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Art and competition
The story of Street-Art Racing is above all the story of a meeting. Albert Bloem, an amateur driver, met Damien Hellebuyck, who supervised his car within the team that maintained it. Together, the two men decided to form their own team to race Albert’s Aston Martin Vantage N24.
But what were they to call it? Albert and Damien are passionate about art and cars and wanted to mix the two. Considering that GT4s are cars that are close to production models, which can be found in the streets (“street cars”), this is how Street-Art Racing was born.
Since then, the Belgian team has strengthened its relationship with Aston Martin Racing. Not only has it run all generations of Aston Martin Vantage GT4s (N24, V8 GT4 and then AMR GT4), but it has also become an official AMR Team Partner. On the racetrack, Street-Art Racing has made a name for itself by winning the GT4 European Series Am Cup twice: in 2017, with the Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT4 driven by Jérôme Demay, and in 2019, with the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4 driven by Pascal Bachmann and Clément Seyler.
The structure based in the Charleroi region (in Lodelinsart) is constantly developing and intends to continue its progression. In 2022, it has started a new adventure after acquiring an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 to compete in the International GT Open. At the same time, the team has also developed a Classic division with the appearance of an Aston Martin Vantage GT2/GTE which competed in the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans.
When it comes to the future, Albert and Damien have no shortage of imagination. But is that not also the nature of an artist?
The partnership between Street-Art Racing and Aston Martin Racing is not only at a technical level. It also extends to the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy, which aims to train young drivers with professional coaching provided by the famous British brand. For the most talented of those who attend, it is also an opportunity to join the circle of official Aston Martin Racing drivers, as Ross Gunn and Valentin Hasse-Clot did recently.
Since the launch of the Aston Martin Racing Driver Academy, a number of Street-Art Racing drivers have been part of it: Julien Darras, Clément Seyler, Jamie Vandenbalck and Paul Theysgens are among them. They had the chance to benefit from the advice of Maxime Martin. The official representative of the brand, the winner of the 24 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in GT, was in fact the person delegated by Aston Martin Racing to supervise the young drivers from Street-Art Racing.