16 – Hannes van Asseldonk
Country of origin: Netherlands
Date of birth: 10 January 1992
Race number: 16
Sponsors: van Asseldonk Champignons, Flying Kiwi, Cock and Balls Wear, Unlimited Colours
Hannes van Asseldonk began his motor racing career in karting in 2006. He stepped into a competitive Rotax Max drive the following year, recording fourth and fifth places in his first full season of racing.
Staying with Rotax Max in 2008 he won the BNL Series and recorded a string of race wins and podium finishes.
Hannes switched to KZ2 category the following year and was fifth in the Dutch winter championship.
Stepping up into single seater race cars in 2009, Hannes has built on strong seasons in Formula BMW (2010, 16 races, 2 podiums) and Formula Abarth (2010, 6 races, 3 wins, 3 podiums).
He arrives at the 2012 TRS with a full year of Formula 3 experience including the Austrian Formula 3 Cup (2 races, 1 win, 2 podiums), the FIA Formula 3 International trophy, and the ATS Formula 3 (18 races, 5 podiums, fifth outright on points) and in November a fifth placing on the tight and tricky streets of Macau in the 2011 F3 Grand Prix.
Impressive off the start and in the cut and thrust of opening laps, Hannes also likes racing in tricky conditions and says he enjoys learning new circuits – attributes that will stand him in good stead in the intense five week TRS.
He is aiming to improve his use of testing and race data and to focus on maintaining consistency through the whole race weekend.
Hannes comes to the 2012 Toyota Racing Series 2012 TRS series aiming to win both the series itself and the New Zealand Grand Prix. He races with Giles Motorsport.
