Henk de Boer 'big angry guy between the ladies'
Don’t get us wrong, Henk de Boer is a friendly guy and very pleasant to hang out with. But his Panoz DP01 Champcar is rather impressive. Compared to the lightweight cars that the Formula 1 cars are in the BOSS GP-series, De Boer’s Champcar is a 200 kilo heavier, rearview mirror filling, impressive appearance. De Boer is talking about a ‘big angry guy between the ladies’. “This is low budget racing. The car is driving on methanol, which costs only 55 cent per liter,” smiled De Boer.
Lots of things can be said about Henk de Boer, but it can’t be denied that he’s quite a colorful figure. The way in which he made his entry in the car racing industry is a perfect illustration of this feat. Most new drivers start in a beginner class, but De Boer opted to walk a different path. “I wanted to gain a lot of experience in a short period. That’s why I competed in five different classes at the same time.”
He participated in the national cups for the Alfa Romeo 156 and the Seat Ibiza in Netherlands. Internationally, he competed in the Ferrari 360 Challenge and in a class for historical Formula cars with a Formula Ford. The fifth class didn’t make much of an impression. ”And there was another car that I was driving as well back then.”
On his way to the Formula 1
De Boer has formed a team with Rene Kouwenberg for ten years now. Kouwenberg is responsible for the technical part of the racing cars. Together they made a plan for the future. “We told each other that the two of us were on our way to the Formula 1. Rene was ready to make the step before I was ready for it though,” reflected De Boer.
The Formula 1 eventually came into view via the Historic Monopostos class, where De Boer drove an Argo Formula 3. He then made an appearance in the Boss-series a couple of years ago with his Colini Formula 1 car from 1988.
