Henk de Boer 'big angry guy between the ladies'
KISS
How does a contestant in the BOSS GP-series decide in which car he shows up at the start? Does he drive a car that he bumps into coincidentally, does he buy a car of his favorite brand or does he buy a car in which his favorite driver once raced? Henk de Boer makes his decisions based on a number of practical reasons. He uses the KISS-principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
“When I wanted to buy a Formula 1 car for the first time, Rene and I had a couple of demands. I wanted a Hewland gear box, a Cosworth engine and Brembo brakes in my new car. Those are the parts that are used a lot and are still widely available.”
De Boer immediately bought two Coloni FC 188 cars instead of only one. “We always purchase two similar cars. I also had two Argo Formula 3 cars and two Panoz Champcars. Well, at least until my crash at the Hockenheim circuit earlier this season.”
The Panoz was written off after the crash in Germany. “Even the engine was broken into pieces,” said De Boer. “I made a backward somersault with a double handspring. The car has proven to be super safe though.” De Boer wasn’t impressed too much with his crash and started again in the following race at Spa-Francorchamps. He even made it onto the podium in the second race in the Belgian Ardennes.
Panoz, a KISS-car
De Boer needed a new challenge after three titles in the Masters Class. He went for the Panoz DP01 Champcar, ex-Antonio Pizzonia, from 2007. De Boer once again used his KISS-principle when he purchased the Panoz. “This care is relatively cheap and quite simple in maintenance. You have to make it to the finish line every race and score points if you want to win the championship. Reliability is crucial on the way to the title. That’s why a car shouldn’t be too complicated.”
De Boer has already proven that he knows what he’s talking about. After winning the aforementioned three Masters-titles, he was crowned general champion with his Champcar last season.
Passion
De Boer picks his cars based on clear arguments. At the same time, he’s very passionate about his sport. “My Panoz is a very spectacular car to race in. The engine offers 800 hp with the ‘push to pass’ button pushed in. The car generates a lot of down force at high speeds. I’m talking about 3000 kilo at 250 km/h. The car goes like a rocket in fast curves. In my Panoz, Spa-Francorchamps is the biggest rollercoaster in the world.”
