Management
Brad Joyce
Team Principal
Brad Joyce joined Van Amersfoort Racing in October 2024 as the Team Principal, taking on the Senior Leadership role for the racing company team’s overall management, performance, and strategic direction. He brings a wealth of experience from his 19 years in Formula 1 working with some of the most renowned F1 drivers as a Race Engineer, Head of Trackside Performance, and then Chief Engineer at Aston Martin. He has a distinguished record in many categories, engineering on championship winning teams in both F3000, BTCC, and GTs, and having been on the development teams of multiple manufacturers.
Brad combines technical expertise with strong leadership, steering VAR’s teams to perform at their best both on and off the track. Leading, inspiring, and motivating the Teams and Drivers to pursue excellence.
Klaudija Jakaj
Head of Operations
Klaudija Jakaj joined Van Amersfoort Racing in late 2022 as Team Manager for the FIA Formula 3 team and now serves as Head of Operations. In this key leadership role, she drives the day-to-day operations across both trackside and factory environments. With a background in GT racing and experience working with manufacturers and factory drivers, she brings structure, precision and a sharp operational mindset. Her approach and understanding of team dynamics are an important part of VAR’s management structure.
Francisco Freitas
Head of Business Operations
Francisco Freitas joined Van Amersfoort Racing in 2015 as Race Engineer, having more than a decade of engineering experience in single-seaters, endurance prototypes and GTs, and touring cars. Originally from Lisbon, he studied Mechanical Engineering before earning a Master’s in Automotive Engineering. He now Heads the Business Operations for the team. In this role, Francisco focuses on strategic decision-making, driver options, operational efficiency, and ensuring seamless coordination across the team. Motorsport has always been his passion, and he continues to pursue success alongside a like-minded and highly driven team.
Anneleen Walch
Executive Support Manager
Anneleen Walch joined Van Amersfoort Racing in March 2022 as Management Assistant and has since grown into the role of Executive Support Manager. She oversees day-to-day executive management tasks within the factory, ensuring everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. With a background in event management, Anneleen brings strong organisational skills and a sharp eye for detail to the team. Although a career in motorsport wasn’t her original goal, she quickly embraced the dynamic environment and now thrives in the fast-paced world of racing.