Didier Theys

Didier Theys in the Ferrari 333SP, 1997 in Donington

Didier Theys (born October 19, 1956 in Nivelles ) is a former Belgian racing driver .

Career

Didier Theys was one of the most versatile international racing drivers in the 1990s and 2000s. He competed in monoposto races in Europe and the USA, drove sports car and endurance races , touring car races and even rallies .

Theys began his career in 1979 in the Dutch Formula Ford 1600 Championship. In 1980 he switched to Formula 3 and competed for Sergé Saulnier's team wherever the Frenchman reported his team. He drove races in the French and German championships, as well as in the European championship. His greatest success in this racing series was third place in the 1985 race in Monaco. After the fifth season in Formula 3, interrupted by short trips to the Group C championship for Welter Racing and Brun Motorsport , the Belgian’s career seemed in the small Sink Formula classes.

However, he had already competed in the USA in 1985 in the Super Vau USA Championship and finished eighth in the overall standings after a race win. A year later he was able to win this racing series. Theys stayed in the US and became a regular starter in the Champ Car series . From 1987 to 1993 he competed in 47 races - including the Indianapolis 500 in 1989, 1990 and 1993. His best finish was third in the 1988 Miami race.

However, the Belgian became internationally known for his success in sports car racing. In 1982 he made his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . In 1987 he won the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race . In 1998, he won on a Ferrari 333 SP in the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring . When Audi made its debut at the Sarthe in 1999, Theys was one of the works drivers and drove the Audi R8R together with Emanuele Pirro and Frank Biela to third place in the overall standings. In 2002 he was able to repeat his success in Daytona and he was champion of the Grand-Am Sports Car Series . Until 2008 he was active in the American Le Mans Series and the Le Mans Series and then retired from active racing.

statistics

Le Mans results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1982	WM Esso	WM P82	Jean-Daniel Raulet	Michel Pignard	failure	Gearbox damage
1983	WM Secateva	WM P83	Jean-Daniel Raulet	Michel Pignard	failure	Motor overheated
1985	Brun Motorsport	Porsche 962C	Walter Brun	Joël Gouhier	failure	accident
1986	Brun Motorsport	Porsche 962C	Thierry Boutsen	Alain Ferté	failure	accident
1988	Blaupunkt Joest Racing	Porsche 962C	David Hobbs	Franz Konrad	Rank 5
1993	Team Paduwa	Porsche Carrera 2 Cup	Harald Grohs	Jean-Paul Libert	failure	Motor overheated
1996	Joest Racing	TWR-Porsche WSC-95	Michele Alboreto	Pierluigi Martini	failure	Electrics
1997	Moretti Racing Inc.	Ferrari 333SP	Giampiero Moretti	Massimiliano Papis	Rank 6
1998	Moretti Racing Inc.	Ferrari 333SP	Giampiero Moretti	Mauro Baldi	Rank 14
1999	Audi Sport Team Joest	Audi R8R	Emanuele Pirro	Frank Biela	Rank 3
2000	Mopar Team Oreca	Reynard 2KQ-LM	Didier André	Jeffrey Van Hooydonk	Rank 20
2001	Champion Racing	Audi R8	Johnny Herbert	Ralf Kelleners	failure	Engine failure
2002	Riley & Scott Racing	Riley & Scott Mk IIIC	Jim Matthews	Marc Goossens	failure	Engine failure

Sebring results

year	team	vehicle	Teammate	Teammate	Teammate	placement	Failure reason
1988	Momo Racing	March 86G	Tom Gloy	Steve Phillips		failure	no oil pressure
1995	Momo	Ferrari 333SP	Wayne Taylor	Giampiero Moretti		Rank 33
1996	Momo Corse	Ferrari 333SP	Massimiliano Papis	Giampiero Moretti		Rank 3
1997	Momo Racing	Ferrari 333SP	Antonio Hermann	Giampiero Moretti	Andrea Montermini	failure	accident
1998	Momo Doran Racing	Ferrari 333SP	Mauro Baldi	Giampiero Moretti		Overall victory
1999	Doran Enterprises	Ferrari 333SP	Mauro Baldi	Fredy Lienhard		failure	Gearbox damage
2000	Doran Lista Racing	Doran Special	Mauro Baldi	Fredy Lienhard		Rank 5
2002	Doran Lista Racing	Dallara LMP	Mauro Baldi	Fredy Lienhard		failure	accident
2003	Doran Lista Racing	Dallara LMP	Eric van de Poele	Fredy Lienhard		Rank 7
2005	Rollcentre Racing	Dallara LMP	João Barbosa	Michael Krumm		failure	Gearbox damage
2007	Horag Racing	Lola B05 / 40	Eric van de Poele	Fredy Lienhard		failure	Electrics
2008	Horag Racing	Porsche RS Spyder	Jan Lammers	Fredy Lienhard		Rank 7

Web links

Commons : Didier Theys  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Career statistics on driverdb.com
• Career statistics on speedsport-magazine.de