Thomas ten Brinke has ended his motorsport career with immediate effect. The 16-year-old Ten Brinke joined the TeamNL selection at the beginning of this year, but has now indicated that he no longer enjoys the sport and is therefore quitting with immediate effect. While the KNAF and TeamNL regret the decision as the talented Ten Brinke seemed to have a great career in motorsport ahead of him, they admire the courage to make this difficult but brave choice at such a young age.
Thomas ten Brinke won the 2019 karting world title in the OK-Junior class and made the switch to Formula 4 last season at the age of 15. He made an immediate impression, scoring no fewer than nine podium positions in fifteen races, including one victory. At the beginning of this year Ten Brinke joined the TeamNL-selection and was promoted to the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, where he raced for the French team ART Grand Prix.
Thomas ten Brinke himself released the following statement explaining his decision:
“Dear all. For the past few years, I’ve been extremely dedicated to racing. I’ve been go karting for 5 years, became World Champion and finally made my move to autosport. I loved the first races in F4, the racing, the competition and moved my way up to Formula Regional soon after. During the weekends of FRECA, I started feeling a pressure I didn’t know before. How badly I would’ve wanted to compete, I struggled mentally to perform. Together with the coaching of Giedo van der Garde and Koen de Meester, I tried to turn things around, but the past weekend in Zandvoort it became clear to me. There was no joy. I know that driving race cars is a dream for a lot of people - and that thought also makes this decision even harder - but I have to stay true to myself and admit that racing doesn’t make me enjoy life the way I want. Therefore it’s with a heavy heart that I’m writing that I will stop my racing career immediately. For all the people that helped me along the way, ART GP, Giedo van der Garde, Bernhard ten Brinke, Koen de Meester, Chantal ten Brinke, Joost Hofman, Ricky Flynn Motorsports, MP Motorsport , HSF Logistics, Eurol B.V. and Tricorp Workwear: a big thank you. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I know I’m taking the right decision. All the best”, Thomas.