VAR signs Kas Haverkort for 2022 FRECA season
Zeewolde, Van Amersfoort Racing is excited to announce the joining of Kas Haverkort. He will compete for the Dutch squad in the 2022 FIA certified Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine.
Kas Haverkort rejoins FRECA, which is short for Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, for a second-year campaign. The Dutchman entered the series last year after becoming Spanish F4 Champion in his Formula racing debut in 2020.
Like many of the greats, Kas started racing at a very young age. Already as a three-year-old, he took the wheel of a kart and never left racing since. What followed was a successful karting career, which he concluded at the age of 16, leaving an impressive track record within the highest levels of karting.
Not unexpectedly, Kas turned heads by dominating the Spanish F4 Championship and subsequently claiming the title in his maiden year of racing Formula cars. After this, it was a calculated move to directly charge to the next level up. 2021 saw Haverkort compete as a FRECA rookie, claiming an impressive P4 overall (P2 Rookie) in the closing race of the season.
“Last year, my first season in FRECA, was all about learning” says Haverkort, who turned 18 just two weeks ago. He continues: “The car is very different to a Formula 4 car and has a much higher level of complexity to it. Obviously, it’s much faster, but especially the grip levels are spectacular. I really enjoy the characteristics and look extremely forward to race with this car for another year. To me, joining Van Amersfoort Racing is key to reaching my goals for the upcoming season. I have tested with them, both in F4 and recently FRECA, and the team’s professionalism and track record are impressive, not to mention that I feel very much at home with them!”
The Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine enters its fourth season after the merge between the Formula Regional European Championship and the Formula Renault Eurocup. Ever since the championship developed strongly and has shown to prep and deliver experienced racing drivers to higher-level series like the FIA F3 Championship.
VAR’s CEO Rob Niessink is clearly happy about the joining of the young Dutchman: “It’s great to see another Dutch driver climbing the ranks, but what’s even better is that we have him in our team for the upcoming season! Kas is clearly very talented, something he proved by winning an F4 Championship title coming straight from karting. We certainly were already aware of his capabilities, which was once again confirmed during the recent post-season test at Mugello. It still is a long run to the first race weekend in April, giving Kas and the team valuable time for the best possible preparation!”
The 2022 season of the FIA certified Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine, will cover 10 race weekends with 2 races each. The first two rounds of the season will happen on Italian soil; Monza sets the scene for round 1, followed by round 2 held at the circuit of Imola. The third round can be considered as one of the highlights of the season, as the team then shares the streets of Monaco with Formula 1. Round 4 is held at the circuit of Paul Ricard, after which the convoy travels further North for round 5 at Zandvoort, uniquely located at the Dutch coastline. Round 6 takes place at the Hungaroring, followed by round 7 which is hosted at the famous track of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. Round 8 brings the team to the stunning Styrian Alps to race at the Red Bull Ring, followed by the penultimate race weekend, held at the Barcelona circuit in Spain. For the season finale, which is scheduled for the end of October, the team travels back to Italy once more to strike the circuit of Mugello.
Van Amersfoort Racing is a professional racing team based in the Netherlands. It was founded by Frits van Amersfoort in 1975. Since then, Van Amersfoort Racing has built a long tradition of supporting up-and-coming drivers on their way to higher levels. Drivers like Max and Jos Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Mick Schumacher, Kevin Magnussen and Giedo van der Garde all raced for Frits van Amersfoort’s eponymous team in the early stages of their careers before making it into Formula 1.