At the age of 16, Dutchman Thomas ten Brinke has decided to end his racing career. FIA Karting World Champion – Junior in 2019 in Alahärmä (FIN) with Ricky Flynn Motorsport, he had switched to single-seaters in the Spanish F4 championship in 2020 and was competing this year in the Formula Regional Europa championship by Alpine with ART Grand Prix. He announced his decision on his Instagram account.
“Dear all. For the past few years, I’ve been extremely dedicated to racing. I’ve been go karting for 5 years, became World Champion and finally made my move to autosport. I loved the first races in F4, the racing, the competition and moved my way up to Formula Regional soon after. During the weekends of FRECA, I started feeling a pressure I didn’t know before. How badly I would’ve wanted to compete, I struggled mentally to perform. Together with the coaching of Giedo van der Garde and Koen de Meester, I tried to turn things around, but the past weekend in Zandvoort it became clear to me. There was no joy. I know that driving race cars is a dream for a lot of people – and that thought also makes this decision even harder – but I have to stay true to myself and admit that racing doesn’t make me enjoy life the way I want. Therefore it’s with a heavy heart that I’m writing that I will stop my racing career immediately. For all the people that helped me along the way, a big thank you. I don’t know what the future will bring, but I know I’m taking the right decision. All the best, Thomas.“
Info Kartcom / Photo © KSP