Jan Heylen

Jan Heylen
Jan Heylen
Born	May 1, 1980 (age 46); Belgium
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	1992–present
Known for	Professional racing driver competing in various international and North American motorsport series

Jan Heylen (born 1 May 1980) is a professional racing driver from Belgium, currently residing in Tampa, Florida.

Initial stages (1992–2004)

Heylen launched his motorsport journey in 1992 through karting and advanced through various developmental series, including the British Formula Ford Winter Series in 2000, followed by the British Formula Ford Championship in 2001. He also competed in the Formula Ford Festival and the UK Formula Ford Zetec Championship in 2002. His progression continued with participation in the Spanish and Euroseries Formula 3 championships in 2003, and German Formula 3 in 2004. Among his achievements during this period were winning the 2005 Eurocup Mégane Trophy and claiming victory at the 2002 Formula Ford Festival held at Brands Hatch. In 2004, Heylen contested the first four rounds of Formula 3000 with Team Astromega before returning to German Formula 3, where he secured third overall, recording six wins and eight podium finishes.

European sports car competition (2005–2011)

Transitioning into sports car racing in 2005, Heylen competed in the Eurocup Megane Trophy, achieving seven victories, and triumphed at the 24 Hours of Zolder driving for Selleslagh Racing Team. The following year, he claimed a win at Spa-Francorchamps during the Belcar GT championship. In 2008, he returned to both the Belcar GT series and the 24 Hours of Zolder with AD Sport, teaming up with Laurens Vanthoor, who would later become a Porsche Factory driver. His 2009 campaign featured a non-finish at Zolder and a fourth-place result at Spa while racing for Prospeed Competition. By 2011, Heylen reunited with Prospeed Competition alongside co-driver Petri Lappalainen, completing twelve events with four top-ten finishes, including a notable seventh place at Zandvoort—this marked his final full-season effort in European racing.

Champ Car World Series involvement (2006 & 2007)

In 2006, Heylen secured a seat with Dale Coyne Racing in the Champ Car World Series by bringing sponsorship from Muermans Group and BergHOFF Worldwide. Paired with Cristiano da Matta as teammate, he delivered the team’s best result that year by finishing fifth at the Cleveland Grand Prix and ended the season ranked fourteenth overall. The following year, after missing the initial three races, Heylen joined Conquest Racing starting from race four. He achieved a career highlight with a second-place finish at TT Circuit Assen—the highest placing for Conquest at that time. Nevertheless, he was replaced by Nelson Philippe for the last two rounds due to Philippe’s funding.

Start of North American sports car career (2008–2013)

Heylen embarked on his North American sports car racing path in 2008 by entering the first two rounds of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, including competing in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Synergy Racing’s Porsche 911 GT-class entry, where he finished sixth within his category. A brief return occurred later that year at Homestead-Miami; however, he did not complete that race. After completing a full FIA GT season in Europe during 2011, Heylen resumed racing stateside in 2012 across multiple championships: Trans-Am GGT class, Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge piloting a Dodge Challenger, Rolex Sports Car Series GT-class driving a Dodge Viper, American Le Mans Series LMP2 category with Conquest Endurance, and Pirelli World Challenge events. In 2013, his focus shifted primarily to the American Le Mans Series alongside Mike Hedlund in a JDX Porsche, where they earned three podium finishes at Lime Rock Park, Baltimore, and Road Atlanta’s Petit Le Mans.

Indy Lights participation (2010)

Heylen signed on to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights series for Team E in 2009; however, neither he nor the team appeared on track that season. He attended preseason meetings for the IndyCar Series in 2010 with Conquest Racing but was unable to secure a contract. Eventually, Heylen raced for Team E during the opening round of the 2010 Indy Lights season at St. Petersburg, finishing second behind rookie Jean-Karl Vernay. In addition to this, he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona for Starworks Motorsport in 2011 and participated in six rounds of the FIA GT3 European Championship with Prospeed Competition that same year, concluding the season twenty-seventh in points.

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and SRO America (2014–Present)

The merger of GRAND-AM and the American Le Mans Series in 2014 resulted in the creation of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. During this period, Heylen competed primarily with Snow Racing, driving a Porsche prepared by Wright Motorsports for most of the season, except at the Twelve Hours of Sebring where he raced with RumBum Racing. Alongside teammates Madison Snow and Marco Seefried, he secured a third-place class finish at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, maintaining a consistent top-five standing despite acquiring the car only weeks before the event. Heylen and Snow also achieved podium finishes at Road America and Petit Le Mans, with Patrick Dempsey joining as an additional driver for the season finale.

In 2015, Heylen rejoined Wright Motorsports for four events alongside Snow, including a second straight podium at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, where they were joined by Dempsey and Phillip Eng. After a limited schedule in 2016, he returned full-time in 2017 to contest the Pirelli World Challenge Sprint X GT Pro/Am championship with Michael Schein. Together, they amassed three victories and seven podiums, ultimately finishing second in both team and driver rankings. Additionally, Heylen made three appearances in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with TRG and Park Place Motorsports, recording a best result of fifth place at Long Beach.

From 2018 through 2019, Heylen selectively competed across several series including the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, 24H GT Series at Circuit of the Americas, Chase for the Trigon Trophy TA2 Series, IMSA Prototype Challenge, as well as Pirelli GT4 America SprintX Pro/Am championships. His drives were with VOLT Racing, RS1, Wright Motorsports, and Baker Racing during this timeframe.

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Heylen participated in two complete seasons and two partial campaigns representing three different teams. In Pirelli GT4 America SprintX with RS1 and Charlie Belluardo, he attained four podium finishes at Circuit of the Americas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Competing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside Thomas Collingwood for BGB Motorsport, Heylen’s best finish was seventh place over ten races. Continuing his partnership with Wright Motorsports, he contested three endurance races in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with Ryan Hardwick and Porsche Factory driver Patrick Long—highlighted by a third-place finish at Road Atlanta and a victory at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Additionally, substituting for Max Root alongside Fred Poordad in two Circuit of the Americas events resulted in two podium placements. At the Intercontinental GT Challenge’s Indianapolis 8 Hour finale, Heylen teamed up with Poordad and Root to claim victory in the silver class.

In 2021, Heylen competed exclusively using Wright Motorsport Porsche vehicles. He partnered full-time with Ryan Hardwick in the Michelin Pilot Challenge (with Max Root filling in twice), securing five podiums and three wins that culminated in clinching the Drivers' Championship following a decisive finale at Road America. Wright Motorsports also captured the Team Championship that year. In IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship endurance races, Heylen joined Patrick Long and Trent Hindman behind the wheel of the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R GTD car, finishing second at Sebring and fifth at Petit Le Mans to earn the Michelin Endurance Cup title. In GT World Challenge America competition, Heylen and Fred Poordad completed all thirteen races driving the No. 20 Porsche 911 GT3 R, winning both Drivers' and Team Championships. These nine titles collectively secured Heylen the esteemed Porsche Cup award—honoring him as the most accomplished private Porsche driver—with an accompanying trophy and a Porsche sports car.

In December 2021, Wright Motorsports confirmed that Heylen would continue racing full-time alongside Hardwick in the No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R for the upcoming IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

Race Steward

In addition to his time behind the wheel, Heylen took on the role of Race Director. Between 2008 and 2009, he acted as the lead driving coach for the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, guiding 30 young drivers aged 17 to 26 who were pursuing professional careers. The events of the 2008 season were captured in the reality television show Racing Under Green. In 2019, Heylen returned to a leadership position, serving as Race Director for the Mazda Road to Indy USF2000 championship.

He is presently based in Tampa, Florida.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2003	Kolles	Dallara F302/076	Mercedes	HOC 1 20	HOC 2 18	ADR 1 19	ADR 2 15	PAU 1 10	PAU 2 DNS	NOR 1 11	NOR 2 17	LMS 1 15	LMS 2 15	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 Ret	A1R 1 20	A1R 2 21	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	MAG 1	MAG 2	28th	0

Complete International Formula 3000 results

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
2004	Team Astromega	IMO 11	CAT 11	MON 8	NUR 9	MAG	SIL	HOC	HUN	SPA	MNZ	16th	1

Champ Car

Year	Team	No.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final Position	Points Earned
2006	Dale Coyne Racing	11	LBH 7	HOU 13	MTY 16	MIL 12	POR 15	CLE 5	TOR 16	EDM 16	SJO 11	DEN 11	MTL 9	ROA 9	SRF 14	MXC 13	14th	140
2007	Conquest Racing	34				POR 15	CLE 14	MTT 16	TOR 13	EDM 10	SJO 9	ROA 6	ZOL 13	ASN 2			16th	104

Indy Lights

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final Standing	Total Points
2010	Team E	STP 2	ALA	LBH	INDY	IOW	WGL	TOR	EDM	MOH	SNM	CHI	KTY	HMS	'24th'	'40'

GT4 America

Year	Team	Category	Vehicle	Co-Driver(s)	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final Position	Points Earned
2019	RS1	SprintX Pro/Am	Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR	Charlie Bellaurdo													style="background:#cfeaff;" \| WGI 6 style="background:#cfeaff;" \| WGI 9					12th place	10 points
2020	RS1	SprintX Pro/Am	Porsche Cayman GT4 CS-MR	Charlie Bellaurdo	AUS 2	AUS 3	VIR 4	VIR 6	VIR 8	SON 10	SON 10	SON 6		RAM 10	RAM 8	AUS 5	AUS 2	IMS 1	IMS 8				6th place	129 points

IMSA Prototype Challenge

Year	Team Name	Vehicle Model	Co-Driver(s)	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Final Standing	Total Points
2018	Baker Racing	Ligier JS P3	Brad Baker	DAY -	SEB 15	BAR 14	MOS 11	VIR -	ATL -	23rd place	53 points

Michelin Pilot Challenge Results

Year	Team Name	Vehicle Model	Co-Driver(s)	Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7	Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Final Ranking	Points Accumulated
2018	RS1	Porsche Cayman GT4 MR	Cavan O'Keefe	DAY < br /> < small > - </ small >	SEB < br /> < small > - </ small >	MOH < br /> < small > - </ small >	WGI < br /> < small > - </ small >	MOS < br /> < small > - </ small >	LRP < br /> < small > - </ small >	RAM < br /> < small > - </ small >	VIR < br /> < small > - </ small >	LAG < br /> < small >18 </ small >	ATL < br /> < small > - </ small >	64th place	13 points
2019	RS1	Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport	Charlie Luck and Fred Poordad	DAY < br /> < small >18 </ small >	[ [ Sebring International Raceway ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB ] ] SEB] ]									72nd place	13 points

Year

Team Name

Vehicle Model

Co-Drivers

Race 1

Race 2

Race 3

Race 4

Race 5

Race 6

Race 7

Race 8

Race 9

Race 10

Final Position

Total Points

2020

BGB Motorsports

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport

Thomas Collingwood and John Tecce

DAY 16

SEB 14

[ [ Road America ] ] RAM] ]

16th place

170 points

[[2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge#2021 season ; "| [ [ Wright Motorsport ] ]

GT World Challenge America / Pirelli World Challenge

|-

Intercontinental GT Challenge – Eight Hour

Year	Team Name	Category	Vehicle Model	Co-Driver(s)	Event 1	Event 2	Event 3	Event 4	Event 5	Event 6	Event 7	Event 8	Event 9	Event 10	Event11	Event12	Final Standing	Points Total

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

Year ! Team Name ! Class ! Vehicle ! Co-Drivers ! Class Finish ! Overall Finish -

!- Year ! Team Name ! Category ! Vehicle ! Race1 ! Race2 ! Race3 ! Race4 ! Race5 ! Race6 ! Race7 ! Race8 ! Race9 ! Race10 ! Race11 ! Race12 ! Race13 ! Race14 ! Race15 ! Final Standing ! Points Total

American Le Mans Series

IMSA

Formerly known as the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, currently IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

- Year ! Team Name ! Class ! Vehicle ! Round1 ! Round2 ! Round3 ! Round4 ! Round5 ! Round6 ! Round7 ! Round8 ! Round9 ! Round10 ! Final Rank ! Points Total

- Year ! Team Name ! Class ! Manufacturer ! Engine Type ! Round1 ! Round2 ! Round3 ! Round4 ! Round5 ! Round6 ! Round7 ! Round8 ! Round9 ! Round10 ! Round11 ! Round12 ! Final Position ! Points Earned

Complete Results for the 24 Hours of Le Mans

- Year ! Team Name ! Co-Driver(s) ! Vehicle Model ! Category/Class ! Laps Completed ! Overall Finish Position ! Class Finish Position

Complete Results for the 24 Hours of Spa

- Year	- Team Name	- Co-Drivers	- Vehicle Model	- Class Category	- Laps Completed	- Overall Position	- Class Position

Complete Results for the 24 Hours of Zolder

- Year	- Team Name	- Co-Drivers	- Vehicle Model	- Class Category	- Laps Completed	- Overall Result Position	- Class Result Position

External links