Rob Slotemaker
Adriaan Robert "Rob" Slotemaker (born June 13, 1929 in Batavia , † September 16, 1979 on the Zandvoort circuit ) was a Dutch car racing driver .
Career in sports cars
Rob Slotemaker, nicknamed "Sloot" by his fellow racing drivers, began his racing career in the mid-1950s. After national club races in his home country, he contested his first international motorsport event in 1954 at the Monte Carlo Rally . After some success in sports car races, he signed a contract with the Standard Motor Company in 1960 and competed in international sports car races with Triumph vehicles . In 1961 he made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished the race together with partner Les Leston in eleventh place in the overall standings. In this endurance race he was at the start a total of five times; eleventh place in 1961 remained his best overall ranking. For the Triumph works team, he also finished fifteenth in the 1964 Tour de France for automobiles . In the same year he finished seventh overall in the Reims 12-hour race . The success in Reims and the following fourth place overall at the 1000 km race in Monza in 1965 was already achieved for his new employer, Racing Team Holland. There Ben Pon became his permanent team partner. In 1964, at the Coppa Inter-Europa in Monza, he won his first international sports car race, which was followed by many until the 1970s.
Slotemaker drove races in the World Sports Car Championship , the European Touring Car Championship and the Dutch Touring Car Championship. He drove cars as diverse as the Porsche 904 and 908 , the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 , the BMW 3.0CSL , the Opel Kadett GTE, the Ford Escort and the DAF 55 .
Race in the monoposto
In addition to his activities in sports and touring car racing, the Dutchman also competed in a number of monoposto races. In 1964 he drove for the then young Ken Tyrrell team in Formula Junior . In 1965 he finished seventh in the Formula 3 race in Monaco on a Brabham BT15 . In 1966 he received from Tim Parnell , the invitation in Silverstone a Formula 1 - Lotus 33 test. After just a few laps, the front suspension broke and he had a serious accident, which he survived almost unscathed. He was released after spending a night in the hospital treating his bruises.
Slotemaker always saw himself as an amateur racing driver who never worked as a full-time professional. As early as 1954 he founded a racing driver's school, which became his economic mainstay. One of his instructors was the talented young Dutch racing driver Wim Loos , who lost his life in a fatal accident at the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1967 . The future Formula 1 driver and Le Mans winner in 1988 Jan Lammers also emerged from this racing school.
Death in Zandvoort
Rob Slotemaker had a fatal accident in 1979 in a relatively insignificant race in Zandvoort. The Swedish Camaro Superstar Cup stopped in Zandvoort in September 1979. In this series famous Swedish racer drove like Reine Wisell , Ulf Norinder and Ulf Granberg with Chevrolet Camaro to today. In Zandvoort, the field was filled with six local pilots, including slot makers. After an accident by Michael Strauch, the medical car was standing just on the road at a blind spot on the route. Slotemaker missed the vehicle and hit it. He broke his neck and died at the scene of the accident.
statistics
Le Mans results
| year | team | vehicle | Teammate | placement | Failure reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |
 Standard triumph
|
Triumph TR4S |
Les Leston
|
Rank 11 | |
| 1964 |
Standard triumph
|
Triumph Spitfire |
David Hobbs
|
Rank 21 | |
| 1965 |
Standard triumph
|
Triumph Spitfire |
David Hobbs
|
failure | accident |
| 1968 |
 Racing Team VDS
|
Alfa Romeo T33 / 2 |
Teddy Pilette
|
failure | drive shaft |
| 1969 |
Racing Team VDS
|
Alfa Romeo T33 / 2.5 |
Teddy Pilette
|
failure | no oil pressure |
Individual results in the sports car world championship
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Slotemaker, Rob |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Slotemaker, Adriaan Robert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Dutch racing driver |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 13, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Batavia |
| DATE OF DEATH | 16th September 1979 |
| Place of death | Zandvoort |