Eric De Doncker’s participation in the 2024 Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli not only continues his long-standing relationship with SRO Motorsports Group, but also puts him into a very exclusive club, as a driver to have competed in each of the top four categories in GT racing.
The 62-year-old Belgian driver is no stranger to the SRO paddocks, having raced in the 1992 Venturi Trophy which was also the first to be organised by De Doncker’s long-time friend, Stéphane Ratel. He returns to the SRO fold this season looking for more success in Fanatec GT2 Europe where his privately-run Motorsport 98 outfit fields a new Mercedes-AMG.
De Doncker has 30+ years of experience, as well as a CV boasting back-to-back title wins in the 2007 and ’08 GT4 European Series where the American muscle car enthusiast entered a Ford Mustang with his own team.
He now returns to an SRO-organised series 32 years after his debut in the Venturi Trophy, when injuries accumulated over a long motorcycle racing career and an informal chat with Ratel sent De Doncker on a different trajectory altogether and into the world of four-wheel competition.
“I was actually a motorcycle racer for 14 years before I started racing cars,” recalls De Doncker. “My main passion was motorcycles, but when I hurt myself and stopped riding bikes, that was also the time that I met Stéphane [Ratel]. I was still racing motorbikes and used to go to have a drink in Brussels where a lot of racing and motorcycle competitors came. One evening, Stéphane came with a friend of mine just as he was launching the Venturi Trophy - after two or three beers I decided to buy a car!
“I bought a Venturi and started racing cars. It started as racing for fun, I did that for two years and even raced in the Suzuka 1000km with the Venturi LM600 GT1 car.”
The rest, as they say, is history. The Brussels-based driver has since gone on to race in GT1, GT3 and GT4 categories with SRO, starting with the BPR Global Endurance Series - which has evolved into the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS of today - with a Porsche 964 Carrera 2. De Doncker was also part of the exciting Ford GT project with the likes of Matech and Marc VDS towards the end of the noughties.
The Belgian ace will now rekindle his strong relationship with SRO by adding the missing number to his GT back catalogue.
“My plan was to do the ELMS but I didn’t get my entry in on time, so instead I called my friend Stéphane,” adds De Doncker, who will share the Mercedes-AMG GT2 with Pro-Am class co-driver Loris Hezemans.
“I had my eye on GT2 for a while, and realised that I was turning 62. As it’s difficult racing against young drivers I thought GT2 would be a perfect match for people like myself. I got details of new cars including the GT2 Mercedes, and the next thing I know I decide to buy it. I always like to fight for a championship and fight at the front, so I have decided this year to go Pro-Am [with Hezemans] for the team.
“It’s the goal to win the championship which is not easy of course. You have to adjust your driving style completely; in a prototype it’s very precise and you avoid kerbs, but in a GT2 you go all over them which is great. I think it will be a nice ambience and I look forward to it.”
De Doncker’s career has spanned many forms and categories of motorsport across the years. From claiming podium finishes at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa to racing at the prestigious Circuit de la Sarthe and Le Mans, an enviable list of machinery now sits next to his name.
“It was all racing for fun early on, but then later I set up my own team in 1998 to compete in the Belgian Championship,” adds De Doncker. “Then we bought a Viper GT1 and as a private team we finished third in the Spa 24 Hours. That was the first time with GT cars at Spa, so that was a fantastic race.
“I stopped racing again; then in 2006, a friend of Stéphane and myself called me and said ‘we are building a GT4 championship’. At the time I was racing an AC Cobra in historics for fun, and he said ‘I know you love American cars. There is a Mustang racing in the USA and it would be fantastic for GT4’. It looked beautiful and was competitive, so I contacted my friend in the USA, I bought two Mustang GT4s and started a racing team again.
“With the Mustang I won the GT4 European Championship in 2007 and again in 2008. I raced in the Ford GT with Matech and then proposed myself to the Marc VDS team to do the Spa 24 Hours with the GT1, which was successful.
“I went back to historic racing and bought a Lola T70 and won at Spa, raced at Le Mans and bought a Spice and won the Group C Championship in 2016 which was fantastic - I won alongside the Le Mans race in that car.”
Trying to pick an iconic car from his list is one that proves tricky for the man behind the wheel of them all, admitting: “It’s difficult because I have raced so many beautiful cars. I loved the Mustang GT4 because that was my comeback to racing and we were successful, and the Viper was also a fantastic car. I love racing and the adrenaline. It’s a passion, and I like to be on track and in the paddock. I’m looking forward to seeing the competition in GT2 this season.”
Motorsport 98’s maiden Fanatec GT2 European Series Powered by Pirelli campaign begins at Circuit Paul Ricard on 5-6 April. All six of the championship’s events support Fanatec GT Europe and include a support slot at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Photo credits: SRO, John Brooks, Peter May