Based in Gosselies, Belgium, the organisation began competing in the Belcar sportscar series under the Belgian Racing banner, supporting the Belgian-built Gillet Vertigo sports car. By 2005, the programme expanded into the international FIA GT Championship, though restrictive production-number rules limited their title eligibility. The Gillet collaboration ended in 2008, and the team was rebranded as Marc VDS for the 2009 season.
Marc VDS then became one of twelve teams selected for the inaugural FIA GT1 World Championship in 2010, fielding a Ford GT. That same year, the organisation merged with an existing Moto2 programme operated by Michael Bartholemy and Didier de Radiguès, entering the new 600cc intermediate class with riders Scott Redding and Héctor Faubel on Suter machinery. Additional ventures included participation in the 2010 Dakar Rally with a Volkswagen Buggy TDI.
In 2014, Tito Rabat and Mika Kallio finished first and second in the Moto2 riders' championship, delivering the team's first world title in motorcycle racing. The team entered MotoGP as a Honda satellite outfit from 2015, with Scott Redding scoring a podium at the San Marino Grand Prix. The FIA GT sportscar programme was wound down at the conclusion of 2015 after van der Straten expressed dissatisfaction with management decisions and new series regulations.
In 2016, Marc VDS fielded two bikes in the MotoGP class with Jack Miller and Tito Rabat. Miller delivered the team's first premier-class victory in a rain-affected Dutch TT at Assen — the first win for a non-factory team at that level in nearly a decade. The team was subsequently dropped from MotoGP at the end of 2018 following an off-track scandal involving team chief Bartholemy and reduced grid sizes driven by commercial rights holder Dorna Sports.
In Moto2, Marc VDS continued to thrive. Franco Morbidelli won the 2017 Moto2 championship with eight victories from 18 rounds, while teammate Alex Marquez added three further wins. Alex Marquez himself won the 2019 Moto2 title with five victories and ten podiums, making Marc VDS the only team at the time to have won the Moto2 riders' championship three times — with Rabat (2014), Morbidelli (2017), and Alex Marquez (2019).
Sam Lowes, Augusto Fernandez, and Joan Mir all spent significant time with the Moto2 squad. Mir's departure mid-contract in 2018 to fill a vacant Suzuki MotoGP seat underlined the team's position as a recognised launchpad to the premier class.
The team participated in the inaugural 2019 MotoE World Cup with Mike Di Meglio, who won at the Austrian round and secured a podium at San Marino. The MotoE programme ended after 2020 due to scheduling conflicts.
From 2024, Marc VDS entered the Superbike World Championship with Sam Lowes riding a Ducati Panigale V4R, broadening the team's competitive portfolio while continuing its established Moto2 operation under the name ELF Marc VDS Racing Team. The team's Belgian identity and ties to the van der Straten family have remained constant across a history that spans GT cars, rally raid, and multiple chapters of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.