Kees van der Ven

Kees van der Ven (born 18 June 1957) is a Dutch former professional motocross racer and racing team manager. He competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships from 1978 to 1991. Van der Ven was one of the most accomplished Dutch motocross racers of the 1980s, winning Grand Prix motocross races in the 125, 250 and 500cc displacement classes.

Van der Ven moved up to the premier 500cc class for the 1986 season. The 500cc Motocross World Championships featured one of the most talented field of competitors of the 1980s. Van der Ven was challenged by the powerful Honda factory team of David Thorpe, André Malherbe and Eric Geboers as well as Yamaha's Håkan Carlqvist and the 1983 250cc World Champion Georges Jobé riding for the Kawasaki factory racing team.

Van der Ven's victory at the 1989 500cc Swedish Grand Prix marked the final win of his motocross racing career. A specialist on sand tracks, he won five consecutive times at the Le Touquet beach race between 1982 and 1986.

Later life After his riding career ended, Van der Ven became a successful team manager for KTM, winning 125cc world championships with Grant Langston (2000) Steve Ramon (2003) and Ben Townley (2004).

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 1992 500cc KTM USA- USA- USA- CZE- CZE- CZE- AUT- AUT- AUT- FIN- FIN- FIN- SM- SM- SM- GER- GER- GER10 UK15 UK13 UK- FRA- FRA- FRA- NED10 NED- NED- BEL- BEL- BEL- LUX- LUX- LUX- CH- CH- CH- 32nd 16Sources: