Louis Machiels

Machiels' grandfather Louis Machiels Sr. founded the Machiels Group in 1941,^[1] which was then taken over by his father Jef Machiels Sr. in 1973.^[2] In 2004, Machiels took over the company from his father.^[3] His son Jef Machiels Jr. and stepson Jules Castro are also racing drivers.^[4][5] In 2007, the Machiels family was ranked as the joint-12th richest family in Limburg.^[6]

Machiels began his racing career in 1997, partaking in select rounds of the FFSA GT Championship for GLPK Racing.^[7] Following that, Machiels primarily raced in Ferrari Challenge Europe until 2008,^[8] most notably finishing third in the 2004 Trofeo Pirelli standings.^[9] In 2009, Machiels won the 24 Hours of Zolder and raced in the 24 Hours of Spa for Porsche-fielding Prospeed Competition.^[10][11] The following year, Machiels returned to the team to race in the GT2 classes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, 24 Hours of Spa and the 1000 km of Spa.^[12][13]

Returning to Ferrari machinery for 2011, Machiels joined Vita4One to race in the GT3 Pro-Am class of the Blancpain Endurance Series, which he won alongside Niek Hommerson after taking class wins at Magny-Cours and Silverstone.^[14][15] Switching to AF Corse for the 2012 season,^[16] Machiels and Hommerson began a long-standing partnership with Ferrari factory driver Andrea Bertolini, who helped them to a second Pro-Am title with class wins at Le Castellet and the 24 Hours of Spa.^[17][18] Remaining with the Italian team for the following season, Machiels scored a lone class win at Monza to take fifth in the Pro-Am standings.^[19] Following that, Machiels only raced at the 24 Hours of Spa across the following two years, winning it in Pro-Am for AF Corse in 2014 and racing for Bentley Team HTP the following year.^[20][21]

Following a season with Lamborghini-affiliated Attempto Racing,^[22] Machiels joined AF Corse-run Spirit of Race for 2017,^[23] taking a lone Pro-Am podium at Monza en route to a 13th-place points finish in class.^[24] Returning to the Italian team the following year, he took a class podium at Monza for the second consecutive season as he ended the year 14th in points.^[25] During 2018, Machiels also raced at the 24 Hours of Daytona for Lamborghini-linked GRT Grasser Racing Team in GTD.^[26] Continuing with AF Corse, Machiels raced with Bertolini in a dual programme in the Pro-Am classes of both the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe.^[27] In the former, Machiels scored a win at Silverstone to take seventh in the standings,^[28] whereas in the latter, he took wins at Misano and the Nürburgring en route to a fourth-place points finish.^[29][30] During 2019, Machiels also represented Belgium in the FIA Motorsport Games GT Cup, partnering Nico Verdonck in an Attempto-run Audi.^[31]

In 2020, Machiels remained with AF Corse to continue in the newly-renamed GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup.^[32] Finishing a lowly 10th in the former, Machiels found more success in the latter, in which he took a win at Misano and two at Barcelona to clinch runner-up honors.^[33][34] Continuing for an identical effort in 2021,^[35] Machiels finished on the Pro-Am podium at the 24 Hours of Spa in the former,^[36] and clinched two Sprint Cup class wins to take third in Pro-Am.^[37][38] Staying for a fourth consecutive dual programme in 2022,^[39] Machiels scored seven Sprint Cup podiums to clinch third in Pro-Am,^[40] but found more success in the Endurance Cup, winning at the Hockenheimring and the 24 Hours of Spa to secure his third class title.^[41]

In 2023, Machiels was joined by son Jef Machiels to contest another dual campaign in both the Endurance and Sprint Cups in the newly-created Bronze Cup,^[42] which only yielded a singular class podium in the former at Le Castellet.^[43] Downscaling to only the Endurance Cup for 2024,^[44] Machiels finished second at both Le Castellet and the 24 Hours of Spa en route to runner-up honors in Bronze.^[45][46] Machiels then stayed with the team for one last season in 2025, failing to secure a podium as he ended the year 21st in points.^[47] After teammate Andrea Bertolini opted to hang up his helmet mid-season, Machiels formally retired from motorsport at the end of the year.^[48]