Mex Jansen Driver Profile: The Dutch GT Star Taking the ELMS by Storm in 2026

The Mex Jansen driver profile reads like something from a motorsport fairy tale, except the numbers are real. Twenty years old. Five seasons of racing. A GT World Challenge Europe Silver Cup title. And now, a race-winning campaign in the European Le Mans Series. Born on 10 May 2006 in Zevenaar, Netherlands, Jansen holds FIA Silver classification, a status that reflects just how rapidly he has climbed through the ranks of professional GT competition.

Mex Jansen: Fast Facts

• Date of birth: 10 May 2006
• Born in: Zevenaar, Netherlands
• Nationality: Dutch
• FIA classification: Silver
• Car: No. 86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo

From the Pool to the Pitlane

Jansen competed in swimming at an early age, winning silver medals in the 100-meter Butterfly and the 200-meter Medley at the 2019 Gelderland Long Course Championships. Sport has always been in his DNA. The switch to cars, however, came without the usual route through karting. He made his racing debut in 2022 at just 16 years old at Circuit Zolder, stepping straight into a BMW 240i while many of his peers were still karting. He had never karted before.

What he had was a simulator. That turned out not to be an exaggeration: in his very first qualifying session he immediately put the car on pole position. That result announced a talent that would not wait for a conventional timeline.

After stepping up to the GT class in the Supercar Challenge, Jansen won on debut at Assen, then took both races at Zandvoort and added another win at Assen to finish sixth in the GT points. The following season, he won seven races on his way to runner-up in Supercar Challenge points. He was 17 years old.

The Mex Jansen Driver Profile: Building a Championship Pedigree

Jansen’s step into GT3 competition came via ADAC GT4 Germany with Walkenhorst Motorsport in 2023. He started that season with two third-place finishes at Oschersleben, then added podiums at Zandvoort, the Lausitzring and the Sachsenring, finishing fifth in the standings on 116 points.

The jump to GT World Challenge Europe in 2024 was not seamless. At the 24 Hours of Spa, he scored points at the six and 12-hour mark but crashed at the 14th hour at Eau Rouge, finishing the season 32nd in the Bronze Cup on nine points. He learned. Fast.

In 2025, the transformation was complete. Jarrod Waberski, Mex Jansen and William Moore won the drivers’ title in the Silver category of the Endurance Cup with the #42 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Century Motorsport. It was a title built on consistency rather than luck. At Monza, under intense pressure, Jansen said: “I think that was the most intense race of my career. It was incredibly hot in the car, but I’m glad I could bring the winner’s trophy home for the team.”

Nicky Catsburg, his mentor and a multi-time Spa and Le Mans winner, did not hide his feelings.

“He has really shown himself there. I said to him: as soon as possible, you need to put yourself in a situation in which you can compete with the factory drivers.”

That is exactly what Jansen did. You can read more about the GT endurance landscape in our GT3 Revival Series explainer.

2026: ELMS Debut, Ferrari Switch and a Historic Win

Ferrari customer team GR Racing revealed Jansen as part of its 2026 ELMS line-up alongside team owner Michael Wainwright and Lorcan Hanafin in the #86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo. The catch: the 19-year-old had only raced front-engined cars in his GT3 career up to that point. The mid-engined Ferrari 296 was new territory entirely.

He adapted. At Spa, the payoff arrived. At the famed Ardennes venue, Wainwright, Mex Jansen and Lorcan Hanafin brought the #86 Ferrari 296 LMGT3 Evo home for the LMGT3 win in the fourth round of the season. It was GR Racing’s first ever LMGT3 race win in the ELMS. After the flag, Jansen was direct: “We were also one of, if not the, quickest cars on track. I’d like to thank the team because we changed the setup yesterday, and it felt amazing. The car was really consistent.”

The team’s momentum, built on two podiums in the past three races alongside an increasing grasp of the new 2026 Evo package, means GR Racing should be a genuine factor at remaining rounds.

What makes Jansen genuinely unusual is the absence of karting in his background. In a sport that treats karting as the only legitimate entry point, he built his fundamentals on a simulator and walked straight into senior categories. The results suggest the method works. Our coverage of the 24 Hours of Spa 2026 gives the full endurance picture from the Belgian round, while the Winward Racing Nürburgring 24H win shows the wider GT endurance field he will be measuring himself against for years to come.