Ludwig Heimrath

Ludwig Heimrath, Jr. (born September 9, 1956 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a Canadian former race car driver. He started his driving career racing Go-karts and Formula Fords. In 1979 and 1980 he won the Ontario Formula Ford Championship winning seven races in total. In 1981 and 1982, he competed in selected International Motorsport Association (IMSA) races. In 1983, he competed in the Robert Bosch Super Vee Series. Ludwig was named Rookie of the Year winning a race and two pole positions. He also drove a prototype in the 24 hr of LeMans that year. In 1984, he won three races and three pole positions racing Super Vees. The next several years, Ludwig competed in the IMSA GTP Series and drove a factory supported Porsche in Trans-Am. Starting in 1987 through 1989 Ludwig competed in selected CART races. In 1987, at the Indy 500, he was the fastest qualifier the second weekend, qualifying 10th. His highest finish at the Indy 500 was 13th. Ludwig graduated as an engineer from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. He currently owns and operates All-Composite, Inc.a composite manufacturing company in the Pacific Northwest. He also is a college composite technology instructor and consultant. Ludwig is married to Kathy Rude, the first woman to win a major international sports car race, a GTU class win at 24 Hours of Daytona in 1982 with Lee Mueller and Allan Moffat. Heimrath's father, Ludwig Heimrath Sr., won the Trans Am Series championship in 1977, becoming the first person born outside the United States to win the championship since Horst Kwech in 1966.