Frédéric Vervisch ( ; born 10 August 1986 in

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and large ...

) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

racing driver who currently races in the

GT World Challenge Europe GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's GT ...

Career

Early career

A winner of numerous karting championships, Vervisch moved to

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

in 2003 making a single start in the Formula Three French Cup and immediately won upon his debut. Following that initial success, he participated in the entire 2004 Formula Three French Cup championship and finished runner-up.

Formula Renault

In 2005 Vervisch moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 series, participating with GD Racing in 4 rounds with a best result of 12th in

Zolder The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium. History Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, ...

in a race won by

Robert Kubica Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...

. The season ended after round 4 in Le Mans when it became clear that his sponsor Kizz-Me was not fulfilling its financial obligations, a fraud that the same company committed again against a WRC driver and his team in 2006. In 2006 the 19-year-old Vervisch took a step back and competed full-time in

Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup 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 ...

with SL Formula Racing, finishing 9th in points and scoring a season-best 5th place at the Anderstorp round.

Formula Three

In 2007 Vervisch graduated to F3 and raced with JB Motorsport in the German F3 Championship. He made a remarkable debut and finished runner-up to Carlo van Dam with 4 race wins and 11 podium finishes. That winter, lured by the F1 test with Force India as prize for the champion, Vervisch participated with Team Goddard in the Asian F3 Championship with only one goal: winning the championship. He did so while scoring an overwhelming 11 race wins on circuits such as Sepang and

Zhuhai Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pear ...

. However, due to changes in F1 testing rules, the F1 test drive with Force India could not take place. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Vervisch returned to the German F3 Championship, this time with Swiss Racing Team. Again, the goal was clear and simple: winning the championship. Halfway the season Vervisch switched to

Jo Zeller Racing Jo Zeller Racing is a Swiss motor racing team. It was founded in the early 1990s by Jo Zeller. Currently Jo Zeller Racing competes in the Remus F3 Cup. Jo Zeller always focussed on regional and continental championships in Germany and Europe. ...

and eventually clinched the title by winning 5 of the 6 remaining races, which brought his total season tally to 7 race wins. In 2010 Vervisch decided to go back to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and race with

RC Motorsport RC Motorsport was an auto racing team based in Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territ ...

in the Italian F3 Championship. He scored a season-best 3rd-place finish at

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical ...

but left the championship at the next round in

Mugello The Mugello is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, in Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

after having suffered 2 engine failures before even the start of the first race, and the subsequent team decision to withdraw from the race.

Atlantic Championship

In 2009 after having won the

German F3 title, Vervisch moved to the United States where he competed in the

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...

for Genoa Racing. He finished 4th in the championship standings with four podium finishes and grabbed the Rookie of the Year title.Knapp Schilke, Nancy (11 October 2009)
"Edwards takes the crown with MRLS victory"
last paragraph: "Vervisch already had notched the Rookie of the Year title earning one second place and three 3rd place finishes in 2009."

Superleague Formula

On 5 September 2010, Vervisch made his debut in Superleague Formula after receiving an invitation by Atech- Reid to drive the

Liverpool FC Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...

car at the

Adria Adria is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rovigo in the Veneto region of northern Italy, situated between the mouths of the rivers Adige and Po River, Po. The remains of the Etruria, Etruscan city of Atria or Hatria are to be found below ...

round. In the race, he overtook his teammate

Yelmer Buurman Yelmer Evert Frans Buurman (born 19 February 1987) is a Dutch professional racing driver. He was 3rd in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013, and second in the FIA GT1 Championship in 2012. Besides achieving victories in those categories, also ...

and Robert Doornbos, and secured a slot in the Super Final. Vervisch continued his successful series debut at the next round in

Portimão Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...

where he was crowned the overall weekend winner in the Super Final. He took his pace to the inaugural Superleague Formula China rounds in

Ordos Ordos may refer to: Inner Mongolia * Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, China **Ordos Ejin Horo Airport * Ordos Loop of the Yellow River, a region of China **Ordos Plateau or "the Ordos", land enclosed by Ordos Loop *Ordos Desert, in Inner Mongolia *Ordos ...

where he first suffered an engine failure in race 1 but then recovered with a victory in race 2 and in the streets of

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

where Vervisch scored a double podium finish – in race 1 and then the overall 3rd spot for the weekend.superleagueformula.com (10 October 2010
"Parente wins chaotic second race as Super Final cancelled"
, 3rd paragraph: "...with third going to Frederic Vervisch (Liverpool) who takes home €50,000, a just reward after two superb overtaking-filled performances from the Belgian." At the final round of the Superleague Formula season in

Navarra Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Vervisch didn't reach the finish line due to mechanical failures in both races.

Veranstaltergemeinschaft Langstreckenmeisterschaft Nürburgring ( VLN)

On 20-23 June 2019, Verschisch took one of the biggest victories in his career by winning the 24 hours of the Nürburgring, part of the VLN championship, driving for Phoenix Racing in the Audi R8 LMS (GT3) with teammates

Dries Vanthoor Dries Vanthoor (born 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder) is a racing driver from Belgium. He currently competes in the GT World Challenge Europe and ADAC GT Masters for Audi. He is the younger brother of Laurens, and was the winner of the 2018 Ba ...

(BEL),

Pierre Kaffer Pierre Kaffer (born 7 November 1976 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a race car driver from Germany, currently living in Switzerland. Career In 1990, Kaffer started in Karting, moving in 1994 to Formula Ford, later Formula Ope ...

(CH) and

Frank Stippler Frank Stippler (born 9 April 1975) is a German professional racing driver. He has competed in such series as Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Rolex Sports Car Series and the Swedish Touring Car Championship. He won both the Porsche Supercup and P ...

(DEU).

Racing record

Career summary

^‡ Team standings ^† As Vervisch was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. ^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

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

Atlantic Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) † Vervisch finished the season as Rookie of the Year

Superleague Formula results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) NOTE – R2 starts
with reverse grid
S = Super Final † The Super Final at the Beijing round was cancelled but Vervisch was classified as 3rd overall

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results

Complete TCR International Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete World Touring Car Cup results

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

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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

Complete TCR Europe Touring Car Series results

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

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vervisch, Frederic 1986 births Living people Belgian racing drivers Formula Renault 2.0 NEC drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Asian Formula Three Championship drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Formula 3 Euro Series drivers Atlantic Championship drivers Italian Formula Three Championship drivers World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers Blancpain Endurance Series drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers Stock Car Brasil drivers Sportspeople from Kortrijk Superleague Formula drivers 24 Hours of Daytona drivers 24H Series drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers European Le Mans Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers TCR International Series drivers World Touring Car Cup drivers Audi Sport drivers Jo Zeller Racing drivers RC Motorsport drivers W Racing Team drivers ISR Racing drivers AF Corse drivers Phoenix Racing drivers Mücke Motorsport drivers Eurasia Motorsport drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers Chinese F4 Championship drivers Saintéloc Racing drivers Comtoyou Racing drivers Boutsen Ginion Racing drivers