BetCity Mazda MX-5 Cup: Family Painters – Three generations of motorsport

“You should have him,” Rudy Schilders points to his father Hans. “It all started with him, he is to blame.” Grandfather Hans begins his story with a big smile. “The contact with the autocross really happened by chance. My wife was invited by her friend to see a cross in the area. I went with her and contacted the RangPang car organization, here in the Utrecht area. I was really sold immediately and I was happy to participate in every kind of competition for more than 17 years. My son Rudy came every time from the age of five. With headphones against the noise, he watched me for 12 years. Then I changed the automatic road to the circular motion in Lelystad.

Son Rudy joins the story. “You were allowed to drive in Lelystad only if you were eighteen years old and had a driver’s license. Before that I only did laps of honor, which was allowed, but after that motorsport really started for me. What could be better than racing with your father. We did this for four years. Where someone else started karting. We drove together in the 390cc 4-stroke class with me in the light class.”

“We have always been interested in the Mazda brand and I was on the technical committee of the MX-5 Club with my father. During the New Year’s race in 2007 we met some of the English Cup drivers and the DNRT started with the Dutch Max competition – In this racing world, meeting the right people at the right time is very important. I met the owner of Mazda parts. He arranged the car for me in the second season champion in this fast growing class. I took my son Maikel to the circuit as a kid. Fifteen years later he rode his first race with DNRT. If he wanted to play ball of legs, that was allowed too. It was only after the course with Youri Verswijveren of NXT Race that the coin dropped and the race virus light came on.