Carlo van Dam (born 27 February 1986 in

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

) is a Dutch racing driver. He is currently a factory driver for Subaru and he is the reserve and tear driver for

R&D Sport R&D Sport is a Japanese racing team currently competing in the Super GT series. Racing history R&D Sport was created in 1991 as a race car management, maintenance, and manufacturing company and expanded to JGTC, racing under the company's own n ...

in the Super GT Series while driving for

Subaru Tecnica International Subaru Tecnica International (in ja, スバルテクニカインターナショナル株式会社, Subaru Tekunika Intānashonaru Kabushiki-gaisha), or STI (prior to 2006, STi), is Subaru Corporation's motorsports division. STI, along with Prodri ...

in the

24 Hours of Nürburgring 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest co ...

and the Nürburgring Endurance Series.

Career

Formula Renault

A veteran of karting, and a former member of the Renault Driver Development programme, van Dam stepped up into single-seaters in 2004, competing mainly in the Dutch Formula Renault series. In his debut season, he achieved three pole positions and three fastest laps, on his way to fifth in the championship. He also competed in four

German Formula Renault The Formula Renault Northern European Cup (formerly Formula Renault 2.0 NEC) was a Formula Renault, Formula Renault 2.0 championship originally held in Northern Europe (Germany, Netherlands and Belgium), but has expanded over the years to the whol ...

races, amassing eighteen points in total. He continued in the Dutch series in 2005, and also moved up to the pan-European championship with SG Formula. With most of his focus on the European series, van Dam finished on the podium four times on his way to fourth in the championship. He ended up seventh in the Dutch series, despite only competing in six races. 2006 saw a second season of European Formula Renault for van Dam, and he added a campaign in the French series, again with SG Formula. Despite only winning one of the first twelve races, van Dam trailed Chris van der Drift by just two points in the Eurocup standings, going into the final round in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

. However, both drivers were overtaken by Filipe Albuquerque as the Portuguese driver won both races to clinch the title. Van Dam was fourteenth overall in the French series, competing in just six of the races due to his Eurocup campaign.

Formula Three

Van Dam moved up to

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One dr ...

for 2007, competing for Van Amersfoort Racing in the

ATS Formel 3 Cup The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship to ...

. He was a runaway winner of the championship, clinching the title with a round to spare at the

Sachsenring The Sachsenring () is a motorsport racing circuit located in Hohenstein-Ernstthal near Chemnitz in Saxony, Germany. Among other events, it features the annual German motorcycle Grand Prix of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champions ...

, amassing sixteen podiums from the eighteen races. He also became the youngest championship winner in its history, however this has since been surpassed by Laurens Vanthoor, who won the 2009 championship. Van Dam also tested a

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccl ...

car at the end of the season, as a result of winning the title. He also made appearances in the Formula Three Euroseries for RC Motorsport, at the final round at Hockenheim, and the Renault Eurocup for Racing for Belgium. He made his first trip to

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

for the world-famous

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prémio de Macau; ) is a motorsport road race for automobiles and motorcycles held annually in Macau. It is the only street circuit racing event in which both cars and motorcycles participate, and one of onl ...

, but failed to finish the race for HBR Motorsport.

Move to Japan

After failing to find a suitable drive in Europe, van Dam followed the lead of

James Courtney James Anthony Courtney (born 29 June 1980) is an Australian racing driver competing in the Repco Supercars Championship. He currently drives the No. 5 Ford Mustang GT for Tickford Racing. Courtney won the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series ...

Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007– 2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also ...

and

Oliver Jarvis Oliver Jarvis (born 9 January 1984) is a British professional racing driver currently racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Mazda Team Joest. Jarvis won the 2022 24 Hours of Daytona with Meyer Shank Racing. Early life ...

and moved to Japan to compete in the

All-Japan Formula Three was a national motor racing championship that takes place in Japan. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. As a result of Formula 3 naming regulations by the FIA, on 13 August 2019, series p ...

series, with the

TOM'S is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT, Super Formula and Super Fo ...

team. He dominated the series, winning nine of the eighteen races, finishing every race on the podium en route to a 103-point winning margin over teammate

Keisuke Kunimoto is a Japanese/ Zainichi Korean race car driver who races with Japanese racing license. His mother is Japanese. His father, Yoshihiro Ri, also known as Yoshihiro Kunimoto, is the 1983 All Japan Karting Champion and his uncle, Yoshihiko Ri, won ...

. TOM's also won the teams title, winning the championship by 187 points. Van Dam also made three appearances in the

Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing, grand touring car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as either the JGTC or the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, the series was renamed to Super ...

series, competing in the GT500 class at the

Suzuka 1000km The Suzuka Summer Endurance Race is an annual motorsport event for sports cars that has been held at the Suzuka International Racing Course, Mie Prefecture, Japan since 1966, and the oldest automobile endurance race in Japan. From 1966 to 2017, ...

, and in the GT300 class at

Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ordered 30 Bui ...

and

Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and na ...

. At Suzuka, he ended up third overall, teaming up with TOM'S regular Super GT drivers Juichi Wakisaka and

André Lotterer André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team ...

. In GT300, van Dam replaced Cusco Racing's Kota Sasaki, and ended up with results of sixth at Autopolis, and third at Fuji. At the conclusion of the season, van Dam headed to the

with TOM's, and took a surprise pole for the team for the qualification race, heading Kunimoto in a TOM's 1-2. A disappointing qualification race saw van Dam retire on the first lap, having suffered a puncture at Mandarin Bend and then collided with fellow Dutchman Renger van der Zande at San Francisco. He retired on lap seven of the Grand Prix, that was eventually won by teammate Kunimoto.

Return to Europe

A return to the Formula Three Euroseries beckoned for van Dam, with a 2009 campaign for Kolles & Heinz Union, the new team set up by Colin Kolles and Werner Heinz. However, the partnership was not to last, as after the rounds at Lausitz, van Dam parted company with the team. In four races, his best finish was eighteenth during the season-opening race at Hockenheim. Van Dam drove in the 24-hour endurance races at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

and at

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

, before agreeing to drive the car of

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; en, Philips Sports Association ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional football department, wh ...

in the Superleague Formula series. He replaced Dominick Muermans in the car, with the team lying eighteenth in the overall standings. However, he returned to the Euroseries, for the

rounds, rejoining his former team SG Formula.

Racing record

Career summary

† - Team standings.

Superleague Formula record

( key)

2009

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

2009 Super Final Results

*Super Final results in 2009 did not count for points towards the main championship.

Complete Super GT results

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results

References

External links

Official website

Career statistics from Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dam, Carlo van 1986 births Living people Dutch racing drivers People from Vlaardingen Superleague Formula drivers Formula 3 Euro Series drivers Japanese Formula 3 Championship drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers French Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Dutch Formula Renault 2.0 drivers German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Super GT drivers Karting World Championship drivers Eurocup Mégane Trophy drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers Sportspeople from South Holland Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers TOM'S drivers RC Motorsport drivers Van Amersfoort Racing drivers SG Formula drivers Kolles Racing drivers Larbre Compétition drivers