The Netherlands

Hello The Netherlands

Now there is Jos Verstappen in the F1

In the past there was

Rothengatter
Lammers
Bleekemolen
Hayje
Wunderinck
Van Lennep
Pon
De Beaufort
Flinterman
Van der Lof

And

Slotemaker
Gatsonides


But long….long time ago the was

Walter Rens (or sometime she say Walter Reus)

1936 DNS in Eifel race - private Bugatti
1936 DNS in German GP - private Bugatti



Harry Herkuleys
he die in 1956

1936 4 Frontieres GP (Bel) – MG
1938 5 Frontieres GB (Bel) - MG
1939 3 Frontieres GB (Bel) - MG
1936 6 Picardie (Fr) - MG



Eddie Hertzberger
Belgian or Dutchman ( ? ? ? ? ? ?)

1935 4 Orleans (Fr) with Voiturette
1936 1 Frontieres (Bel) - MG
1937 1 Frontieres (Bel) Voiturette – MG


Who have more information of this or other Dutchman who race before 1940

Boniver,

Try to find the book about Les Grands Prix des Frontières (part 1, pre 1960). I'm sure the author spoke about some of those Dutch (Hertzberger and Herkuylens)

And do you know Roosdorp ? He was also Dutch. He drove a Ferrari 2 L (a sport one) in some F2 races in Belgium (Mons, Mettet, Chimay) and he was entered in the 1951 Netherland GP ( a no-championship race)

Which Gatsonides is that? The only one I know is Maurice G. who I always assumed was British (of perhaps Greek ancestry). Sadly he devised the Gatso camera which now plagues Britain's roads...

As I'm Dutch, I should be able to help you - but unfortunately my knowledge of the period before the war is very limited (and my interest in motor racing starts after the war, I should add).

But anyway.
Apart from some demonstrations and unofficial races on cycle-tracks, the first race was a Zandvoort streetrace on June 3, 1939 (!).
The best known drivers which took part were Piet Nortier and Maurice Gatsonides.

So Dutch drivers had to go abroad to do some serious racing.
John van Hulzen has, according to "30 jaar circuit van Zandvoort", been a member of the factory Bugatti team.
Hans Herkuleyns raced MG's, as already mentioned.
Eddy Hertzberger raced a Bentley and Aston Martin.

That's about all for now. Somewhere in my library must be a magazine article on Eddy Hertzberger, if I come across it I'll let you know.

Oh and BRG, yes Gatsonides is defenitely Dutch. Monte Carlo victor and cameraman.

Hans Roosdorp was either a Dutch-resident Belgian or a Belgian-resident Dutchman - probably the latter. He raced Veritas and Ferrari cars in the late 1940s/early 50s - and so did his daughter

Harry Herkuleyns and Edmond Hertzberger were both best-known in small MGs, and did most of their racing in Belgium and France.
Both make their first appearances in the lists in 1934, when Hertzberger raced a 4.5 Bentley (without success) in the Spa 10hr sportscar race, and Herkuleyns won the 750 class of a race at Montlhéry in a Q-Type MG.
The following year Hertzberger raced an orange MG K3 Magnette, while Herkuleyns stuck with 750cc models. The Magnette won at Chimay in 1936 and 1937, and also took the 1100 class in the Coupe d’Autonne at Montlhéry in the latter year. Hertzberger also raced Aston Martins in such races as the Mille Miglia and Le Mans 24hrs in 1937/38, and won his class in the Paris 12hrs in the latter year.
Herkuleyns later raced the ex-Hertzberger K3 as well as his familiar Midget, taking several class wins at Montlhéry and a number of placings at Chimay, notably third in the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières. The same year he was sixth in the 1500 races at Péronne and Angoulême, and eighth at Albi.
Both made brief rerurns to racing after the war, Herkuleyns taking the 1100cc MG to seventh place in the 1946 Brussels sportscar race and Hertzberger placing third with an Aston Martin DB2 in a sportscar race at Zandvoort as late as 1953.

Originally posted by Frank de Jong
Oh and BRG, yes Gatsonides is defenitely Dutch. Monte Carlo victor and cameraman.

My apologies to all Dutch posters for trying to misappropriate your countryman! I have searched a little further and see that Maurice Gatsonides was indeed born in Jakarta, then in the Dutch East Indies. Also that there was a Gatsonides car as well, which I never knew of. We live and learn...

Well, as we´re all reviving Dutch memories (any reasons for this, Boniver? The Netherlands isn´t that famous for its racing drivers...),
how about some other more or less international drivers:
Liane Engeman (60´s-70´s, F Vee, Transam in the States, Alfa Romeo and Ford touring cars)
Gerrit van Kouwen (80´s, FF Festival winner, British F3 winner, later BTCC)
Marcel Albers (British F3, sadly died in a crash, early 90´s)
Arie Luyendyk (F3, Super Vee, Indycars)
Leen Verhoeven (F5000, 70´s)
Jan van Straaten (2 litre Sportscars, 70´s)
Ernst Berg (Touring cars, 2 litre Sportscars, 70´s)
Henk Bosman (2 litre Sportscars, 70´s)
Cor Euser (British F3, Group C, GT, German DTM)
Ed Swart (Abarth sports- and touring cars, 60´s and early 70´s)
and perhaps the most succesfull of this lot:
Toine Hezemans, Targa winner and 2-times European Touring car champion.

Originally posted by Frank de Jong
Liane Engeman (60´s-70´s, F Vee, Transam in the States, Alfa Romeo and Ford touring cars)

... and quite a babe!!!

I can add something about Hans HERKUYLENS.

He died in February 1948 at Amsterdam after a long illness. He was 59 years old.

He started with motorcycles racing, aged 20. He was seriously hurt in 1934 so he left motorcycles for cars.

Just before his illness, he would prepare a car to break some speed records.

Another successfull Dutch racers was Lex Beels in F3, in the fifties.

Originally posted by Marcor
Another successfull Dutch racers was Lex Beels in F3, in the fifties.

Beels even made his own Cooper-copy (see A-Z of formula racing cars, that nearly every member of this forum seems to own ;) - if not, get yourself a copy!).

Info from NAV – Pays Bas (NL)

Before WO II in Netherland race
Piet Van Wijngaarden
Van Hamensfield
Van Pluym
Bosman
Maarten
Maarten Flinterman
Dick Reenoy

One driver go international HARRY HERKULEYNS with his MG Magnette K3 1,1 liter
Start in Belgium, Germany ; Swiss, …..

Herkuleys was from Amsterdam born in 1889 and die in 1945 (sick)

In Le Mans 24H 1950, Maurice Gatsonides shared a factory "Aero Minor" with a driver named Hoogeven. Is Hoogeven also a Dutchman? Sounds Dutch to me. And what was his first name?

Anyone? Frank?

Stefan

Sorry that I'm so late, working on the ETC site of course. Henk Hoogeveen raced the Aero Minor at Zandvoort. Gatsonides knew that it won its class at Le Mans in 1949, and he contacted Henk Hoogeveen. Henk and his father Geert started preparing the car for Le Mans. Then it became clear that the Czech factory drivers could not get out of their country, in contrast to the cars, which were now lacking drivers. Gatsonides and Hoogeveen therefore were promoted to the factory car...

All I know about Gatsonides is that he built a car that was called "platje" (which is 'flat one', not in terms of speed, but in terms of height) and that Mrs. Herzberger, wife of the late driver, is still alive and doing well.

Originally posted by David McKinney
Hans Roosdorp was either a Dutch-resident Belgian or a Belgian-resident Dutchman - probably the latter.

Remember an entry list - don't know which one - stating Antwerp as place of residence. So any body knowing his real nationality?

Maurice Gatsonides had his autobiography published, but I do not have it. He attributed the speed camera to a desire to prove he was NOT breaking the speed limit on one occasion. Unfortunately the current UK 'government' decide to use his invention to cut speed limits on straight 8 lane roads to 25 and put cameras every 50 yards in the name of 'safety'.

Gatsonides built more cars than just the "Platje" sportscar. A complete account can be found here:
http://www.geocities...ak/gatford.html

The official site of the Gatso company is:
http://www.gatso.nl

Here is mention of another Dutch driver from the fifties... have a look at this from the 1957 Mille Miglia report in Motor Racing:

In a crash at Florence, the Dutch driver Gottingens was killed when his Triumph hit a tree.

Originally posted by Frank de Jong
Marcel Albers (British F3, sadly died in a crash, early 90´s)

Any relation to the current DTM-driver?

No, not at all.

But long….long time ago the was

Walter Rens (or sometime she say Walter Reus)

1936 DNS in Eifel race - private Bugatti
1936 DNS in German GP - private Bugatti

Reading Cyril Posthumus "The German Grand Prix" book, he mentions a Dutchman called J.W. Reus entering the then already antique Bugatti T51 in the 1936 race. Posthumus even had a picture of the Bugatti at speed. Now I found that he actually is correctly named Jan (Johannes) Willem Rens (so not Walter nor Reus). Strangely he was on the middle of the grid for the GP. So ahead of Sommer, Von Delius and Chiron. Of course grid was determined by a draw. Rens was a DNF after 7 laps, and that seems to be his racing career.

He raced/owned at least two Bugattis: one T51 (51124) and also a T43 (43303). He even had them at the same time for a period. The T43 is now owned by another Dutchman (one of many with this car). The story is that Rens never paid for the 43 as well as maintenance, until the Amsterdam Bugatti dealer sold it around 1938.

Rumor has it that Rens had sympathies for the then ruler of Germany, as there ought to be sense in his (one time) participation in a Grande Epreuve.
A Rens family had made a fortune in the Dutch colony Indonesia the century before. No idea if he was part of this family.

Posted on behalf of Bjørn Kjer

Can anyone please help id the above picture ?

Please note Copyright !
Bjørn Kjer

Edited by Bjørn Kjer, 15 September 2011 - 20:57.

Can anyone please help id the above picture ?

Please note Copyright !
Bjørn Kjer

Bugatti 49 of Eric Verkade pulling a trailer with his Maserati 4CM, or was it owned by Philippe Verkade? The licence plate starts with GZ: prefix for all cars registered in the province of North-Holland (Amsterdam, Haarlem, Hilversum etc). The Verkade's raced only briefly right after the war. And seemingly part of the Verkade family, owners of biscuits and chocolate bar producer from Zaandam.

Rutger Eric Verkade was born in Amsterdam on September 6th 1912. He was son of Eduard Rutger Verkade, a Dutch actor and producer. His father would marry four times. His mother was his father’s second bride who also gave him a two year old sister Carola. From his father’s first marriage he had 1 half-sister and two half-brothers: a Willem and a Eduard Rutger Jr., but no Philippe… Junior died in 1926. Possibly Willem could have named himself Philippe?
His parents divorced early 1919. Tragically his mother, an actress too, is killed in April 1919 when aboard the SS Amstel as the ship sinks on its voyage from Oslo to Rotterdam.

In January 1936 he was sentenced in the UK to 3 months imprisonment after a road race with a motor racer another (?) motor rider had been killed. For the trial he was specially transported to the UK from Holland by plane!

He married at Paddington (near London) on july 17th 1936 with Marie Guillemine Gerckens, from Liege. They had a son Richard John Eric Verkade who was born in Haarlem on the 16th of October 1939.

Opened the bar Le Circuit (see post by RacerDemon), below picture of 1946-7.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Great infos Arjan , thanks very much !

Bjørn Kjer

Rumor has it that Rens had sympathies for the then ruler of Germany, as there ought to be sense in his (one time) participation in a Grande Epreuve.
A Rens family had made a fortune in the Dutch colony Indonesia the century before. No idea if he was part of this family.

 

I have been digging further in Rens' life. Slowly finding more info and getting a picture. Yes he was part of the family that runned Rens &Fuchs in Batavia. Rens' father (also Johannes Willem) set it up with his brother (Daniel), but returned to NL with his family because of health problems.

Johannes Willem Rens jr. his reputation was not very good to say the least. But (so far) no proof for any "sympathies". He died in concentration camp Gross Rosen, which is not very logical if he had such sympathies.

I found out he had 4 children in his second marriage, and am now trying to locate them or possible grand-children., hoping to fill in a gap in Dutch racing history.

Fuchs & Rens

Amsterdam - Batavia

 

importeur in Nederlands-Indië from Wolseley, Panhard, Phymouth, Chrysler, Mercedes

 

 

Following up on Rens: I now know where the rumours about his "sympathies" came from - and conclude that they are quite probably justified...

Edited by Barttore, 29 April 2018 - 11:55.

Johannes Willem Rens was from Amsterdam and his last address was in the Ruysdaelstraat. This street T-crosses the Pieter Baststraat where then Bugatti agent Albatros was based. Albatros was run by the Van Ramshorst family. They must have trusted Rens for loaning (and maintaining) the T43 as he was practically their neighbor as well as heir to a seemingly wealthy family. The Van Ramshorst family were three motorsports minded brothers, something that may have contributed as well.

In 1941 he was arrested being drunk and threatening another person with a hand gun. He claimed to be a Gestapo officer, yet was not known at the Sicherheitspolizei upon which he was arrested by the police. This incident may have been led to his definitive imprisonment.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 03 May 2018 - 12:24.

After researching Dutch race drivers "John" van Hulzen and Johannes Willen Rens, and also Monte Carlo rally driver Jacques Staal and more local driver Robert Tielens, I am now researching "Harry" Herkuleijns: his whole sporting career, so not only his car racing but also his motorracing career and his non-motorsport career before that.

This should result in a Biography, which is already getting on very well.

 

If anybody can and wishes to contribute, please contact me.

A mystery I am trying to solve is him starting in Shelsley Walsh hillclimb on september 28-1935: I can not find any results.  Edit: Shelsley info now ubtained, 

 

Now searching for Herkuleijns' appearences at Brooklands.

Edited by Barttore, 19 September 2020 - 11:49.

The 2022 Italian GP will be surely of historic value to the Dutch. Nyck de Vries made his debut as the 16th Dutchman to race a WDC GP. Not only the best debut for a Dutchman in F1 (OK Van Lennep had an 8th position) in grid position and scoring points with 9th.

Also the first time two Dutchmen scored points, started from the same grid row (Belgium 2005 Doornbos and Albers started from the pits), and one Dutchman being lapped by another who also led the race. First Frisian F1 driver, others came mostly from Amsterdam or the southern parts of the Netherlands.

Possibly the longest career in lower Formulae before truly racing a F1.