Martin van der Maeyede
Not to be confused with IndyCar driver Martin van der Meyede
Martin van der Maeyede is a Dutch racing driver that currently competes in the F2RWRS for Kingfisher Junior. He is managed by Plus One Group, and he is the son of Jan van der Maeyede.
Contents
Early Career
To be added later. Probably. Actually, don't bet your house on it.
2015
F3RWRS
Martin was snapped up by the Kingfisher junior squad during the preseason, and impressed initially before his team mate was decided. Later in the season, it would be decided that he would be partnered by young Canadian Calvin Brooks, but Brook's appointment only seemed to make Martin faster.
Martin lined up 9th on his F3RWRS debut in Australia for race 1, the start of a long run of top 10 qualifications, while Brooks could only manage 36th. Martin fell back a little in the race to finish 12th, and in Race 2, he started 10th and retired on lap 9 with transmission failure. This set the tone of the year, brilliant qulifying laps followed by bad luck or falling back slightly during the race.
Race One in Turkey followed the 'bad luck' formula; with a spin near the end denying him points, and Race 2 followed the 'underwhelming drive' formula, with Martin finishing well down the order.
Of the 62 cars taking the start for the chaotic Monaco SuperPrix, Martin qualified 7th, while Brooks languished in 40th, with the gap between the two the biggest gap between team mates on the grid. Martin was set for points, but he was squeezed out at the chicane and beached the car, but was able to continue but only to 23rd position.
Martin showed his wet weather prowess during qualifying for the Round of America around Laguna Seca, with an uncharacteristic downpour soaking the track. He lined up 7th while Brooks was 32nd. The race however had parts of the 'bad luck' formula, Joe Harmsky's Shonan attempted an unrealistic pass at the Corkscrew, punting Martin of into the gravel. He manged to rejoin, but a water leak put him out and brought out the red flag. Race 2 saw Martin start 7th, but a slightly disappointing drive saw him finish 18th.
However, Mr.Alexander, Kingfisher Racing Team Principle, had been massively impressed by Martin's performances, despite the fact that he had scored no points so far in the F3RWRS. Martin was to be promoted to the F2RWRS in time for the next round at Brands Hatch, with underperforming F2 driver Scott Davidson replacing him in the F3RWRS.
F2RWRS
Martin approached the F2RWRS British Grand Prix with an open mind, and although he had had some time in the F2 car, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. And unexpected it was. A torrential downpour waterlogged the pre-qualifying seassion, but he was right at home in the appalling conditions - setting the fastest time by over half a second. However, team mate Ashley Lilly couldn't handle the weather and crashed on his flying lap, meaning that Martin and the Kingfisher team were denied a chance of racing on Sunday. Although Martin was disspointed to miss out on the race, he was pleased to have been promoted by the team and delighted to continue working with them. After the session, Mr.Alexander released a statement that confirmed his appraisal of Martin's performance, and he headed into the next round with confidence in the car and the promise of a new team-mate.
The Norisring played host to the 2015 F1RWRS and F2RWRS Grand Prix, and with the skies clear and the track dry, Martin had a chance to show what he could really do. Setting the 3rd fastes time in Prequalifying, whilst his team mate Lilly was 5th, meant that Kingfisher advanced into qualifying proper for the first time this season. Martin then put in an even better lap to qualify 8th on the grid, the highest placed of all the Holden engined cars, and ahead of the works Garry Rogers Motorsport Holdens, whilst Lilly was 19th. The race was even better for Martin; a good start saw him climb up into the points, and a masterstroke from the Kingfisher strategists put Martin on the same strategy as the leaders, and it almost paid handsome dividends. After a strong race, challenging for points and even leading a lap, he was punted off the track whilst high up in the points by an erratic Andrej Kremnicky. However, Martin remained calm and unfrustrated, and announced that the car was getting better and better whilst he was looking forward to the next race and hopefully some points.
