in a car like this. I failed to do so in the beginning, but it’s all about pushing the pedal to the floor in these kinds of cars.”

Racing with guidance
Whether there will be a follow up on Peter’s adventure in the BOSS GP-series? “I’ve already had a word with ‘Mister Boss’ Klaas Zwart. I might decide to visit him at his private circuit in Spain to get some racing action. It’s simply amazing that you can rent one of his Formula 1 cars there and get some guidance with it.” Smiling: “So maybe you’ll see me driving around in a Formula 1 car one day.”