Interview: Van der Garde explains retirement: 'I asked myself, what am I doing?'

Giedo van der Garde's rich racing career included a brief stint inFormula 1, spending the 2013 season with Caterham. Although heendured the campaign competing towards the back of the grid inuncompetitive machinery, van der Garde became one of the very fewracing talents to receive a chance in the series. However, hisgreatest success during his career in motorsports came in otherracing classes, including his titles Formula Renault 3.5 Series in2008 and the European Le Mans Series in 2016. Having been prominentin sportscar racing over the last several years, van der Garderecently announced that he has decided to retire from racing, averdict that he explained to RacingNews365 in an exclusiveinterview. "It was quite a difficult decision," van der Gardestated. "[I asked myself] 'Where do you stand? What do you want?What else do you have in life, family, friends?' “I started a lotof businesses in the Netherlands and abroad. And at one point itwas all too much. Of course, we had a great season in America andthen, after the summer break, I did have a bit of a feeling of'This doesn't quite sit right'." The 38-year-old Dutchman now knowswhere that feeling came from. "I experienced a heavy crash at RoadAmerica,” he said. “I went into the wall at two hundred kilometersper hour, broke a rib there and bruised a rib. “I suffered fromthat for the entire summer vacation, about six to seven weeks. Icouldn't train and was completely off. Then I looked in the mirrorand thought, 'What am I doing, man?'" 'The fun was gone' Van derGarde's racing prgoramme this year included a drive in the IMSASportsCar Championship that took him around various locations inthe United States. But van der Garde soon began to notice theimpact the races were having on his life. "You're obviously inAmerica a lot and return to the Netherlands jet-lagged. Then youhave to go back to the office on Tuesday and Wednesday, after whichyou're completely off on Friday night because of jet lag, althoughyou then have to go back to Viaplay on Friday night, Saturday andSunday. And another office day awaits on Monday. It was too much."But did van der Garde not consider for a moment staying active inmotor racing? "You could start looking at other racing classesagain, like the European Le Mans Series in Europe with no timedifference. But then I thought, 'Why?' I'm already Europeanchampion, I'm already World Champion. I have not been able to winIMSA in recent years due to circumstances. “And the fun was also abit gone, because you also have to remember that the years beforethat we had the years with Frits van Eerd." Van der Garde reflectedthat the fun that he experienced while racing as Racing TeamNederland had lapsed with more recent projects, pushing him furthertowards the exit. "We became champions, but we also had a lot offun,” he said. “And that fun is incredibly important to me. It'snot just about having fun on the track, but also off the track. Thefun trips we had together, that was fantastic. “This year I startedwith a Frenchman as a teammate and after two races he dropped outwith a fracture in his back. Then I had three other team-mates. Itravelled alone, was alone in the hotel and only had my rental car,so I was working with people I had absolutely no fun with. That'swhen I thought it was better to stop and start focusing on otherthings." Turning down racing offers Despite his decision to stophis racing career, van der Garde asserted that he did have optionsto continue. "Moving on was a possibility somewhere, but that dealwasn't really interesting either. At a certain point you have tomake a choice: you could see from everything that the fun was goneand the aggressiveness wasn't there anymore. The speed was stillthere. I was one of the fastest every time, but it didn't fit thepicture anymore. I also think that the other things, the businessesand television, are becoming too big." When asked if the changes inthe LMP2 class also played a part, van der Garde confirmed thatthey did: “We have become five seconds slower compared to a fewyears ago. Then we had a blisteringly fast car and I also had mybest years in it. “This year we have been made slower again interms of horsepower and the increased weight. On the straight thatthing doesn't run at all. If you had such a fast car in the yearsbefore and get slower because of the regulations, that doesn'treally make you happy." The new cars also didn't suit Van derGarde's driving style. "It was just about how much you could takeinto the corner. That made you go fast. My technique is to brake aslate as possible and get on the gas as early as possible. With theold regulations that worked great, so that was really anotheradjustment. “That adjustment went well, but if you also haveteammates you don't have fun with... It became work, work, workagain." Van der Garde's wife was also taken aback by his decisionto walk away from his racing career. "You have to remember that Ialso have a family with three children. Those also need attentionfrom time to time. It was a choice for me alone, though. My wifewas also really looking at me like, 'wow, what the f*** , what areyou going to do, why are you quitting, this is your life'. Shewondered if it was the right choice. “In hindsight, she's reallyhappy about it. She just knows that I will be and am much more athome, also for the children. You see them getting bigger and goingto school now. I happened to become a coach at the AFC soccer clubthis year, for my son's team. Those are great things and I don'twant to miss them."