Bruno Mulders had a spectacular first car racing season in the NASCAR Euro Series in 2025 – The Dutchman’s talents was noticed by Jacques Villeneuve, who recommended him to join the official European NASCAR championship

• Bruno Mulders is the Master Trophy champion of 2025
• The Dutchman achieved successes in both the PRO and OPEN divisions
• Jacques Villeneuve noticed Mulders’ talents fit perfectly with the NASCAR Euro Series

One driver who impressed with his performance in the 2025 NASCAR Euro Series season was Bruno Mulders, the Master Trophy champion in the OPEN division. The 17-year old Dutchman achieved sensational results in both OPEN and PRO, holding his own against the elite drivers of the official European NASCAR championship. His road to NASCAR Euro glory was facilitated by not only his karting success, but also the recommendation of Jacques Villeneuve, who helped train Mulders as a driver prior to his ground breaking year with Team Bleekemolen. But how did it all begin? Let’s find out with this exclusive insight from the driver of the #72 Toyota Camry.

Starting With a Lucky Chance

Mulders started his racing passion through a lucky opportunity. During a friend’s party, he was invited into a karting session and immediately loved the sensation of speed. His family knew someone who understands how to tune a karting racing machine and from there, things started to blossom: “At the beginning of my career, I started off with a party for a friend of mine who went karting,” said Mulders on where it all began. “I really liked it and my father knew someone who did some small things with four stroke karting. We did one or two days on a local track near my home and decided that we really wanted to get into it further.”

“So I started karting in Holland in 2015 on four strokes, I got my license and I got into a karting school. I then entered the Dutch championship and it went quite well. I think I finished fourth in my first year of karting and I had a few wins and we really enjoyed it. After that we made the move to two stroke karting. I entered a big international event to win a ticket to the karting world championship, which I won in my first year. Then I became the Dutch rookie champion and went to the world championships in Brazil.”

Mulders Grows in Stature

The first successes have been achieved, but there’s still plenty of learning for Mulders. The Dutchman joined various karting championships to not only step up in the divisions, but also to hone his racecraft further. “After that we were basically looking into different things to step it up a bit,” Mulders recalls. “I signed for Kart Republic as a factory driver in the senior karting championship in 2022. I drove the entire year in the FIA European Championship and World Championship. Of course, it featured the champions of the future which was quite a big step from Rotax karting, but I learned a lot and made a lot of progress. Then the year after, I made the move to KZ karting and I signed for the CRG factory racing team, and I did basically the same thing.”

Mulders’ talents caught the attention of a racing legend: Jacques Villeneuve. The former Formula 1 world champion and Indy 500 winner, who also had a successful stint in the NASCAR Euro Series with two wins to his name, invited Mulders to join the FEED Racing academy program he created with another motorsport icon, Patrick Lemarie, who is also a race winner in the NASCAR Euro Series,. “At the end of 2023 I did the FEED Racing program, which is jorganized by Villeneuve and Lemarie,” said Mulders on his time at FEED Racing. “They were using the Formula 4 cars, which was basically my first ever introduction into car racing and also open wheel racing. I ran very well and finished fourth in the program.”

A Legend’s Recommendation Brings Mulders to Stardom

Mulders has risen to become one of Netherlands’ most promising young talents, but he hit a roadblock in 2024. He did not compete that year for personal reasons and was close to having the same in 2025, but then there came a contact from Villeneuve. The Canadian noticed his talents would fit with the NASCAR Euro Series cars, thereby leading Mulders to participate in the Drivers Recruitment Test at NASCAR Europe’s official testing facility in Fontenay-le-Comte.

The Recruitment Test provided Mulders with a launching pad to sign a contract with Team Bleekemolen in the OPEN division for the 2025 season. And then, as Mulders himself described, “you know the story”. The 17-year old finished on the OPEN podium in just his second race in Spain and then brought home his first victory in the NASCAR GP Germany.

His amazing debut year culminated in the Finals in Belgium, where he became the Master Trophy champion after a season-long battle with Sandro Tavartkiladze and Thomas Dombrowski. The Dutchman also secured third place in the OPEN standings and a maiden PRO podium, therefore making him the youngest podium finisher in NASCAR Euro Series’ highly competitive top division. Successes in both PRO and OPEN ensured that Mulders will be a talent to watch for years to come.

“I had quite a difficult year in 2024,” explained Mulders. “With some stuff happening around the family and all this stuff in school as well, I had a year off and I didn’t drive anything. It basically seemed like everything was a bit over for me. And then in 2025, we got into some talks with Villeneuve. He said that my driving style really fits with the NASCAR cars, as it is quite an overpowered car compared to a Formula 4, which is quite underpowered in terms of driving style.”

“After that we got to talks with Jerome Galpin and we did a test day. I don’t remember the track, but it was in France, a small track where they always test [Fontaney Le Comte] and it went very well. It was also in the rain. The speed was great already. Then we got into contact with some teams and we decided to go with Team Bleekemolen. From there on, you know the story in 2025. So that is basically, I think my racing career summed up quite quickly.”

Featured image by NASCAR Euro Series / Nina Weinbrenner