Jaak van Velthoven

Jaak Van Velthoven (24 January 1951 ) is a Belgian former professional motocross racer. He competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships from 1969 to 1985. Standing well over 6 feet tall, it was not difficult to distinguish him in the pack and he was often referred to as 'Long tall Jaak'.

Van Velthoven was born in Lommel, Belgium on 24 January 1951. At the age of 18, he competed in his first Motocross World Championship event at the 1969 500cc Austrian Grand Prix as a privateer aboard a Husqvarna motorcycle. He won the first overall victory of his career with the Yamaha factory racing team at the 1972 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix where he finished ahead of three-time World Champion Paul Friedrichs. He ended the season ranked fifth in the 500 class. Van Velthoven actually scored enough points to finish the season ranked second overall but fell victim to FIM scoring rules at the time which only recognized the top seven of twelve results. The rules would be changed in 1977.

Van Velthoven's best individual performance was a third place in the 500cc World Championship in 1973. He helped Yamaha develop a revolutionary motorcycle rear suspension that used a single shock absorber (invented by the Belgian engineer Lucien Tilkens) instead of the traditional dual shock absorbers.

In the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, sales of recreational vehicles decreased significantly, and Yamaha was forced to reduce their competition budget by withdrawing their motocross and road racing teams after the 1975 season. Van Velthoven then became the Belgian importer for KTM motorcycles and competed at the World Championship level for another 10 years for the Austrian motorcycle company. In 1976, he sponsored André Malherbe to race in the 250cc World Championship. Malherbe went on to become a three-time 500cc Motocross World Champion for the Honda factory team.