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Le Mans / ALMS
ALMS: The World Wide Web Of DHH
John Dagys delves inside the story of David Heinemeier Hansson, a world-renowned programmer that has set his sights on conquering the 24 Hours of Le Mans...
In the matter of just three years, David Heinemeier Hansson has gone from entry-level club racing to the top ranks in international LMP2 competition. (Photo: John Dagys)
Over the years, sports car racing has stood out as one of the few remaining forms of motorsport that’s embraced diversity, not only from a technology and rulebook point of view, but also by the wide range of drivers that compete in the world’s most prestigious endurance races.
From Hollywood actor Patrick Dempsey to AC/DC front man Brian Johnson and MLB pitcher C.J. Wilson, who has most recently entered the fray, the pro-am nature of the sport has seen aspiring racers from all walks of life fulfill their dreams alongside motorsport’s longstanding stars.
One of the latest to take up the challenge has been David Heinemeier Hansson, who at first glance may appear to be a typical up-and-coming driver with a large checkbook. But it’s the 32-year-old Dane’s famed background in the tech industry that’s helped him pursue his new task of conquering the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Heinemeier Hansson, or “DHH” as he’s known in the programming world, rose to stardom with the creation of the “Ruby on Rails” web application framework, based off a then-obscure Japanese programming language, nearly a decade ago amid the Web 2.0 boom.
"I ended up building all of these tools, put it in the toolbox and called it Ruby on Rails,” he explains in a SPEED.com exclusive interview. “That was released in 2004. Since then, we've been working to improve our product, and at the same time, the popularity of Ruby on Rails has grown exponentially."
With thousands of companies, including Twitter, Groupon and yellowpages.com utilizing the “Rails” framework, Heinemeier Hansson quickly became a visionary in the tech world. He was named “Hacker of the Year” by Google and O'Reilly in 2005 and moved from Denmark to Chicago to become a partner at 37signals, a web application company that’s since seen investment from Amazon.com founder and president Jeff Bezos.
By 2007, thanks to his thriving business, Heinemeier Hansson began toying around the idea of going racing, first getting his feet wet in a Formula Mazda car. But it wasn’t until his debut in the Cayman Interseries some two years later that made him decide to take the plunge into sports car racing, motivated by the success of fellow Dane Tom Kristensen.
"From the moment I got hooked on the Caymans, I was like, 'I want to do this at Le Mans,'” he says. “And I knew the easiest path to go there would be to climb the ladder with the Porsche stuff. I knew the GT3 Challenge is the best stepping stone to get into the ALMS. It was a great way to learn race cars."
Heinemeier Hansson did just that, graduating to the IMSA GT3 Challenge in 2010, winning his first series race, and making his American Le Mans Series debut just one year later at Road America.
An interview in Racemag, a Danish motorsports magazine, helped lead him to an end-of-season Intercontinental Le Mans Cup campaign in a Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE, with initial prospects of a full-season FIA World Endurance Championship effort with the Austrian squad for 2012.
"I tried really had to make something work with the Jetalliance team,” he says. “They weren't going to work with Lotus anymore and had aspirations of running LMP2 or a GTE program. I think we had three different programs that came very close to happening. I was all signed up to do the WEC and the deals just kept falling apart."
By February, he was forced to abandon his WEC hopes and search for a ride in the ALMS, which led him to Conquest Endurance, thanks to the help of driver coach and advisor, Patrick Long.
The American Porsche factory driver, who had known Conquest's eventual co-driver Martin Plowman since his European racing days and had been in contact with team owner Eric Bachelart, helped put the pieces together for Heinemeier Hansson to make his P2 debut with the IndyCar-turned ALMS outfit.
A test orchestrated by OAK Racing at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in March sealed the deal. Not only did he sign to drive Conquest’s Morgan in the ALMS but also confirmed a two-race program in Europe with OAK, including his much-anticipated debut at Le Mans.
"To me, Le Mans is just the top when it comes to any sort of sport there is,” Heinemeier Hansson says. “I think, especially the success of Tom Kristensen at Le Mans, that he's won it eight times, was a real big inspiration.
“I watched the races when I was still in Denmark, long before I had any aspiration of actually driving a real race car. The success that Tom has had has opened a lot of people's eyes to the sport."
From Hollywood actor Patrick Dempsey to AC/DC front man Brian Johnson and MLB pitcher C.J. Wilson, who has most recently entered the fray, the pro-am nature of the sport has seen aspiring racers from all walks of life fulfill their dreams alongside motorsport’s longstanding stars.
One of the latest to take up the challenge has been David Heinemeier Hansson, who at first glance may appear to be a typical up-and-coming driver with a large checkbook. But it’s the 32-year-old Dane’s famed background in the tech industry that’s helped him pursue his new task of conquering the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Heinemeier Hansson, or “DHH” as he’s known in the programming world, rose to stardom with the creation of the “Ruby on Rails” web application framework, based off a then-obscure Japanese programming language, nearly a decade ago amid the Web 2.0 boom.
"I ended up building all of these tools, put it in the toolbox and called it Ruby on Rails,” he explains in a SPEED.com exclusive interview. “That was released in 2004. Since then, we've been working to improve our product, and at the same time, the popularity of Ruby on Rails has grown exponentially."
With thousands of companies, including Twitter, Groupon and yellowpages.com utilizing the “Rails” framework, Heinemeier Hansson quickly became a visionary in the tech world. He was named “Hacker of the Year” by Google and O'Reilly in 2005 and moved from Denmark to Chicago to become a partner at 37signals, a web application company that’s since seen investment from Amazon.com founder and president Jeff Bezos.
By 2007, thanks to his thriving business, Heinemeier Hansson began toying around the idea of going racing, first getting his feet wet in a Formula Mazda car. But it wasn’t until his debut in the Cayman Interseries some two years later that made him decide to take the plunge into sports car racing, motivated by the success of fellow Dane Tom Kristensen.
"From the moment I got hooked on the Caymans, I was like, 'I want to do this at Le Mans,'” he says. “And I knew the easiest path to go there would be to climb the ladder with the Porsche stuff. I knew the GT3 Challenge is the best stepping stone to get into the ALMS. It was a great way to learn race cars."
Heinemeier Hansson did just that, graduating to the IMSA GT3 Challenge in 2010, winning his first series race, and making his American Le Mans Series debut just one year later at Road America.
An interview in Racemag, a Danish motorsports magazine, helped lead him to an end-of-season Intercontinental Le Mans Cup campaign in a Jetalliance Lotus Evora GTE, with initial prospects of a full-season FIA World Endurance Championship effort with the Austrian squad for 2012.
"I tried really had to make something work with the Jetalliance team,” he says. “They weren't going to work with Lotus anymore and had aspirations of running LMP2 or a GTE program. I think we had three different programs that came very close to happening. I was all signed up to do the WEC and the deals just kept falling apart."
By February, he was forced to abandon his WEC hopes and search for a ride in the ALMS, which led him to Conquest Endurance, thanks to the help of driver coach and advisor, Patrick Long.
The American Porsche factory driver, who had known Conquest's eventual co-driver Martin Plowman since his European racing days and had been in contact with team owner Eric Bachelart, helped put the pieces together for Heinemeier Hansson to make his P2 debut with the IndyCar-turned ALMS outfit.
A test orchestrated by OAK Racing at the Le Mans Bugatti Circuit in March sealed the deal. Not only did he sign to drive Conquest’s Morgan in the ALMS but also confirmed a two-race program in Europe with OAK, including his much-anticipated debut at Le Mans.
"To me, Le Mans is just the top when it comes to any sort of sport there is,” Heinemeier Hansson says. “I think, especially the success of Tom Kristensen at Le Mans, that he's won it eight times, was a real big inspiration.
“I watched the races when I was still in Denmark, long before I had any aspiration of actually driving a real race car. The success that Tom has had has opened a lot of people's eyes to the sport."
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