Born | Mönchengladbach, Rhine Province, Free State of Prussia, Nazi Germany | 16 March 1943
---|---|
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | German |
Active years | 1977 |
Teams | ATS |
Entries | 1 (no legal starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Career points | 0 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1977 German Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1977 German Grand Prix |
Hans Heyer (born 16 March 1943) is a German racing driver who mainly raced touring cars, being popular with the fans for his rather funny style. He is better known for actions and antics during his only start in Formula One at the 1977 German Grand Prix.
Very unusual for his Western German origin, Heyer's sign is his so-called Tirolerhut, a hat from Tyrol or Bavaria which would fit better to drivers from these Alpine regions, like Hans-Joachim Stuck or Niki Lauda.
Heyer was born in Mönchengladbach, Germany to parents who ran a bitumen and a concrete mixing company. Heyer developed his passion for motor racing and engineering when he was at boarding school at Adenau, which is near the Nürburgring. He later started an apprenticeship with Daimler-Benz as a mechanic which was completed in 1962. [1]
Living close to the Netherlands and not yet allowed to race in Germany at the age of 16, he started his career there in 1959 with karts and won the 1962 Dutch Championship in the 100cc category which he followed up by winning the 125cc class in 1963. In an attempt to race in his native Germany, he initially encountered problems with his racing license but managed to compete in the Formula K class in 1965 finishing 3rd in the next two years and backed up with the German and European Formula K titles in 1968 to 1971 driving in a Taifun/BM. Heyer also raced in France by competing in the Brignoles 24 Hour Classic in 1969 to 1971 winning twice and finished 2nd in 1970. [1]
For many years, Heyer was associated with Zakspeed, racing their Group 2 Ford Escorts in the European Touring Car Championship (champion 1974) and the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft (champion 1975 and 1976). Heyer attempted two European F2 races in 1976, finishing sixth at the first Hockenheim race. He failed to qualify for the second Hockenheim race and made no further attempts in F2.
In his single attempt at Formula One, he entered the 1977 German Grand Prix on 31 July 1977 with the second Penske car of the new German team ATS. With little experience in single seaters and a bad car, he did not qualify. He was the third reserve driver, meaning that he would get the chance to race if three drivers dropped out. But since Frank Williams chose not to prepare his driver Patrick Nève, who was the first reserve, for the race, and since de Villota, who was the second reserve, had a last-moment engine failure before the race, Heyer had effectively became the first reserve driver. [2] Because of the crash and commotion on the starting grid at the start of the race, Heyer chose to start the race anyway, slipping out of the pits and joining the pack. [2] Only when his gearbox failed after 9 laps [3] was it realised that Heyer should not have been competing, whereupon he was disqualified.[ dubious ][ citation needed ] He never attempted another race in Formula One. He is the only driver to be credited with a DNQ (did not qualify), DNF (did not finish), and DSQ (disqualified) in the same race, [4] technically being banned from 5 Formula One races afterwards (which effectively became a lifetime ban because he had no intention to compete any further in Formula One). [2]
In 1980 he won the DRM again, this time for Lancia in a Group 5 Lancia Monte Carlo Turbo, a car he also helped develop. He crashed his 480 hp car badly at the Norisring in Nuremberg, rolling several times. Heyer switched to continuations cooling when control of the water supply failed when the brake light switch failed which had not worked resulting in the left front brake caliper failing which destroyed the tyre rod and a burst affected the front left tyre. [5] He escaped unhurt, but returned immediately to the wreck to recover his famous hat. In the following medical exam, the doctor was said to have been more nervous than Hans was.
Heyer won the 12 Hours of Sebring race in 1984 driving alongside Stefan Johansson and Mauricio de Narvaez in a Porsche 935. [6]
During the years that the Spa 24 Hours was run as part of the European Touring Car Championship and the inaugural World Touring Car Championship (1982–1988), Heyer won the race three times in succession. He won in 1982 driving a BMW 528i with Armin Hahne and Eddy Joosen, 1983 in a BMW 635 CSi with Hahne and Thierry Tassin, and finally in 1984 driving a TWR Jaguar XJS with Tom Walkinshaw and Win Percy. Heyer retired in 1989 after 999 races in 30 years.
Between 1990 and 1991 Heyer worked at his family concrete works business but came out of retirement to test Mercedes-Benz's truck racing vehicles and competed in the Nürburgring Truck Grand Prix in 1992. Heyer returned to the same track in 1994 to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours alongside Heiner Weiss, Rainer Braun driving a BMW M3 and returned to compete in the same race in 1995 albeit in a BMW veterans 'Dream Team'. Heyer also competed in the Nürburgring 500 km race in 1997. [1]
In 2004, Volkswagen director Kris Nissen found out Hans Heyer's next race would be his 1000th and invited Hans Heyer to race in the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup at the Norisring against youngsters. [5]
His son Kenneth Heyer is also a racing driver, currently involved in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for MANN-FILTER HTP Motorsport.[ citation needed ]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | Team Warsteiner Eurorace | Toj F201 | BMW | HOC 7 | THR | VAL | SAL | PAU | HOC DNQ | ROU | MUG | PER | EST | NOG | HOC | 17th | 1 |
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1977 | ATS Racing Team | Penske PC4 | Cosworth V8 | ARG | BRA | RSA | USW | ESP | MON | BEL | SWE | FRA | GBR | GER DSQ‡ | AUT | NED | ITA | USA | CAN | JPN | NC | 0 |
‡ Started illegally after failing to qualify and did not finish.
The German Grand Prix was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg and occasionally AVUS in Berlin. The race continued to be known as the German Grand Prix, even through the era when the race was held in West Germany.
Hans-Joachim Stuck, nicknamed "Strietzel", is a German racing driver who has competed in Formula One and many other categories. He is the son of pre-World War II racing driver Hans Stuck.
Christian Josef Danner is a former racing driver from Germany.
Harald Ertl was an Austrian racing driver and motorsport journalist. He was born in Zell am See and attended the same school as Grand Prix drivers Jochen Rindt, Helmut Marko and Niki Lauda.
Dieter Quester is an Austrian former racing driver. Dieter has participated in 53 24-Hour Races. He competed in a single Formula One race in which he finished ninth.
Gerhard Karl Mitter was a German Formula One and sportscar driver.
Hubert Hahne was a racing driver from Germany. He was the older brother of Armin Hahne, as well as the uncle of Jörg van Ommen.
Stefan Bellof was a German racing driver. Bellof was the winner of the Drivers' Championship in the 1984 FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for the factory Rothmans Porsche team. His lap record on the Nordschleife configuration at the Nürburgring, set while qualifying for the 1000 km race in 1983, stood for 35 years, when it was beaten by Timo Bernhard in 2018. He also competed with the Tyrrell Formula One team during 1984 and 1985. Bellof was killed in an accident during the 1985 1000 km of Spa, a round of the World Endurance Championship.
Throughout its history, BMW cars and motorcycles have been successful in a range of motorsport activities. Apart from the factory efforts, many privateer teams enter BMW road cars in touring car racing. BMW also entered cars or provided engines in Formula One, Formula Two and sportscar racing. BMW is currently active in IMSA, the Isle of Man TT, the North West 200, the Superbike World Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.
Marcel Tiemann is a former racing driver from Germany. He is best known for being a five-time winner of the 24 Hours Nürburgring race with Opel and Porsche.
Armin Hahne is a German racing driver, best known for his exploits in touring car racing. The highpoint of his career was winning both the 1982 and 1983 Spa 24 Hours driving BMW's. Another highlight of his career was driving in the factory supported Tom Walkinshaw Racing run Jaguar Racing team racing the Jaguar XJS coupes. Hahne stayed with the team as they transitioned to Rover Vitesse. In 1991 he drove for one race in the British Touring Car Championship for BMW.
Maro René Engel is a German professional racing driver based in Monaco. He is a long-time Mercedes-AMG factory driver, FIA GT World Cup Champion, Nürburgring 24 hour winner, DTM race winner, Suzuka 10h winner, Macau GT Cup winner. currently racing in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and in the FIA Formula E championship. He has previously raced in the DTM, V8 Supercars, F3000, F3 and Formula E.
Adrien Tambay is a French professional racing driver. He currently is an official CUPRA driver and is the 2022 ETCR Champion. He is the son of former Formula One driver Patrick Tambay, who won two Grands Prix for Ferrari in the early 1980s.
Markus Pommer is a German racing driver.
The 2014 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the twenty-eighth season of premier German touring car championship and also fifteenth season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000. The season started on 4 May at Hockenheim, and ended on 19 October at the same venue, after a total of ten rounds.
Willibert "Willi" Kauhsen is a German former racing driver and racing team owner from Eschweiler in Aachen, Germany.
The Lola T102, also known as the BMW T102, is a Formula 2 car, designed, developed and built by Lola Cars, under the leadership and guidance of Eric Broadley. It competed between 1968 and 1969. It entered and competed in one Formula One Grand Prix; the 1968 German Grand Prix; where German driver Hubert Hahne finished in tenth place.
Małgorzata Agnieszka Łazarczyk is a Polish female racing driver and businesswoman. She currently competes in the Alpine Elf Europa Cup.
The 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters was the thirty-fifth season of the premier German motor racing championship and also the twenty-second season under the moniker of Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters since the series' resumption in 2000.
The BMW 269, also known as the BMW F269, is an open-wheel Formula 2 race car. It was designed, developed and built by Lola Cars for BMW to participate in the 1969 and 1970 Formula 2 European Championships, as well as the 1969 Formula One World Championship, where it competed in the 1969 German Grand Prix.