Three Belgian sports stars are sharing a Mazda MX-5 at the 24 Hours of Zolder
A footballer, a cyclocross champion and a TV presenter walk into a race car
It sounds like the set-up for a great sports quiz, but it is really happening: footballer Toby Alderweireld, former cyclocross world champion Niels Albert and TV presenter Ruben Van Gucht are teaming up to race a Mazda MX-5 in the 24 Hours of Zolder. As reported by Gocar.be, three of Belgium's best-known sporting names will share one cockpit for a full day and night of racing.
Who is in the car
The line-up is genuinely eye-catching. Toby Alderweireld is one of Belgium's most-capped footballers, Niels Albert a former cyclocross world champion, and Ruben Van Gucht a well-known sports journalist and presenter. They are joined by journalist and racing driver Alain De Jong, who actually competes in the Belcar championship with this very car and has previously won the Belcar Club Challenge title. For Alderweireld it will be his first taste of circuit racing, while Albert and Van Gucht both have some prior track experience.
The car and the mentor
Their weapon of choice is a modified Mazda MX-5, run by team MSTC and backed by Mazda Belgium, which is using the project to put the spotlight on its long-running roadster. The whole concept was created by Bert Longin, a seven-time winner of the 24 Hours of Zolder. Now retired from active competition since late 2024, Longin mentors the team and serves as a backup driver, and reckons the trio's elite-sport backgrounds give them the raw talent to be competitive. You can read more on the project at Gocar.be.
When and where
The 24 Hours of Zolder takes place on 29 and 30 August 2026 at Circuit Zolder. It is one of Belgium's classic endurance events, and a full day and night of racing is a serious physical and mental test, which is part of the appeal of putting elite athletes from other disciplines behind the wheel. The MX-5 is a perfectly judged car for it too: light, balanced and famously friendly to drive, it is one of the best machines around for learning the craft of endurance racing.
AutoNext Take
This is exactly the kind of feel-good motorsport story Belgium does so well. Three stars from football, cycling and broadcasting climbing into the same little Mazda is brilliant for the sport's visibility, and crucially they are doing it in a real, proper endurance race rather than a one-off PR lap. Bert Longin's involvement keeps it credible: a seven-time Zolder winner does not lend his name to a gimmick. Whether they trouble the timing sheets or not, a celebrity-packed MX-5 grinding through 24 hours at Zolder is the sort of thing that gets people who never watch motorsport to tune in, and that is a win for everyone.
