 hans heyer (born march 16, 1943 in mÃ¶nchengladbach, germany) is a racing driver from wegberg, the site of the grenzlandring, a former high speed race track oval. he mainly raced touring cars, being popular with the fans for his rather funny style. 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. ==early life== heyer was born in mÃ¶nchengladbach, germany to parents who ran a bitumen and a concerete mixing company. heyer developed his passion for motor racing and engineering when he was at boarding school at adenau. he later went into an apprenticeship with daimler-benz as a mechanic which was completed in 1962. ==racing career== ===1960s=== 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. ===1970s===  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 july 31, 1977 with the second penske car
1943_births 24_Hours_of_Le_Mans_drivers 24_Hours_of_Spa_drivers ATS_Wheels_Formula_One_drivers European_Formula_Two_Championship_drivers European_Touring_Car_Championship_drivers German_Formula_One_drivers German_racing_drivers Living_people Racing_drivers_from_North_Rhine-Westphalia World_Sportscar_Championship_drivers