Sven van Laere will not continue his participation in the 2024 EuroNASCAR season after he announced his retirement due to medical issues.
Just a month after his participation in the 24 Hours of Zolder, Belgian racer Sven van Laere announced his retirement from all on-track racing activities due to medical issues.
The news was first reported by NASCAR Whelen Euro Series reporter André Wiegold, who was notified of the news by the Belgian.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the end of my active motorsport career due to medical reasons,” announced van Laere on social media. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to be part of the motorsport community for more than 27 years.”
“As an active gentleman driver, I had the opportunity to compete against some of the greatest drivers on a national and international level. Drivers who made their names in the past, who are making their names in the present, and who will make their names in the future.”
While van Laere was long active in the Benelux racing scene, EuroNASCAR is the series where the Belgian got his first major international racing opportunity. He first raced stock cars in 2019 when he joined Braxx Racing for the season finale at Zolder.
A chance to race alongside Belgian motorsport legend Marc Goossens at Braxx was in the plans for 2020, but the advent of COVID-19 delayed the plans after Braxx quietly shut down their racing program due to the pandemic.
Eventually, van Laere and Goossens got to compete together in 2023 when they joined CAAL Racing to race the colorful No. 56 Anecars Camaro.
Van Laere stayed at CAAL for 2024 and with Goossens departing to Team Bleekemolen, the 50-year old received a new partner in reigning champion Gianmarco Ercoli.
Van Laere is renowned as a consistent finisher and aided Ercoli’s title defense by keeping the No. 54 Steelduxx/HPM Camaro clean in the first six races.
However, he missed the Venray and Most rounds and while it was unknown at the time why the Belgian was absent, the announcement indicates that he had been battling with medical issues for the past few months.
Van Laere will shift his focus to family matters. His son Maxim idolizes his father and wants to follow Sven’s footsteps into racing, as seen by Maxim’s recent karting outings in Belgium.
The Belgian gave a special thanks to the EuroNASCAR family, which has welcomed him with open arms during his three seasons in the sport.
“Over the years, I have had the honor of competing in some great championships,” added van Laere. “Perhaps the best of them all, because it’s more than just a championship, was the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series run by the Galpin family.”
“Not only the championships, but also the teams created great memories. Among them is my Italian motorsports family, CAAL Racing. It’s the team I drove for the last two seasons. This will always put a big smile on my face, grazie mille!”
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Last Updated: 21 December 2024