| Cem Bölükbaşı | |
|---|---|
 Bölükbaşı in 2022 | |
| Nationality |  Turkish |
| Born | (1998-02-09)9 February 1998 (age 27) Istanbul, Turkey |
| European Le Mans Series career | |
| Debut season | 2024 |
| Current team | Nielsen Racing |
| Racing licence |  FIA Bronze(2019–2020)[1] FIA Silver(2021–) |
| Car number | 24 |
| Former teams | DKR Engineering |
| Starts | 8 (8 entries) |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 8th in2024(LMP2 Pro-Am) |
| Previous series | |
| 2023 2022 2021 2019–20 2017–19 | Super Formula Championship FIA Formula 2 Championship F3 Asian Championship GT4 European Series Formula One eSports Series |
Cem Bölükbaşı (Turkish pronunciation:[dʒæmbœlykˈbaʃɯ]; born 9 February 1998) is a Turkish racing driver and former sim racer who competes in the2025 European Le Mans Series for Nielsen Racing.[2] He previously drove forDKR Engineering in the2024 European Le Mans Series.[3]
Bölükbaşı started motocross racing at the age of 5, and won the Turkish Championship a year later. Starting his professional career inesports in 2017, he joinedG2 Esports FA Racing and competed in severalFormula One eSports Series. He also won the inaugural championship of the Formula Renault Esport Series in 2020.
Making a switch back to real cars in May 2019, Bölükbaşı started racing in theGT4 European Series, and made his open-wheeler debut in October the same year inFormula Renault Eurocup. Throughout the first months of 2021, he competed in theF3 Asian Championship and finished as the runner-up in the rookie standings. He competed part-time in the2021 Euroformula Open Championship and won twice. After testing Formula 2 cars at the end of 2021, he was picked to drive in the2022 Formula 2 Championship with Charouz Racing System.
Bölükbaşı leftCharouz Racing System before theSpa-Francorchamps Formula 2 round on 27 August 2022.[4] The team argued there was a major breach of agreement from Bölükbaşı’s side, while he argued they could not reach a consensus on financialcontract terms. Bölükbaşı announced that he views his withdrawal unfair.[5]
Realizing his passion for speed when he was only 6 years old, his father took him to the motocross track.[6] He began to compete in motocross when he was 5 years old, and won the Turkish Championship at the age of 6.[7]
In 2022, Bölükbaşı said that his favouriteFormula One driver isFernando Alonso, adding that Alonso "as a person and his movements on track" made the Spanish driver interesting to him.[8]
In late 2017, he was selected to joinG2 Esports FA Racing, in which he would compete in various simracing competitions throughout 2018.[9] Bölükbaşı raced forMcLaren in the2017 Formula One eSports Series, which he finished 5th in the standings with 35 points and a race win under his name. In the 2018 Formula One eSports Series, he switched toToro Rosso and participated in 4 out of the 10 races, finishing 12th with 32 points. In the 2019 Formula One eSports Series, he participated in 9 out of the 12 races, finishing 21st with 4 points. During the2020 lockdowns, Bölükbaşı competed in several virtual races,[10] including winning the inaugural championship of the Formula Renault Esport Series.[11][12]
In May 2019,Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport announced that Bölükbaşı would race in the2019 GT4 European Series.[13] He was able to get a second-place finish in theMisano round and finished the championship in 17th overall. Bölükbaşı continued to race in the series full-time in2020.[14] He got 3 pole positions and 3 race wins and finished the season overall 2nd.[15]
Bölükbaşı made his Formula debut in the2019 Formula Renault Eurocup withM2 Competition.[16] As a guest driver he raced only in theHockenheim round, finishing 16th in race 1 and retiring from the second race.[17]
In January 2021,BlackArts Racing announced that Bölükbaşı would drive for the team in the2021 F3 Asian Championship.[18][19][20][21] He scored points in 13 of the 15 races and with a best race result of 5th, finished 9th in the overall standings.[22]
He also raced in the rebranded2022 season, this time with Evans GP.[23] Bölükbaşı retired from all three races in round 1, with the crash in race 3 causing major damage to the rear of his car.[24][25] The damage could not be repaired until the second round the week after, causing him to miss all three races.[25] In early February, just before round 3, Bölükbaşı announced that he would not continue racing in the series, as his chances of gettingFIA Super Licence points were slim.[26]
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On 3 July 2021, it was announced that Bölükbaşı would join the2021 Euroformula Open Championship withVan Amersfoort Racing.[27] He made his debut in the series during the fourth round atHungaroring. He won the first race in the round, becoming the first esport driver to win a race in formula series.[28] Bölükbaşı also finished third in the second race.[29] The third race was run on a wet track, and he finished in 7th place.[30]
In round 5 atImola, he qualified third. In race 1, he ran in second place before making a mistake with three laps to go and finished third.[31] In race 2, he started 4th as positions in the top 6 were reversed. He got into third after the start, but was later overtaken byJak Crawford, and finished the race in 4th place.[32] Bölükbaşı started race 3 in 7th, but collided with teammateRafael Villagómez, causing both of them to retire.[33]
Round 6 was at theRed Bull Ring, where Bölükbaşı started race 1 in 4th. He fell back to 5th at the start and finished the race in that position. However, he was promoted back into 4th after a post-race penalty forReshad de Gerus.[34] He started race 2 in third, and finished in second place behindNazim Azman.[35] He finished the final race of the round in 6th place.[36] In round 7 atMonza, he started race 1 in 10th, and finished in third place, as well as getting the fastest lap.[37] Race 2 was run in wet conditions, and Bölükbaşı finished in second place. In race 3, he crossed the line first, but was given a three-second time penalty for cutting a corner, which demoted him to second.[38]
In round 8 atCircuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bölükbaşı qualified on pole and led the race until the finish, winning his second race in the series.[39] In race 2, he started 6th and got into 4th after the start, and finished the race in that position.[40] He started race 3 in 5th, and also finished in 4th place. Bölükbaşı finished the season 5th in the overall standings, despite missing the first three rounds.[41]
Bölükbaşı was signed byEvans GP to contest the first round of the2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship.[42] Ending the weekend by retiring in all races, his last race ended in a startline crash, which caused massive car damage.[43] Due to the damage, he was unable to partake in the second round and later withdrew from the championship.[44]
On 14 October 2021, Bölükbaşı testedFormula Two machinery for the first time at theBrno Circuit, driving aDallara GP2/11 which was used in theGP2 Series from 2011 to 2016 and in theFIA Formula 2 Championship in 2017.[45] He drove a Formula 2 car for the first time in an official session during the 2021 post-season test withVan Amersfoort Racing on 18 December 2021, finishing 22nd and last.[46] On 12 January 2022, it was officially announced that he would compete in the2022 Formula 2 Championship as aCharouz Racing System driver.[47][48]
Forround 1 in Bahrain, Bölükbaşı qualified 20th in his first Formula 2 qualifying session.[49] During the sprint race, he gained two positions at the start. He later overtook two more cars and finished in 14th, also ahead ofMarcus Armstrong andTheo Pourchaire, both of whom retired from the race.[50] In the feature race, Bölükbaşı gained one position at the start and was in 19th place. He pit early on lap 9 and set the fastest lap multiple times. He was running as high as 12th at one point with theundercut, but he was passed by drivers on fresher tyres. Following a late-race crash, Bölükbaşı made a pitstop under the safety car, and two other drivers having issues in the pitlane helped him to get back up into 12th. On the restart however, Bölükbaşı spun and ended the race in 15th position.[51] During the practice session ofround 2 in Jeddah, Bölükbaşı crashed into the barrier.[52] He was hospitalized for routine checks, which resulted in him missing qualifying.[53] It was later determined that he had suffered from aconcussion, and was declared unfit to race. Charouz withdrew him from the event.[54] During the first day of the in-season Formula 2 test inCircuit de Barcelona, Bölükbaşı crashed into a concrete wall. He missed the rest of testing and flew back to Turkey,[55] where it was revealed that he had a broken rib.[56] He was replaced byDavid Beckmann for thenext round in Imola.[57]
Bölükbaşı returned to racing in theBarcelona round.[58] He qualified in 21st place.[59] In the sprint race, Bölükbaşı gained five positions on the first lap and got up into 16th, but dropped down to 18th place as the race went on.[60] In the feature race, Bölükbaşı again had a good first lap and gained seven positions. Following contact betweenJehan Daruvala andAyumu Iwasa, he got up into 12th. He came into the pits after the safety car for a tyre change but had a slow pitstop, finishing the race in 20th place.[61] In theMonaco round, Bölükbaşı qualified 21st originally,[62] but started the sprint race in 18th. He gained 6 positions in the first lap. He had a small contact withRichard Verschoor later in the race, but managed to finish in 12th.[63] He was due to start in 20th in the feature race, butRoy Nissany andLiam Lawson stalling on the grid on the formation lap promoted him to 18th. He gained two more positions in lap 1. He was later overtaken by Verschoor, which dropped him to 17th. After some drivers pitted, Bölükbaşı got into 10th. He pitted under the safety car caused byAmaury Cordeel and came out in 15th. Following several retirements after the safety car, Bölükbaşı finished the race 11th.[64]
During theBaku round, Bölükbaşı qualified in 21st place.[65] In the sprint race, he got into 19th place by lap 10. Following crashes and safety cars, he was running in 12th at the race restart with one lap to go.Ralph Boschung andCalan Williams made contact at the back, and Bölükbaşı wasn't able to avoid the car of Williams, leading him to retire, but was still classified as 18th as he completed over 90% of the race distance.[66] In the feature race, Bölükbaşı got into 15th place after lap 1. On lap 12, while running in 16th place, he was tapped byRoy Nissany, and collided with the barriers, causing both drivers to retire.[67] Nissany was penalized for causing the collision and received a three place grid penalty for the following event.[68] Bölükbaşı received a 5000 euro fine after his father had a "heated verbal exchange" and attempted a physical altercation with Nissany and his trainer after he called Bölükbaşı an "idiot" after the collision over the team radio.[69][70] In theSilverstone round, Bölükbaşı qualified 20th.[71] The sprint race was run in wet conditions. He got into 19th place by the end of lap 1, which is also where he finished the race.[72] In the feature race, Bölükbaşı ran in 14th place during the safety car. He made an early pitstop, but had difficulties with getting the tyres to work and finished 18th.[73]
In theSpielberg round, Bölükbaşı qualified 13th.[74] In the sprint race, he started to have problems with his brakes after lap 2.[75] He pitted later, and came out 5 laps behind the leaders, where he finished the race.[76] In the feature race, he made contact withLiam Lawson, causing him to break his front wing and pit early.[77] He didn't rejoin the track, and didn't finish the race.[78] At theLe Castellet round, he qualified 22nd and last.[79] Bölükbaşı started on the soft tyre, and climbed into 13th place on lap 1. He ran in that position until lap 18, when he made a mistake at the final corner and lost two positions. He finished the race 15th.[80] In the feature race, he gained one position at the start. In the closing stages, he came into the pits and retired.[81] AtBudapest, Bölükbaşı qualified 16th.[82] He lost a place at the start of the sprint race. On lap 15, he pitted for the soft tyre, and crossed the line in 17th place.[83] A post-race penalty forRichard Verschoor promoted him back to 16th.[84] In the feature race, he got into 13th place in lap 1, and later overtookLiam Lawson andLogan Sargeant as well. He finished the race in 13th place.[85]
Bölükbaşı's contract was terminated by mutual consent ahead of theSpa-Francorchamps round, and he was replaced withTatiana Calderón.[86] On his sudden F2 departure, Bölükbaşı stated that financial issues forced him to part ways with Charouz.[87]
In December 2022, following his sudden Formula 2 exit, Bölükbaşı participated in aSuper Formula test alongside then Formula 2 driverLiam Lawson.[88] In March 2023, Bölükbaşı was chosen to compete in the2023 Super Formula Championship withTGM Grand Prix.[89] Bölükbaşı had a difficult season, his only points came with eighth and ninth place in the first three rounds, leading him to finish 18th in the standings with five points.[90] However he left the series after spending a season as he was replaced byNobuharu Matsushita for2024.[91]
After leaving Super Formula, Bölükbaşı found a drive to race in the2024 European Le Mans Series forDKR Engineering.[3]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Turkey Karting Championship — Mini | 7th | |
| South East European Karting Zone — Mini | 20th | ||
| 2008 | Turkey Karting Championship — Mini | 9th | |
| 2009 | Turkey Karting Championship — Mini | 3rd | |
| South East European Karting Zone — Mini | 11th | ||
| 2011 | Kartmasters British Grand Prix — Rotax Junior | 13th | |
| 2012 | Rotax Max Challenge Belgium — Junior | 36th | |
| Rotax Max Euro Challenge — Junior | Paul Carr Racing | 25th | |
| Rotax Max Wintercup — Junior | 4th |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Formula One eSports Series | None | 5 | 1 | N/A | N/A | 3 | 35 | 5th |
| 2018 | Formula One eSports Series | Toro Rosso Esports Team | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 12th |
| 2019 | Formula One eSports Series | Toro Rosso Esports Team | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 21st |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | N/A | GBR 3 | BRA 2 | CAN 19 | BEL 1 | ABU 11 | 5th | 35 | |||||||
| 2018 | Toro Rosso Esports Team | AUS | CHN | AZE | FRA | GBR 4 | BEL 6 | GER 8 | SIN 6 | USA | ABU | 12th | 32 | ||
| 2019 | Toro Rosso Esports Team | BHR 14 | CHN 13 | AZE 15 | CAN 9 | AUT 18 | GBR 9 | GER | BEL | ITA 20 | JPN 11 | USA 20 | BRA | 21st | 4 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | GT4 European Series - Pro-Am | Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26 | 17th |
| Formula Renault Eurocup | M2 Competition | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2020 | GT4 European Series - Pro-Am | Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport | 12 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 192 | 2nd |
| 2021 | Euroformula Open Championship | Van Amersfoort Racing | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 217 | 5th |
| F3 Asian Championship | BlackArts Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 9th | |
| GT4 European Series - Pro-Am | Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 11th | |
| GT4 European Series - Am | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 51 | 11th | ||
| GT4 European Series - Silver | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 30 | 15th | ||
| European Le Mans Series - LMP3 | EuroInternational | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 18th | |
| 2022 | Formula Regional Asian Championship | Evans GP | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship | Charouz Racing System | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24th | |
| 2023 | Super Formula | TGM Grand Prix | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18th |
| 2024 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 Pro-Am | DKR Engineering | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 8th |
| 2025 | European Le Mans Series - LMP2 | Nielsen Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5th* |
† As Bölükbaşı was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport | BMW M4 GT4 | Pro-Am | IMO 1 | IMO 2 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | LEC 1 Ret | LEC 2 24 | MIS 1 9 | MIS 2 20 | ZAN 1 | ZAN 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | 17th | 26 |
| 2020 | Borusan Otomotiv Motorsport | BMW M4 GT4 | Silver | IMO 1 3 | IMO 2 11 | MIS 1 4 | MIS 2 7 | NÜR 1 12 | NÜR 2 8 | ZAN 1 12 | ZAN 2 14 | SPA 1 9 | SPA 2 5 | LEC 1 8 | LEC 2 Ret | 2nd | 192 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | M2 Competition | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | SIL 1 | SIL 2 | MON 1 | MON 2 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | CAT 1 | CAT 2 | HOC 1 16 | HOC 2 Ret | YMC 1 | YMC 2 | NC† | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | BlackArts Racing | DUB 1 7 | DUB 2 9 | DUB 3 8 | ABU 1 8 | ABU 2 7 | ABU 3 10 | ABU 1 7 | ABU 2 5 | ABU 3 Ret | DUB 1 7 | DUB 2 8 | DUB 3 12 | ABU 1 9 | ABU 2 6 | ABU 3 9 | 9th | 61 |
| 2022 | Evans GP | ABU 1 Ret | ABU 2 Ret | ABU 3 Ret | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | DUB 3 | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | DUB 3 | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | DUB 3 | ABU 1 | ABU 2 | ABU 3 | - | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Van Amersfoort Racing | POR 1 | POR 2 | POR 3 | LEC 1 | LEC 2 | LEC 3 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | SPA 3 | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 3 | HUN 3 7 | IMO 1 3 | IMO 2 4 | IMO 3 Ret | RBR 1 4 | RBR 2 2 | RBR 3 6 | MNZ 1 3 | MNZ 2 2 | MNZ 3 2 | CAT 1 1 | CAT 2 4 | CAT 3 4 | 5th | 217 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Eurointernational | LMP3 | Ligier JS P320 | Nissan VK56DE 5.6L V8 | CAT | RBR 2 | LEC | MNZ | SPA | ALG | 18th | 18 |
| 2024 | DKR Engineering | LMP2 Pro-Am | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 6 | LEC 8 | IMO 5 | SPA 5 | MUG Ret | ALG 7 | 8th | 38 |
| 2025 | Nielsen Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 7 | LEC 5 | IMO | SPA | SIL | ALG | 5th* | 16* |
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Charouz Racing System | BHR SPR 14 | BHR FEA 14 | JED SPR WD | JED FEA WD | IMO SPR | IMO FEA | CAT SPR 18 | CAT FEA 20 | MCO SPR 12 | MCO FEA 11 | BAK SPR 18† | BAK FEA Ret | SIL SPR 19 | SIL FEA 18 | RBR SPR NC | RBR FEA Ret | LEC SPR 15 | LEC FEA Ret | HUN SPR 16 | HUN FEA 13 | SPA SPR | SPA FEA | ZAN SPR | ZAN FEA | MNZ SPR | MNZ FEA | YMC SPR | YMC FEA | 24th | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | TGM Grand Prix | Honda | FUJ 8 | FUJ 17 | SUZ 9 | AUT 15 | SUG 17 | FUJ 18 | MOT 11 | SUZ 20 | SUZ 15 | 18th | 5 |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 |  Nielsen Racing |  Colin Braun Naveen Rao | Oreca 07-Gibson | LMP2 | 170 | DNF | DNF |
| LMP2 Pro-Am |
| Years active | 1985–2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel |
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| Former drivers |
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