Indy Dontje (born 21 November 1992 in Alkmaar, North Holland) is a Dutch racing driver. After starting in ADAC Formel Masters and ATS Formel 3 Cup Dontje is now a Mercedes-Benz GT3 driver.

Indy Dontje
Nationality Dutch
Born (1992-11-21) 21 November 1992 (age 31)
Alkmaar, North Holland
Related toMilan Dontje (brother)
Racing licence FIA Silver
Previous series
2014
2012-2013
ATS Formel 3 Cup
ADAC Formel Masters

Career edit

Karting edit

Father Arthur Dontje supported his sons Indy and Milan with their own karting team early in their careers. Arthurs chocolate company, Dobla, was the naming sponsor. Indy started racing in Rotax Max powered classes, such as MiniMax and Junior Max.[1] After graduating into shifter karts, Dontje raced in the German Karting Championship in 2009 against other young hopefuls such as Jack Hawksworth and Hannes van Asseldonk.[2] Later in his karting career, in 2010 and 2011, the young karter competed in the USA in the SKUSA SuperNationals. In 2010 Dontje finished third in the S1 class.[3] The following year Dontje finished second in a factory supported Energy Corse kart.[4]

Single seaters edit

Dontje made his single-seater debut in 2012 at age 19. Racing in the ADAC Formel Masters Dontje joined Team Motopark, part of the Lotus F1 junior program.[5] During the season Dontje scored one podium finish, a third place at the Sachsenring.[6] For 2013 Dontje remained at Team Motopark. He won the third race of the season, at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.[7] The Dutchman won a second race at the Red Bull Ring.[8] Dontje was the only driver to score points every single race during the season. This placed the Dutchman sixth in the series standings.

For 2014 Dontje remained at the Lotus backed Team Motopark to race in the ATS Formel 3 Cup.[9] With the German F3 championship running older machinery compared to the European F3, the German championship struggled to attract many drivers with many races being run with less than ten drivers. Dontje scored fourteen podium finishes, with a single victory, out of 23 races. Dontje won the second race during the Red Bull Ring weekend.[10] The Dutchman also competed in the 2014 Zandvoort Masters. Dontje challenged Nabil Jeffri for third but had to settle for fourth place, scoring the fastest racelap in the progress.[11]

GT racing edit

 
The Mercedes-AMG GT4 raced by Dontje in the 12H of Spa.

In 2015 Rowe Racing named Dontje as one of their drivers for the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series.[12] After the opening three races, Dontje switched to the GT Russian Team for the 2015 24 Hours of Spa and remained at the team for the season final.[13]

With Rowe Racing switching to BMW, Dontje remained in the AMG Customer Sports program with HTP Motorsport for 2016. Dontje ran the full 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup with teammates Luciano Bacheta and Clemens Schmid. The teams best finish was a fifth place at Silverstone. He also made his debut in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring racing with fellow Mercedes-AMG team Black Falcon. The team retired after 57 laps.[14] For 2017 Dontje switched from the Blancpain Endurance Series to the ADAC GT Masters. With the Mercedes-AMG GT Dontje scored two podium finishes, at Zandvoort and the Sachsenring, to place thirteenth in the series championship.

In 2023, Dontje joined Winward Racing in their expanded GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup effort, competing alongside Philip Ellis and Russell Ward in the Gold Cup class.[15]

Results edit

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results edit

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
2016 Black Falcon   Rob Huff
  "Gerwin"
  Abdulaziz Al Faisal
Mercedes-AMG GT3 SP9 57 Ret Ret
2017 Mann-Filter Team HTP Motorsport   Kenneth Heyer
  Bernd Schneider
  Patrick Assenheimer
Mercedes-AMG GT3 SP9 155 14th 14th
2018 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann Filter   Maximilian Götz
  Christian Hohenadel
  Renger van der Zande
Mercedes-AMG GT3 SP9 129 17th 16th
2019 Wochenspiegel Team Monschau   Hendrick Still
  Georg Weiss
  Leonard Weiss
Ferrari 488 GT3 SP9 152 12th 11th

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results edit

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Pts
2015 GT Russian Team Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Pro-Am NOG
QR
NOG
CR
BRH
QR
BRH
CR
ZOL
QR
ZOL
CR
MOS
QR
MOS
CR
ALG
QR
ALG
CR
MIS
QR
MIS
CR
ZAN
QR

13
ZAN
CR

9
26th 2

Complete Blancpain Endurance Series results edit

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 Pos. Pts
2015 Rowe Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Pro MON
15
SIL
11
LEC
Ret
27th 1
GT Russian Team Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 Pro-Am SPA
Ret
NÜR
20
14th 24
2016 HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro MON
21
SIL
5
LEC
40
SPA
21
NÜR
25
34th 10
2017 MANN-FILTER Team HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Pro MON
14
SIL
Ret
LEC
51
SPA
Ret
BAR
40
- -
2019 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari 488 GT3 Silver MON SIL LEC SPA
Ret
BAR - -

Complete ADAC GT Masters results edit

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos. Pts
2017 Mercedes-AMG Team HTP Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Junior OSC
1

15
OSC
2

6
LAU
1

4
LAU
2

10
RBR
1

13
RBR
2

7
ZAN
1

3
ZAN
2

16
NÜR
1

12
NÜR
2

7
SAC
1

2
SAC
2

Ret
HOC
1

11
HOC
2

11
13th 66
2018 Mann-Filter Team HTP Mercedes-AMG GT3 Junior OSC
1

6
OSC
2

27
MST
1

4
MST
2

16
RBR
1

9
RBR
2

16
NÜR
1

1
NÜR
2

17
ZAN
1

26
ZAN
2

5
SAC
1

4
SAC
2

22
HOC
1

15
HOC
2

3
5th 84
2019 Mann-Filter Team HTP Mercedes-AMG GT3 OSC
1

9
OSC
2

8
MST
1

5
MST
2

6
RBR
1

Ret
RBR
2

2
ZAN
1

Ret
ZAN
2

21
NÜR
1

6
NÜR
2

5
HOC
1

2
HOC
2

7
SAC
1

1
SAC
2

5
3rd 145

References edit

  1. ^ "Coureur: Indy Dontje". Dobla Racing. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  2. ^ "German Kart Championship DSKM 2009 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  3. ^ "SKUSA SuperNationals XIV - S1 Pro Stock Moto 2010 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  4. ^ "SKUSA SuperNationals XV - S1 Pro Stock Moto 2011 standings". DriverDB.com. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Starkes Fahrerfeld". ADAC Formel Masters. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Premierensieg für Malja im ADAC Formel Masters". ADAC Formel Masters. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  7. ^ "Indy Dontje gewinnt drittes Rennen in Oschersleben". ADAC Formel Masters. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Indy Dontje gewinnt Rennen 3 auf dem Red Bull Ring". ADAC Formel Masters. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Indy Dontje groeit met Lotus Junior team door naar Formule 3". Autosport.nl. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Premierensieg für Indy Dontje im ATS Formel 3 Cup" (PDF). Formel 3 Guide. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  11. ^ "F3: Max Verstappen wint met grote overmacht Zandvoort Masters (update)". Autosport.nl. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Premiere im Flügeltürer - Dontje: Vollgas mit Rowe Racing". Motorsport Magazin. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  13. ^ "GT: Last-minute teamwissel Indy Dontje voor 24 Uur Spa". Autosport.nl. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  14. ^ "44. ADAC Zurich 24h-Rennen" (PDF). 24H Rennen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
  15. ^ Euwema, Davey (March 1, 2023). "Winward Expands to Two-Car Endurance Cup Effort". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved March 1, 2023.