Boy Hayje

Born on the 3rd of May 1949, Johan ‘Boy’ Hayje was the son of Amsterdam garage owner Jopie Hayje, who had been a speedway racer in the city’s Olympic stadium after the War. Boy had early races in an Opel Kadett and a Ford Cortina in 1968 and 1969 and would go on to participate in seven F1 Grands Prix (with three starts) and his most notable career result was a C2 class podium at Le Mans in 1984.

After several seasons in Formula Ford, he won 1974’s Dutch Championship plus in that year was twelfth with a McLaren M18 in his debut F5000 race at Zandvoort. In the following year he entered a full season of European F5000 driving a March 731-Ford for Team Hezemans. He also tried touring car racing, driving a Ford Capri. Contesting the Shellsport series he did not start at Thruxton (accident) and Snetterton (battery), had retirements at Zolder and Snetterton (overheating) and Brands Hatch (driveshaft) and results included fifth and tenth at Zandvoort and fourteenth at Silverstone. In one ETCC outing he, Ron Kluit and Ernst Berg, were tenth with a RS 2600 in the Zandvoort Trophy.

With support from F&S Properties he entered British and European F3 races in 1976 with a Ralt RT1-Toyota. He was on pole in his first race at Zandvoort but was taken off by another driver then was second at Zolder, eighth at Monaco and in June was second and third at Anderstorp and Monza. In July he was fourth at Brands Hatch and seventh and eighth Croix-en-Ternois and Osterreichring before making his F1 debut at the end of August in the Dutch GP at Zandvoort. With the help of Toine Hezemans he raced an F&S Properties sponsored Penske PC3-Cosworth, though after qualifying twenty first of the twenty six starters, ahead of Pescarolo, Merzario, Ertl, Stommelen and Andersson but his race ended after sixty three laps due to a broken driveshaft. Returning to F3, he was seventh at Thruxton, twelfth at Snetterton, sixth in the Griffin Golden Helmet Trophy at Mallory Park but did not start at Brands Hatch and was ninth in the final round at Thruxton.

There were more F1 races in 1977 when he drove RAM Racing’s March 761-Cosworth. His first came at Kyalami in March but after starting twenty first he retired on lap thirty three with a broken gearbox and at the end of the month he contested the non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and finished seventh. He did not qualify in Spain or Monaco and his second start came in the Belgian GP at Zolder, where he finished fifteenth, but then did not qualify for the Swedish and Dutch Grands Prix. The team entered a second car at four races, driven by Andy Sutcliffe, Mikko Kozarowitzky or Michael Bleekemolen, though without success. Away from F1, there was a World Sportscar Championship drive in the Dijon 500 km race though he and Richard Jenney retired the Vogue SP2-Cosworth on lap six (head gasket). There was a third place podium finish in the ETCC’S Zandvoort Trophy with Albert Vanierschot in a BMW 3.0 CSL but in his final race that year in October he did not start in a European F5000 race at Brands Hatch due to an accident in practice.

1978 saw a season with Fred Opert Racing’s Chevron B42-Hart in the European F2 Championship and in the early rounds he was eleventh at Thruxton, sixteenth at Hockenheim and fourteenth at Nurburgring. Then in May he raced the B42 in a British F1 International Whitsuntide race at Zandvoort, finishing third behind the Surtees of Bob Evans and Divina Galica. Returning to F3 he was twenty third at Mugello, did not qualify at Vallelunga and Santa Monica, and was seventh at Rouen and Hockenheim but retired at Donington. He only made one F2 start the next year, driving a privately entered March-Hart at Zandvoort but he retired due to oil pressure problems after thirty three laps.

He resumed racing in 1981, competing for three seasons in the Renault 5 Turbo Eurocup and took five wins in his first year, finishing fourth in the standings though in the following two seasons there were no victories, with only one podium in 1982.

Boy raced in America in 1983, contesting the IMSA Camel GT championship with several different teams and cars. Driving William Karge’s BMW 320 he won at Laguna Seca and he and Roberto Moreno were twelfth at the 6 Hour Riverside with a BMW 320. Then followed a switch to All American Racer’s Toyota Celica, where he and Wally Dallenbach Jr were ninth (first in class GTU) in the 500 km Charlotte, twenty ninth (eleventh in class) in the 3 Hour Lime Rock and eighteenth (eighth in class) at the Mid-Ohio 6 Hours. His final race came with Patrick F. Brown’s BMW M1 at the Portland 3 Hours where and Paul Davey finished twenty first and sixth in class.

1984 saw a number of BF Goodrich Lola T616-Mazda drives and his debut at the Daytona and Le Mans 24 Hours. An engine problem ended his Daytona run in February alongside Jim Busby and Rick Knoop though later in the month he and Pete Halsmer were fifth in the 3 Hour Miami. He and Dieter Quester retired from the Monza 1000kms and teamed again with Busby and Knoop they took a podium result with twelfth (third in class) at Le Mans. He failed to start due to engine problems in the Spa 1000kms with Didier Theys and Pierre Dieudonne in a Procar Automobiles Sehcar C830-Porsche while in two IMSA outings with Fernando Sabino they retired a Sabino International Racing Ford Mustang at the 500 mile road America and Pocono 500kms. At the end of that season, Boy retired from racing.