# Yelmer Buurman

Yelmer Evert Frans Buurman (born 19 February 1987) is a Dutch professional racing driver. He was 3rd in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013, and second in the FIA GT1 Championship in 2012. Besides achieving victories in those categories, also won several races in the Superleague Formula, and was second in the 2013 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

## Career
### Formula König

Born in Ubbergen, Gelderland, Buurman drove in the German-based Formula König championship in 2002, finishing twentieth in the season standings.

### Formula Renault

Buurman concentrated on various Formula Renault championships from 2003 to 2005, competing in the British, Dutch, European and American series during this period. In the British Winter Series in 2003, he began a four-year association with the Fortec Motorsport team. His most successful FRenault championships were the 2003 British Winter Series and the 2004 Dutch season, finishing third in both.
In 2007, Buurman made a brief appearance for Fortec in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, replacing the injured Richard Philippe for four races. At the second race weekend in which he replaced Philippe, he finished fifth and fourth in the two races.

### Formula Three

Following two races in British Formula Three in 2005, Buurman concentrated on this formula for 2006 and 2007. In 2006, he finished in fourth place in the British championship and drove in four races in the Formula Three Euroseries for Fortec. In 2007, he switched to the Euroseries full-time with the Manor Motorsport team, taking sixth place in the championship. He also competed in the stand-alone Macau Grand Prix and Masters F3 events in both years.

### GP2 Series

In 2008, Buurman competed in both the GP2 Series and the new GP2 Asia Series for the Arden team, alongside Sébastien Buemi. He was not originally scheduled to race in the Asian championship, but replaced Adam Langley-Khan when the Pakistani driver decided to focus on his A1 Grand Prix and education commitments and left the team after two rounds of the season.
After ten races of the GP2 Series season, Buurman was replaced at Arden by Luca Filippi, who had in turn lost his previous drive with the ART Grand Prix team to Sakon Yamamoto.
Buurman was signed by the newly renamed Ocean Racing Technology team for the remainder of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season. He was replaced for the final round by Karun Chandhok however, but he finished 19th in the championship. He was recalled to the team for the final two rounds of the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season.

### Superleague Formula

Following the loss of his GP2 drive, Buurman moved to the new Superleague Formula series as a driver for the PSV Eindhoven team. He finished in second position in the 2008 championship. For the 2009 season, he drove for the R.S.C. Anderlecht team. For 2010, Buurman will drive for his third different side, moving to the Atech Grand Prix-run A.C. Milan outfit.

### Sports car racing

In 2011, Buurman debuted in the FIA GT1 Championship in the final round at Potrero de los Funes, with a Chevrolet Corvette C6.R of Exim Bank Team China, winning the two races.
Buurman became a full-time driver for Vitaphone in the FIA GT1 Championship in 2012 along with Michael Bartels; posted four wins, two seconds places, two thirds, two fourths and two fifths, so that finished fifth in the championship behind the pairings Marc Basseng / Markus Winkelhock and Stef Dusseldorp / Frédéric Makowiecki. He also contested in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 6 Hours of Castellet with a LMP2's car Lola B12/80, where he finished third in the Paul Ricard race.
Marc VDS Racing Team hired a Buurman to drive a BMW Z4 for the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series, more precisely in the Pro Cup class, along with Maxime Martin and Bas Leinders. The trio won a race, so that finished fourth in the series. Furthermore, Buurman finished second in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
Buurman won the 2018 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the Pro-Am division of the 2020 British GT Championship.

## Racing record
### Career summary

| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Position |
| 2002 | Formula König | Lohmann Motorsport | 14 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 20th |
| 2003 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Equipe Verschuur | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 22nd |
| 2003 | Formula Renault 2000 Netherlands | Equipe Verschuur | ? | ? | ? | 110 | 6th |
| 2003 | Formula Renault 2000 UK Winter Championship | Fortec Motorsport | 4 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 3rd |
| 2004 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | AR Motorsport | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30th |
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2000 Netherlands | AR Motorsport | ? | ? | ? | 174 | 3rd |
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK | Fortec Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 37th |
| 2004 | Formula Renault 2000 UK Winter Championship | Fortec Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 5th |
| 2004 | Formula TR 2000 Pro Series Winter Invitational | ? | 5 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 6th |
| 2005 | Formula Renault 2.0 UK | Fortec Motorsport | 20 | 1 | 3 | 359 | 4th |
| 2005 | British Formula 3 | Fortec Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| 2005 | Formula Renault 2.0 Netherlands | Fortec Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 26th |
| 2006 | British Formula 3 | Fortec Motorsport | 22 | 0 | 2 | 186 | 4th |
| 2006 | Formula Three Euroseries | Fortec Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17th |
| 2006 | Macau Grand Prix | Fortec Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 8th |
| 2006 | Masters of Formula Three | Fortec Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 19th |
| 2007 | Formula Three Euroseries | Manor Motorsport | 20 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 6th |
| 2007 | Macau Grand Prix | Manor Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | NC |
| 2007 | Masters of Formula Three | Manor Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7th |
| 2007 | Formula Renault 3.5 Series | Fortec Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 20th |
| 2008 | GP2 Series | Trust Team Arden | 10 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20th |
| 2008 | GP2 Asia Series | Trust Team Arden | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9th |
| 2008 | Superleague Formula | PSV Eindhoven | 12 | 0 | 1 | 337 | 2nd |
| 2008–09 | GP2 Asia Series | Ocean Racing Technology | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19th |
| 2009 | Superleague Formula | R.S.C. Anderlecht | 14 | 0 | 2 | 305 | 4th |
| 2009–10 | GP2 Asia Series | Ocean Racing Technology | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21st |
| 2010 | Superleague Formula | A.C. Milan | 31 | 1 | 5 | 631 | 5th |
| 2010 | Formula One | Force India F1 Team | Test driver | Test driver | Test driver | Test driver | Test driver |
| 2011 | Superleague Formula | Netherlands - PSV Eindhoven | 6 | 1 | 0 | 130 | 4th |

### Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Points |
| 2007 | Fortec Motorsport | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | NÜR 1 14 | NÜR 2 5 | MON 1 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | DON 1 5 | DON 2 4 | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | EST 1 | EST 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | 20th | 15 |

### Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
| 2008 | Trust Team Arden | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR 10 | IST FEA 14 | IST SPR Ret | MON FEA 12 | MON SPR 8 | MAG FEA 12 | MAG SPR 2 | SIL FEA 15 | SIL SPR 10 | HOC FEA | HOC SPR | HUN FEA | HUN SPR | VAL FEA | VAL SPR | SPA FEA | SPA SPR | MNZ FEA | MNZ SPR | 20th | 5 |

#### Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
| 2008 | Trust Team Arden | DUB1 FEA | DUB1 SPR | SEN FEA | SEN SPR | SEP FEA 6 | SEP SPR 5 | BHR FEA 9 | BHR SPR 8 | DUB2 FEA 3 | DUB2 SPR 5 | | | 9th | 13 |
| 2008–09 | Ocean Racing Technology | SHI FEA | SHI SPR | DUB FEA Ret | DUB SPR C | BHR1 FEA Ret | BHR1 SPR 13 | LSL FEA Ret | LSL SPR DNS | SEP FEA 5 | SEP SPR 11 | BHR2 FEA | BHR2 SPR | 19th | 4 |
| 2009–10 | Ocean Racing Technology | YMC1 FEA | YMC1 SPR | YMC2 FEA | YMC2 SPR | BHR1 FEA 12 | BHR1 SPR 10 | BHR2 FEA 13 | BHR2 SPR 7 | | | | | 21st | 0 |

### Superleague Formula
#### 2008-2009

(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Operator | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Position | Points |
| 2008 | PSV Eindhoven | Azerti Motorsport | DON | DON | NÜR | NÜR | ZOL | ZOL | EST | EST | VAL | VAL | JER | JER | 2nd | 337 |
| 2008 | PSV Eindhoven | Azerti Motorsport | 4 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 2nd | 337 |
| 2009 | R.S.C. Anderlecht | Zakspeed | MAG | MAG | ZOL | ZOL | DON | DON | EST | EST | MOZ | MOZ | JAR | JAR | 4th | 305 |
| 2009 | R.S.C. Anderlecht | Zakspeed | 2 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 16 | D | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 4th | 305 |

#### 2009 Super Final Results

* Super Final results in 2009 did not count for points towards the main championship.
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 2009 | R.S.C. Anderlecht Zakspeed | MAG 4 | ZOL N/A | DON DNQ | EST 4 | MOZ N/A | JAR 1 |

#### 2010

| Year | Team | Operator | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | NC | NC | NC | 11 | 11 | 11 | Position | Points |
| 2010 | A.C. Milan | Atech | SIL | SIL | SIL | ASS | ASS | ASS | MAG | MAG | MAG | JAR | JAR | JAR | NÜR | NÜR | NÜR | ZOL | ZOL | ZOL | BRH | BRH | BRH | ADR | ADR | ADR | POR | POR | POR | ORD | ORD | ORD | BEI | BEI | BEI | NAV | NAV | NAV | 5th | 631 |
| 2010 | A.C. Milan | Atech | 2 | 16 | X | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 11 | 4 | X | 10 | 16 | X | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 3 | C | 7 | 12 | X | 5th | 631 |
| 2011 | Azerti Motorsport | Netherlands – PSV Eindhoven | HOL | HOL | HOL | BEL | BEL | BEL | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 130 |
| 2011 | Azerti Motorsport | Netherlands – PSV Eindhoven | 1 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 4th | 130 |

### Complete GT1 World Championship results

| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
| 2011 | Exim Bank Team China | Corvette C6.R | ABU QR | ABU CR | ZOL QR | ZOL CR | ALG QR | ALG QR | SAC QR | SAC CR | SIL QR | SIL CR | NAV QR | NAV CR | PRI QR | PRI CR | ORD QR | ORD CR | BEI QR | BEI CR | SAN QR 1 | SAN CR 1 | 15th | 33 |
| 2012 | BMW Team Vita4One | BMW E89 Z4 GT3 | NOG QR 11 | NOG CR 10 | ZOL QR 1 | ZOL CR 2 | NAV QR 3 | NAV QR 5 | SVK QR 3 | SVK CR 1 | ALG QR 2 | ALG CR 5 | SVK QR 1 | SVK CR 1 | MOS QR 10 | MOS CR 7 | NUR QR 4 | NUR CR 4 | DON QR 9 | DON CR 9 | | | 3rd | 144 |
* Season still in progress.

### 24 Hours of Le Mans Results

| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
| 2012 | Status Grand Prix | Alexander Sims Romain Iannetta | Lola B12/80-Judd | LMP2 | 239 | DNF | DNF |