One more night of sleep and then Bas van Bodegraven and his girlfriend Ingrid Kattestart get into the camper. Together they will follow the Formula 1 races this summer: the Tilburg couple is a big fan of Max Verstappen and will tour all over Europe for six months to follow the Limburger.
They do this not only for fun, but also to provide their thousands of fans on their own YouTube channel with the latest information.
“We have installed extra cameras on the dashboard to show where we are and how our tour is going,” says Bas. He sits beaming behind the wheel of his 2006 Mercedes Hymer.
The colossal camper this year replaced the ‘oldie’ from 1980 with which they followed Formula 1 in recent years.
“It really got too old and too slow,” admits Bas. “Especially in the mountains, that was a problem, because then it went so slowly that I was often afraid that the trucks would overtake us.”
The camper is completely ‘swapped’ in the colors of Max Verstappen. “We attract attention everywhere we go,” says Ingrid. “Other Formula 1 fans recognize us and when we arrive at a campsite, there are immediately people around us.”
The chance that they will meet Max Verstappen is very small, they both think. “But that’s not what we’re aiming for. We know he drives there and he’s already busy enough with all the interest there is for him. We don’t have to interfere with that.”
By the way, the first stop will be one with a romantic twist. On Friday Bas and Ingrid drive from Tilburg to the Swiss town of Saas-Fee where they met in 2003.
“If corona had not intervened, I would have wanted to propose to her there earlier,” says Bas with a mysterious smile. Whether or not he will do so is not yet known. What is certain is that they will continue from Switzerland to Italy, where Max Verstappen’s first stage is scheduled for April 24. “Monza, here we come!”