If there was a sportscar driver you wanted in your car for a 24-hour race this year, it was Nicky Catsburg. Victories at the Nurburgring (outright), Le Mans (GTE Am) and Spa (Pro-Am), each in different cars, underlined that the versatile Dutchman is operating at the top of his game.
He was part of the strongest line-up in GTE Am’s WEC swansong, but Catsburg certainly played his part in sealing the title with an unprecedented two rounds to spare. His defence against Alessio Rovera for victory in Portimao was inch-perfect, and he was consistently near the top of the pace averages as Corvette surged into contention at Le Mans.
Speak with anyone who has worked with Catsburg, and they’ll tell you about the calming influence he has on a team. As Earl Bamber put it earlier this year, the easy-going Dutchman “brings a great vibe”, which is appreciated by those he works with. And that down-to-earth nature also applies to his reflections on what Catsburg acknowledges was “an amazing season”.
PLUS: The other Dutch racing ace enjoying a standout 2023
The Corvette factory driver is quick to point out that his successes over the past 12 months, which also counts winning the Asian Le Mans Series GT title in a Walkenhorst BMW, is “not because I have become a better driver all of a sudden”. Discussing his Nurburgring victory with Bamber, David Pittard and Felipe Laser, he stresses that it was “really a group effort”.
“I don’t feel like I was in any way the standout driver of that group,” says Catsburg, whose main programme in 2024 will be in the IMSA Sportscar Championship’s GTD Pro class. “I wouldn’t say that it was like a super-duper personal performance.”
Here’s how he looks back on 2023.
Source: Autosport