8/3/1973
Record updated 08-Mar-07
Kurt Mollekens is a successful race car driver and team owner or the Belgium KTR tram that was founded by his father, Prosper Mollekens.
Kurt Mollekens is a successful race car driver and team owner born in Bonheiden, Belgium. Kurt Mollekens grew up in a motorsport environment, travelling with his father's KTR team to many of the races. Despite Kurts enthusiasm, Mollekens Senior insisted he completed his studies before competing.
In 1990, at 17, Kurt started karting. Testing went well and, in addition to winning most of the regional races he participated in, Kurt finished runner-up in the Belgian Championship. In 1991 he finished 5th in the European and 8th in the World Championships, and was then offered a works drive with Tony Kart.
By now 18, Kurt nevertheless decided to move on to single-seaters in 1992. His debut Formula Ford year was successful, Mollekens winning all three titles he challenged for - Benelux Formula Ford, Dutch Formula Ford and Belgian Formula Ford. Mollekens also achieved success in the 1993 British Formula Ford season, which helped him in to Formula Opel Euroseries (1994) and British Formula Three (1995).
He stayed in the latter during 1995, at which time he won the international Formula Three race at Zandvoort, his biggest win to date.
Mollekens joined Formula 3000 in 1997 and spent two years there with his self-owned KTR team. When an F1 seat didn't materialise in 1999, Kurt decided to concentrate his single-seater energies on the management of his KTR team. Nevertheless, his desire to race burnt as brightly as ever, and he gladly accepted Kronos' two-year contract to race a Peugeot 306 in the Belgian touring car championship.
Kurt quickly emerged as the team's pacesetter and finished runner-up in the 1999 championship. For 2000 Kurt and Peugeot decided to compete in just two events - the Spa 4 Hours and the Spa 24 Hours. They won both.
He continued as an F3000 team owner until 2001, and after a hiatus as a driver in 2000 returned as a competitor in some races of the FIA GT Championship of '01 and 2002.
In 2002 his team left Formula 3000, moving to the lesser-known FNWS, in which the team has competed since.
Kurt's 2003 program was highlighted by a class victory and 5th overall during the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa, where he shared the Inno Zakspeed Viper with stars Pedro Lamy and Didier de Radigues.
In 2004 Mollekens continued as a driver, at the age of 31, in part of the European Touring Car Championship. When the ETCC became the WTCC for 2005, it was impossible for BMW Belgium to continue supporting the series. This left Kurt with a very limited program of only the Spa and Zolder 24H events that year. A strong drive alongside Bouchut, Gardel and Vosse in the Larbre Ferrari 550 Maranello netted a podium finish at Spa, behind the two dominant Maserati's. At Zolder, Kurt's PSI Porsche GT2-Turbo was fighting for the lead before gearbox problems ruined his race.