Mike Hezemans

Mike Hezemans (born 25 July 1969, in Eindhoven) is a professional racecar driver from the Netherlands. Mike is the son of Toine Hezemans and brother of Loris Hezemans. Mike started in karting in 1981, and won the Dutch National Championship in 1984. In 1989 he finished 2nd in the European Championship Formula A and 3rd in the World Championship Formula A.

Mike at his Hezemans Indoor Karting, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

In 1990 Hezemans started racing cars. He entered the Dutch Touring Car Championship, the premier racing series of The Netherlands. He won the fourth race that he competed in and added 2 more victories later that year. in 1991 he moved to the Porsche Supercup and ADAC GT Cup. In 1994 Mike entered the BPR Global GT Series which ran through 1996. In 1997 this series was replaced by the prestigious FIA GT Championship. This series would later become an official FIA World Championship. Mike was the most successful Dutch driver in this series with 14 victories. He finished second in the championship four times, in 2000, 2001, 2008, and 2009. Mike also finished third overall in 2007 driving a Corvette C6.R for Carsport Holland, a team that was largely run by Mike and his father Toine. That same year Mike also won the 24 hours of Spa in the Carsport Corvette. He won this legendary endurance race again in 2009. Outside of GT1 Mike teamed up with Anthony Kumpen to win the 24 hours of Zolder in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Mike holds the record for the most pole positions in GT1, with 12 fastest qualifying laps.

Mike Hezemans in the Corvette C6.R that he shared with Anthony Kumpen in 2009

In 1995, while competing in international racing, Mike returned to his first love of karting by opening Hezemans Indoor Karting in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The dual-level tracks has been a success for decades and was updated to solar powered electric karts in 2018. A year earlier, Mike had opened R1 Indoor Karting in Lincoln, RI, USA, also with exclusively electric karts. The successful venue includes a restaurant and bowling alleys, and was expanded with the Axe Bar (axe throwing) in 2019 plus an arcade and a family entertainment center in 2020.

All during his exploits in racing, Mike has built a successful real estate business with properties in Miami and the Netherlands. He has two daughters, Leva and Fay and lives Miami Beach, FL, USA.

Mike in 2011, when he took three GT1 podiums and one fastest lap, before focusing more on his several business ventures.

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1997 GT1 Lotus Racing Jan Lammers
Alexander Grau
Lotus Elise GT1 GT1 121 DNF DNF
2000 Carsport Holland David Hart
Hans Hugenholtz
Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 317 13th 6th
2002 Team Carsport Holland
Racing Box
Gabriele Matteuzzi
Anthony Kumpen
Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 93 DNF DNF
2003 Carsport America Anthony Kumpen
David Hart
Pagani Zonda GR GTS 10 DNF DNF
2004 Barron Connor Racing Ange Barde
Jean-Denis Délétraz
Ferrari 575-GTC GTS 200 DNF DNF
2006 Spyker Squadron Jeroen Bleekemolen
Jonny Kane
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R GT2 202 DNF DNF
2007 Spyker Squadron Jaroslav Janiš
Jonny Kane
Spyker C8 Spyder GT2-R GT2 70 DNF DNF
2008 IPB Spartak Racing
Reiter Engineering
Peter Kox
Roman Rusinov
Lamborghini Murciélago R-GT GT1 266 DNF DNF

Partial GT World Championship results

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points
2004 GPC Giesse Squadra Corse Ferrari 575 GTC MON

VAL

MAG

HOC

BRN

DON

SPA

IMO

OSC

DUB

ZHU

24th 9
4 RET 13 5 RET
2005 GLPK-Carsport Chevrolet Corvette C5-R MON

MAG

SIL

IMO

BRN

SPA

OSC

IST

ZHU

DUB

BHR

6th 52
10 4 RET 1 4 DSQ 3 5 1 3 3
2006 GLPK-Carsport Chevrolet Corvette C6.R SIL

BRN

OSC

SPA

PRI

DIJ

MUG

BUD

ADR

DUB

7th 48
8 8 RET 3 1 RET 7 2 3 2
2007 Carsport Holland Chevrolet Corvette C6.R ZHU

SIL

BUC

MON

OSC

SPA

ADR

BRN

NOG

ZOL

3rd 55
5 2 RET 3 RET 1 5 9 1 4
2008 Phoenix Carsport Racing Chevrolet Corvette C6.R SIL

MON

ADR

OSC

SPA

BUC

(R1)

BUC

(R2)

BRN

NOG

ZOL

SAN

2nd 66
5 4 1 6 RET 2 RET 2 2 2 2
2009 PekaRacing nv Chevrolet Corvette C6.R SIL

ADR

OSC

SPA

BUD

ALG

PAU

ZOL

2nd 53
4 2 1 1 5 2 RET 2
ABU

SIL

BRN

PRI

SPA

NÜR

ALG

NAV

INT

SAN

QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR
2010 Phoenix Racing / Carsport Corvette C6.R 16 3 7 RET EX 13 29th 23
Mad-Croc Racing 5 15 4 6
ABU

ZOL

ALG

SAC

SIL

NAV

PRI

ORD

BEI

SAN

QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR QR CR
2011 Exim Bank Team China Corvette 7 10 2 5 9 9 RET 6 3 3 RET RET RET RET 14th 46

References


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