Gerrit van Kouwen 1963-2024
On talent, Gerrit van Kouwen – who died last Friday of aggressive cancer at the age of 60 – should have swelled the Netherlands’ slim club of serious F1 racers. Yet beyond Formula Ford and F3, De Vliegende Hollander’s progress stalled.
Middle son of a De Meern car breaker, van Kouwen’s gentle persona, boundless enthusiasm, insatiable appetite to learn and intense loyalty endeared him to everybody he worked with. He was banned for autocrossing a VW Beetle underage at 15, yet topped a Zandvoort driving course a year later alongside police drivers. He won a Marlboro Crossle 32F FF drive, and his ASN granted an exemption – as for Wim Loos and Jan Lammers – enabling him to race before he could hold a road licence.
In 1982, after buying engines from
David Minister, van Kouwen earned the first of two successive Dutch and Benelux championships in a Van Diemen, guided by Kees van der Grint. In September 1983, Lola’s Mike Blanchet loaned him a T642E ahead of Zandvoort’s EFDA Euroseries decider. He thrashed Harald Huysman and Manuel Reuter to win in the rain.
With Festival aspirations, van Kouwen entered two Champion of Brands rounds, winning one. At the big event, a holed radiator thwarted his Final charge while fourth. For 1984, armed with a T644E, van Kouwen won the European crown again and six championship rounds in Britain with Danny Blundell’s Fleetray team. He was invincible at the Festival, scooping a £5000 jackpot as the only driver to lap inside 49s.
Van Kouwen moved up to British F3 in 1985 with Pegasus Motorsport, and took his breakthrough win at Silverstone’s British Grand Prix support round. Two more victories gave him fifth in the points. Ironically, he improved to fourth in 1986, despite splitting from the equipe mid-season after a Thruxton victory, but mysteriously scored no further points with Swallow Racing.
A BMW Nederland M3 touring car programme was ineffective against Ford Sierra RS500S, which he subsequently raced. Spasmodic German F3 outings added little to his CV. Business was good meanwhile. Astutely run by Gerrit with brothers Ed and Martin, the VAKO building demolition company, into which the family firm morphed, became the city of Utrecht’s preferred contractor, then was sold.
Devoted to his British wife Suzy, their children Sian, Ethan and Ellie, and granddaughters Rylie and new-born
Olivia, Gerrit will be remembered as a humble achiever – and great bloke!