Albers to race against F16 at Volkel

On Friday 20 April there will be an exciting encounter between the world of Formula 1 and military aviation at the Royal Netherlands air force base, Volkel. During this exclusive meeting, Etihad Aldar Spyker Formula One driver Christijan Albers will race his F8-VII F1 challenger against air force pilot Ralph Staal’s F-16 fighter jet. This publicity event, named ‘Full Throttle’, has been organised by the Royal Netherlands Air Force to raise awareness of their recruitment program.

The Spyker team holds historical ties with the Royal Netherlands Air Force; back in 1913, the first commander of the air force drove a Spyker car and from 1915 the air force flew seven Farman F22 planes, built under licence by Spyker. Today Spyker still uses air force concepts to build its GT cars, known as the Spyker Squadron. The logo of Spyker also holds an air plane propeller.

Dutch company Spyker and the contemporary Royal Netherlands Air Force also have much in common today. Both are exclusive, sporting, adventurous, disciplined and professional, driven to perform at the highest level.

The Royal Netherlands Air Force is looking for new personnel, particularly pilots and aviation technicians. The air force uses the ‘Full Throttle’ event as a tool to recruit personnel.

A select group of guests are invited to the event at the Volkel air force base; principally partners and guests of the Spyker team, potential recruits for the air force and representatives of educational institutions. Together with these guests a small number of people have won tickets for the event through various media outlets.

The Volkel air force base is only accessible with a special entry ticket. The activities on the base will not be visible from the public road.