Adventurer Marc Sluszny will drive the No. 66 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, set for March 19 on the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway road course in Sebring, Fla. Following are a career summary and story about Sluszny's unique experience.
Marc holds the world record in bungee jumping from a hot-air balloon (6720 m) and Belgian record in hang-gliding aerobatics looping (100 km cross-country non-stop); former Belgian sky surfing champion; member of a Himalayan expedition that climbed Annapurna (8091 m) without oxygen; swam the English Channel solo; crewed Ice Fire in the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race; has represented Belgium in Davis Cup tennis and Olympic fencing !!
born Feb. 1, 1962 in Antwerp, Belgium
residence Antwerp, Belgium
family daughter Mercedes
race highlights
1990 Proximus 24 Hours of Spa – 29th
2004 Proximus 24 Hours of Spa – 15th; 24 Uren van Zolder – seventh
2005 Rolex 24 At Daytona GT – eighth
co-author of Belgian spy thriller Code Zwart [Black]
will drive in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring, Nürburgring 24 Hour Race and 24 Heures du Mans this year, and hopes to also compete in a Bathurst 24-hour race
Marc Sluszny might appear to be a freewheeling adventurer who has done it all, on land, sea and in the air. He holds the world record in bungee jumping from a hot-air balloon and the Belgian record in hang-gliding aerobatics looping. He is a former sky surfing champion and a member of the first team to incorporate acrobatic stunts in a BASE jump (sky diving from a fixed object – Building, Antenna, Span or Earth – with only one parachute). He swam the English Channel solo and climbed Annapurna without oxygen. He has represented Belgium in Davis Cup tennis and Olympic fencing, and was the first Belgian to crew in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
He is halfway to his goal of driving in all the major 24-hour races, with finishes in the 24 Uren van Zolder and 24 Hours of Spa (both Belgium) and the Rolex 24 At Daytona (USA). He'll add the Nürburgring (Germany) 24 Hour Race and les 24 Heures du Mans (France) this summer, followed by the next Bathurst 24-Hour Race (Australia). In between, he's tuning up in the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring (USA).
Why so many sports?
"You mean, 'Why so many dreams?'" he responds. "Since I was a boy, I have tried to make them reality. I was lucky enough to reach my first one, Davis Cup tennis, at a young age (21). Then I set a new goal – swimming across the English Channel – and that worked out, too. So I just kept on going and 22 years later, I'm still at it."
Ask him about his greatest achievements, though, and he'll tell you about a tandem jump he made in 2002. A fellow Belgian athlete, Marc Herremans, was paralyzed in an accident just two months after finishing sixth in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon. A magazine story gave Sluszny the opportunity to help Herremans attain a new goal.
"It's a very special story. He was only 26 years old, such a great athlete. In the article, it said he would like to jump out of a plane, because that would be the only time he would have the feeling he didn't need his legs. I called him up and he accepted a tandem jump with me. It was difficult because jumping with a paraplegic is quite complicated, but we did it," Sluszny quietly recounted. "Marc Herremans is a phenomenal guy. A year later, when other human beings would be still in hospital, he finished the Ironman again – the full distance – in his wheelchair. Unbelievable."
Sluszny doesn't dabble in sports; he excels, through dedication and intense preparation. His meticulous approach is also a recognition of the danger of extreme activities: he knows one wrong move or missed detail could mean death.
"What makes me a good athlete is the ability to analyze my objectives, to focus on how to get there," he noted. "I have a very strong will. Over the years, I have acquired a vast mental attitude and I've been blessed with an athletic body. I'm not specially supertalented for specific sports, but I think the whole combination is my talent."
The same applies to his success as a petrochemical trader.
"I have learned to play the game by concentrating on the goal, rather than the stakes. I have gained that knowledge from all the adventures I have had, with the most extreme being BASE jumping, where if the parachute doesn't open up, you haven't got a second chance," he explained. "If you are able to distance yourself from what is most valuable to human beings – which is our life – and you can control the mind to focus on the objective and not on the dangers of the moment, then all the rest is actually banal."
Articulate in five languages, Sluszny shares his experience through motivational talks and two spy thrillers he wrote with author Ann Van Loock. His goal is to encourage others to go for it, presenting himself as living proof that all things are possible.
"It doesn't all happen instantaneously. As you do something, you create, and you build on that and you create again," he said. "Because I've done so many different sports, I've learned that I don't have to be Superman to achieve great things. Once you realize that every man has just two arms and two legs, then you know you are able to at least play in the field of the giants."
Watch for Sluszny as he works the No. 66 TRG Porsche 911 GT3 RSR around the demanding Sebring track. He has already spent countless hours learning its tricks and curves, on foot and behind the wheel. And he has prepared for the potential hot, humid conditions with a special training regimen – rope-skipping in the sauna!
With all the demands of his challenges and adventures, what does he do for fun?
"My whole life is fun. I realize it, I cherish it very much, I try not to be arrogant with what I've achieved. On the contrary, I try to pass it on and let other people feel and taste it and believe that they, too, can achieve their dreams."
