Jan Heylen | |
---|---|
Nationality | Belgian |
Born |
Geel, Belgium |
1 May 1980
Champ Car World Series | |
Years active | 2006-2007 |
Teams |
Dale Coyne Racing Conquest Racing |
Starts | 23 |
Wins | 0 |
Poles | 0 |
Best finish | 14th in 2006 |
Previous series | |
2005 2004 2004 2003 2003 2001-2002 |
Eurocup Mégane Trophy International Formula 3000 German Formula Three Formula Three Euroseries Spanish Formula Three British Formula Ford |
Championship titles | |
2005 2002 |
Eurocup Mégane Trophy Formula Ford Festival |
Jan Heylen (born 1 May 1980 in Geel) is a Belgian racing driver. He competed in the Champ Car World Series between 2006-2007.
He began karting in 1992 and was the 2005 Renault Eurocup champion. He also won the 2002 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and has competed in the Formula Three Euroseries. In 2004 Heylen drove in the first four Formula 3000 races of the season with Team Astromega before being replaced by Olivier Tielemans.
He beat out Nicky Pastorelli for the 2006 Champ Car World Series season at Dale Coyne Racing by bringing sponsorship from the Muermans Group and BergHOFF Worldwide. Heylen ended the season 14th in the standings with a best finish of 5th at the Cleveland Grand Prix. He was unable to find a ride for the first 3 races of the 2007 season, but was brought on to Conquest Racing to replace Matt Halliday from the fourth race onwards. Despite finishing 2nd at TT Circuit Assen, the race would be his final one for the team as he was replaced for the final two races by funded driver Nelson Philippe.
In 2008 he drove in the first two Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series races, including the 24 Hours of Daytona, in the Synergy Racing GT-class Porsche 911. He also competed in five FIA GT series endurance races in a Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 in the G3 class with teammates David Dermont, David Loix, and Franz Lamot. In 2009 he signed on to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights series, driving for Team E. However, the team nor Heylen never appeared on track all season. He attended the 2010 IndyCar Series preseason meetings with Conquest Racing but did not announce a deal with the team. However, the 2010 season saw him drive for Team E, which never happened in 2009, in the 2010 Indy Lights season opener in St. Petersburg. Ironically, he finished second, as he did in his final Champ Car race, to Lights rookie Jean-Karl Vernay. In 2011 Heylen drove in the 24 Hours of Daytona for Starworks Motorsport and made six starts in the FIA GT3 European Championship for Prospeed Competition and finished 27th in points.