Mathieu Hezemans
Mathieu "Thieu" Hezemans (21 June 1915, in Eindhoven – 4 February 1985) was a Dutch racing driver and entrepreneur.[1]
Career
Mathieu Hezemans operated a vehicle trade in his hometown of Eindhoven and was one of the first Dutch importers of the Porsche brand. As a driver, he was active in the 1950s. Several times he raced at the 1000 km race on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring race. In 1953 he was ranked overall fifteenth and in 1956 the 26th in the final ranking. In 1956 he drove together with Carel Godin de Beaufort at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but fell out prematurely after a suspension failure.
Family
Mathieu Hezemans was the first racer from the Dutch Hezemans family. His son Antoine, known as Toine Hezemans, was a successful GT and sports car pilot in the 1970s becoming European Touring Car Champion in 1970 and 1973, winning the 1971 Targa Florio and, among other things winning twice the 1000 km at the Nürburgring race and once the 24-hour race of Daytona. His grandsons Mike and Loris Hezemans took the profession of a professional racer.
Sources
- Christian Moity, Jean-Marc Teissèdre, Alain Bienvenu: 24 heures du Mans, 1923–1992. Éditions d’Art, Besançon 1992, ISBN 2-909413-06-3.