Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Collection Available at the WorldSBK Store!
The Official Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Collection has arrived at the WorldSBK Store!
One of the strongest independent teams on the WorldSBK grid, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team regularly challenges for the title of Best Independent Team while also taking the fight to the factory squads. Although a relatively recent addition to the WorldSBK paddock, the Belgian outfit has quickly established itself as a consistent podium contender.
With Sam Lowes aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R, the team has successfully transferred its winning mentality from Grand Prix racing to the Superbike World Championship. Already renowned as one of the benchmark teams in Moto2, Elf Marc VDS Racing Team has become a force to be reckoned with in WorldSBK since joining the championship in 2024.
Let's take a closer look at the team's official merchandise collection.
Marc VDS WorldSBK Official Merchandise Collection
The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team collection consists of two key items: the official team T-shirt and sweatshirt. These are the same garments worn by the team staff throughout the WorldSBK season—there are no simplified replicas or lower-spec fan versions here.
Designed to withstand the demanding conditions of the paddock, both pieces stand out for their quality, comfort, and durability. The collection is produced by Ixon, the renowned French motorcycle apparel manufacturer that also supplies racing equipment to several top-level teams.
Fans of the team and its rider, Sam Lowes, can perfectly combine these items with the official Sam Lowes merchandise range, which also features the Marc VDS team branding.
Marc VDS T-Shirt
The Marc VDS T-shirt immediately stands out from the rest of the WorldSBK paddock thanks to its distinctive burgundy-red colour scheme, complemented by black sleeves and side panels.
On the front, a large shield-shaped logo displays the Marc VDS identity alongside title sponsor Elf and several team partners. The emblem incorporates the silhouette of a yellow feline predator—resembling a cheetah—which has become one of the team's most recognisable visual elements. This detail is also featured inside the collar tape, adding a premium touch to the garment.
The rear of the T-shirt carries the same shield logo together with Ixon's branding. The black sleeves feature sponsor logos, while the shoulders include Ixon's signature padded inserts, inspired by the protection systems used in the company's racing leathers.
Marc VDS Sweatshirt
The Elf Marc VDS Racing Team sweatshirt follows the same visual identity as the T-shirt, featuring the team's distinctive burgundy-red and black colour combination and identical logo placement.
The main differences are found in its construction and functionality. Made from a thicker, warmer fabric, the sweatshirt is designed to provide extra comfort in cooler conditions. It features a high-quality full-length zip and two practical front pockets, both secured with robust zippers.
The raised collar offers additional protection against the cold while incorporating the same premium details found on the T-shirt, including the Ixon branding and the iconic Marc VDS feline motif. Like the T-shirt, the sweatshirt also features Ixon's padded shoulder inserts, reinforcing its connection to the world of professional motorcycle racing.
Whether you're supporting Sam Lowes or simply appreciate one of the most professional teams in the WorldSBK paddock, the official Elf Marc VDS Racing Team merch collection is a stylish way to show your colours both at the circuit and away from it.
Marc Van der Straten: the man behind the team
The name of the team corresponds to the initials of Marc-Oswald van der Straten-Ponthoz, a tycoon of the beer world. Descendant of the founder of the Belgian brewery Stella Artois, nowadays his original company, Stella Artois, is a founding part of the biggest beer selling corporation in the world: Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), that has very popular brands in all continents.
Mr. van der Straten had been a passionate of all with wheels and engines since a kid thanks to his family. Apart from the business ventures, the van der Straten family had already passion for racing. The father of Marc Van der Straten, Rudolph, already founded an automobile team in Belgium back in 1964. Marc followed this path in 1997, when he started to be involved with racing team organization.
Besides his actual implication with motorsport, Marc van der Straten is also known to noble causes as various solidarity organizations, but also by an eccentric lifestyle according to some, including an outstanding car collection with the VDS initials in the license plaque. With his passion for motorsports Mr. van der Straten is fulfilling the dreams of many and helping to grow the motorcycle racing world.
Marc VDS: from four wheels to motorcycles
Marc VDS is a unique team in the extense world of motorsport. Very few squads have such a long career in very different championships, ranging from car racing to motorcycling, and can claim to have succeed in such different stages.
Mr. van der Straten had a background started his own team in 1997, but not under the Marc VDS name, but under the banner Belgian Racing. The team started racing GT cars in the domestic series Belcar, of short endurance events plus the famous Spa 24 Hours in 2001. Their machinery was the specialized racing manufacturer Giller Vertigo, also a Belgian effort. From 2005 they became international joining the FIA GT Championship but in 2009, the Gillet brand finished its race program. It’s then when Marc Van der Straten rebrands the team as the current Marc VDS name.
From that year until 2015, Marc VDS continued its involvement in GT racing, first with the Fort GT GT3 machine – which they raced also in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Le Mans Series – and from 2012 with the BMW Z4 GT3. The team also expanded to rally raid, being part of the Volkswagen Buggy TDI in the 2010 Dakar Rally.
Marc VDS relationship with cars ended in 2015 after disagreement with promoters of GT series; nevertheless, the team won its favorite event: the Spa 24h, also known as the biggest GT3 race in the world. Buit Marc VDS was already long into two-wheel racing by this stage; from then on, the team concentrated on motorcycling only.
The two wheel period started with a first approach from Michael Bartholemy, who was the former Team Manager of the Kawasaki Racing Team in MotoGP. It was 2009 and as KRT leaved the Grand Prix scene to return to WorldSBK; Bartholemy looked for a new challenge. A Belgian too, he convinced and help Marc Van der Straten to start his adventure in motorcycling racing.
Marc VDS: focused on two wheels
Marc VDS started its connection with motorcycling racing in 2010, entering the Moto2 World Championship with Suter machinery. Its first riders were accomplished names in the Grand Prix paddock: a young Scott Redding and Héctor Faubel. The first year was quite successful for a rookie team, with Redding clinching two podiums: a second place in Australia and a third in Indianopolis.
The team continued in the Moto2 scene but also grow committing to Moto3 in 2013 with the Italian rider Livio Loi on a KTM. In Moto2 the team achieved its first ever victories with Scott Readding being runner-up at the end of the year and also his teammate Mika Kalio achieving victories to finish 4th. The highlight came the next year: Tito Rabat become 2014 Moto2 World Champion and Kallio was runner-up; a clear 1-2 unprecedented in Moto2 history.
2015 was a key year for the team, entering in the MotoGP championship with Scott Readding and a single satellite Honda while maintaining its Moto2 structure; the Moto3 effort had to be ended. The team achieved its first podium in MotoGP at Misano, with third place. Next year the team fielded two Honda RC213V with Jack Miller and Tito Rabat; the Australian became the sensation achieving the victory in a wet race at the Assen TT, the first victory for Marc VDS in MotoGP.
2017 was another good year, this time in Moto2 with Franco Mobidelli becoming World Champion and his teammate Àlex Márquez achieving its first victory in the class. Márquez will become World Champion in 2019, the third rider to do so with the team. Also in 2019, Marc VDS mark another check in its long resume of achievements entering the new MotoE World Cup. With the French Mike Di Meglio, they won the Austrian race.
The 2020 racing season marked the first year of the relationship between Marc VDS and Sam Lowes as rider. Lowes achieved three Grand Prix victories in Moto2 in his first season with the team. Also, the MotoE program was ended, and the team concentrated in Moto2. The effort paid of with Tony Arbolino being runner-up in 2023 and achieving podiums and victories every season.
Entering WorldSBK: Marc VDS moves to production racing
2024 marked a new chapter for the team as it entered WorldSBK while continuing its presence in Moto2. Sam Lowes joined this new Marc VDS project, becoming a Superbike rider and competing against a field that included his twin brother, Alex Lowes. The machine selected for the campaign was a satellite Panigale V4 R from Ducati Corse.
It was a challenging start for both the team and the rider. Lowes' best result came with a sixth-place finish at Assen, but he failed to finish or score points in 17 of the 30 races he started. This points-scoring ratio of less than 50% resulted in a disappointing 18th place in the final championship standings, a position that did not reflect the true potential of either the rider or the team.
In 2025, Marc VDS achieved its first WorldSBK podium finishes in only its second season in the championship. Sam Lowes finished second in the Assen and Balaton Superpole Races, while also claiming third-place finishes at Donington Park, Balaton, and Aragón. A magnificent achievement for both the team and Lowes in just their second year in World Superbikes.
Lowes ended the season in eighth position overall despite missing the final two rounds of the championship at Estoril and Jerez, losing the opportunity to score points in the last six races. Elf Marc VDS Racing Team also secured second place in the Independent Teams standings, behind the Ducati-backed Barni Racing Team. This achievement is even more remarkable considering Marc VDS competed with a single rider against teams fielding two-rider line-ups.
Furthermore, in 2025 the team took another step in its expansion by debuting in a new motorcycle racing discipline: endurance racing. Through a collaboration with the Belgian squad KM99, a regular Yamaha privateer in the FIM Endurance World Championship, Marc VDS returned to long-distance competition, this time on two wheels.
Marc VDS: a team of enthusiasts for enthusiasts
Marc Van der Straten has a motto for the team: "working together, not only as a team, but as a family, to offer our supporters the best performance and motorcycle show." That philosophy perfectly captures the spirit of Marc VDS: a project created by a true motorsport enthusiast with the aim of fulfilling not only his own dreams, but also those of countless fans.
Far from the factory teams, where internal politics and marketing-driven decisions can sometimes influence sporting choices, Marc VDS remains faithful to the traditional philosophy of private racing teams: competing for the love of the sport, as a group of passionate people fortunate enough to live their dream as a profession.
Marc VDS merchandise captures this essence perfectly, with its distinctive colours and roaring feline emblem symbolising a team constantly hunting for even greater achievements.
