Michael Verhagen has been announced as the second wildcard entry for the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) race at Zandvoort next weekend, where he will join Prince Bernhard van Oranje in Bas Koeten Racing entered Audi RS3 LMS machinery.
Verhagen currently races in the Dutch Supercar Challenge, where he drives a BMW M4, but he has also had experience of TCR machinery in the past.
In 2016 he took part in the TCR Benelux races at Zandvoort, before racing in the TCR Germany series when it visited the circuit last year.
“I have been racing in various touring car championships in both sprint and endurance,” said Verhagen. “I have done two races in TCR Benelux together with Tom Coronel and also two races in TCR Germany with the Bas Koeten Racing Audi RS 3 with Jaap van Lagen and Rik Breukers in the same team.
“As Zandvoort is my home track I hope to catch up speed quickly. The competition will be fierce and WTCR is the highest competition in my career so the tension is rising.”
Team Principal Bas Koeten is looking forward to his team, which has been operating for 15 years, taking to the track in an FIA series for the first time.
“Racing our two Audi RS 3 LMS TCR cars in the WTCR at Zandvoort will be a great experience for our team,” said Koeten. “Having two Dutchmen in our bright orange cars is a nice addition to the strong WTCR field. I am sure the 100,000 fans that are expected will support our orange cars.”
The fourth WTCR event of the season takes place in the sand dunes of Zandvoort next weekend.