Hans
Heyer

Hans Heyer, whose full name is Johann Josef Heyer, was born in Mönchengladbach on 16 March 1943. His enthusiasm for engineering and motor racing grew while he was at boarding school in Adenau, close to the Nürburgring. In 1962 he completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic with Daimler-Benz. He began in karting in 1959 in the Netherlands, where he became Dutch champion in the 100cc class in 1962 and won the 125cc class the following year. Between 1968 and 1971 he took German and European Formula K titles.

In the 1970s Heyer drove Group 2 Ford Escorts for Zakspeed. He was European Touring Car champion in 1974 and won the German DRM title in 1975 and 1976. In 1976 he tried his hand at two European Formula Two races: he finished sixth in the first at Hockenheim and failed to qualify for the second.

In July 1977 he entered the German Grand Prix in a Penske run by the new German team ATS. He failed to qualify, but started the race anyway. After nine laps his gearbox failed, and only then was it noticed that he should not have been racing at all, so he was disqualified. He never attempted another Formula One race.

In touring cars and endurance racing, he won the DRM again in 1980 with Lancia and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1984 in a Porsche 935. He also won the Spa 24 Hours in 1982, 1983 and 1984. He retired in 1989 but later returned for occasional races. His trademark was a Tyrolean hat.

Source: Wikipedia, “Hans Heyer”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.