Four nationalities, one dream for Marlon Birdsall: “China comes first for me”

After spending half a season in the BMW M4 GT4 in the Supercar Challenge last year, 19‑year‑old Marlon Birdsall will step up to the more powerful BMW M6 GT3 for the upcoming season. His rapid rise hasn’t gone unnoticed, and on track he will stand out not only for his speed but also for his identity: with four nationalities (Chinese, Swiss, Dutch and English), his BMW will appear in the unmistakable colours of the Chinese flag.

From rental karts to GT3 driver

For Marlon, it all began at the age of twelve. “I started, like many others, by going karting with my dad one day.” From that moment on, he felt immediately connected to motorsport. “After that I did rental karting for a long time, and in the summers we’d just go every weekend,” the young driver says with a smile. “When I was fifteen, we bought our own kart, but we did it recreationally. Just driving laps, hobbyists,” he explains to GT REPORT.

Even though it started as a hobby, Marlon quickly realised he wanted to take it further. “When I was seventeen, I got my racing licence here at TT Assen, where we are now, with a BMW 3 Series Compact E36. It was wet and super fun! And after that, last year, I started racing with the Koopman team. So in terms of motorsport, it actually hasn’t been that long.”

Marlon explains how his rapid progress began: “I did half a year of Supercar Challenge in 2025. I started in May, at Spa, that was my first race weekend, in a BMW M2 Cup car.”

Because he only competed for half a season, he didn’t complete the full championship. “I did four races last year, which is slightly more than half of the full season because that’s seven races,” he says. Spa was also the only event in the BMW M2 Cup car, because he quickly moved up to something faster. “I did three races in a BMW M4 GT4, also with Koopman. I scored a lot of podiums there, unfortunately not a win yet.”

The lack of a win doesn’t take away from his visible speed and rapid development. “Those four races went so well that in December we tested the BMW M6 GT3. The team thought it went so well that I’m allowed to race a GT3 this year,” he says proudly.

His first race in the BMW M6 GT3 was the FEBO Nieuwjaarsrace on Saturday 10 January, a four‑hour race finishing in the dark. Marlon shared the car with Wessel Sandkuijl; when Marlon got in, he impressively drove from P8 to P4.

The differences between his first BMW 3 Series Compact E36 and the BMW M6 GT3 are obvious beyond just speed and power. “A GT3 car is much faster than a compact car. You have downforce, the car feels very light, and you need a lot of technical understanding to drive it. A compact is just as fun, I think, but different. It’s manual and easy to start, no big procedure. That’s the biggest difference,” Marlon tells GT REPORT.

Mex Jansen as a key figure

Marlon owes much of his rapid progress to Mex Jansen. “He, like everyone at Koopman Racing, has helped me a lot with his talent and the way he explains things. He’s been a coach almost from the beginning, when I joined Koopman, and he helped me through all the classes.”

Thanks to Mex’s talent, he now competes in ELMS while combining it with his studies. In an earlier article, we discussed his goals, and Nicky Catsburg also expressed pride in Mex’s rapid rise.

Marlon explains what he learned most from him: “That’s a good one. I think I’d say that you really have to use the entire track.”

Multiple nationalities, China first

Anyone who follows Marlon on social media knows he lists several nationalities. “My official nationalities are 50% Chinese, then 25% British‑English, and the other 25% Swiss,” Marlon says.

Yet only two nationalities appear on his car. “We chose to leave out Swiss and British entirely. Only Dutch and Chinese, even though I officially have no Dutch blood. I was born here and race under a Dutch licence,” he explains. When asked which nationality he feels most connected to, he says: “We try to focus a lot on the Chinese side, since that’s a market that really appeals to me, where I’d like to find sponsors and partnerships, and I’m also very proud of my own nationality.”

His car this season is painted in the bright colours of the Chinese flag. “That’s why the car is completely red, and why China comes first for me. I’d love to race there and get more people interested in GT racing,” he says proudly.

Asia has many manufacturers active in GT racing, so opportunities seem to lie there for Marlon. “If I ever get the chance to drive for an Asian team with an Asian car, I would definitely consider it.” But he immediately adds nuance: “The same goes for a German or American team. For me it doesn’t matter much which car I drive; I’m mainly a big fan of racing itself.”

Growth for himself and others

“This season you’ll mainly see me in the Supercar Challenge. It will be my first full year in a GT3 car in the GT class, the fastest class,” Marlon says about his plans. “The goal for me, and for Koopman Racing, is to become champions everywhere,” he adds.

But he’s not revealing everything yet. “I’m going to do a few things that haven’t been announced yet.”

Marlon also wants to support upcoming drivers within Koopman Racing, just like Mex did. “We have a lot of motivated drivers, and I hope I can help them by coaching. I think I can do that, and I’d enjoy it, while also performing myself,” he says enthusiastically. “But I first want to get my own performance to the level where I can do that,” he admits.

To reach that level, he trains a lot. “I train a lot in the gym, about six days a week. I do strength training with cardio. I also do exercises specifically for racing, like for my neck, and sim racing. I mainly do that with a team, with many other Dutch drivers. We do special events on iRacing, but also league racing.”

Marlon explains what he specifically wants to do when coaching others: “I really enjoy teaching people things. I also spend a lot of time understanding how the car works, setup, data, and being able to explain that to someone else helps you learn too.”

It doesn’t just help Marlon and the other driver — the whole team benefits. “If you tell someone: try this, and it works, then you know for yourself: okay, this can work. And that way you can make the whole team better together. It’s really nice to bring your own talents into that.”

Finally, Marlon also has his eyes set on a long‑term goal: “GT World Challenge Asia.”