Ton van Heugten
Encyclopedia
Antonius Maria van Heugten (9 September 1945 – 27 March 2008) was a Dutch
sidecarcross
rider and the 1981 World Champion
in the sport, together with his passenger Frits Kiggen
.
He has also won the Dutch national sidecarcross championship four times, 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 and the FIM European Championship in 1975.
Ton van Heugten was a BMX
pioneer in the Netherlands, taking part in competitive races when he wasn't allowed to race motocross in the 1950s.
He began riding in the solo class from the age of ten, but was not allowed to take part in competitions due to his age. He won the Dutch national championship in the 50 cc class in 1963, in the 250 cc class in 1964 and 1965 and in the 500 cc class in 1966. He also competed in the Motocross World Championship. He suffered a complicated leg fracture in 1966.
Van Heugten took up the sidecarcross sport in 1971 and remained active in motor sport until 1989. As his reason for switching from the solo version of the sport to the sidecarcross one at the age of 25 he stated that he considered it to late to switch once he was over 30.
In 1982, he and Frits Kiggen took part in the Rally Paris-Dakar
.
Ton van Heugten died on 27 March 2008 of a heart attack, aged 62. He was buried in his home town Amersfoort
on 2 April 2008.
In 1974, he switched passengers, racing with Dick Steenbergen. He raced with Steenbergen for five seasons, winning the competition, now renamed the FIM European Championship, in 1975. The team had a difficult year in 1978, struggling in the domestic championship and finishing only twelfth in Europe.
From 1979, Ton van Heugten used Frits Kiggen as his passenger, the two becoming a very successful combination. From 1980 onwards, the European championship was renamed the FIM World Championship and van Heugten, finishing fourth in its first year, became the second world champion in 1981, despite Kiggen, his passenger, having broken his collar bone during the season and having to be replaced with Sies Hurkmans for four races.
Ton van Heugten continued to be a successful rider in the world championship, finishing in the top-three four more times. He won his last world championship race at the Portuguese GP in 1986, his last really strong season, finishing third overall.
Ton van Heugten continued to race internationally until 1989, when he retired.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
sidecarcross
Sidecarcross
Sidecar-cross racing, also known as sidecar motocross, is very similar to regular, solo motocross but with a different type of motorcycle chassis, and with a team of two people riding together instead of one, a driver and a passenger. While not confirmed most articles seem to show Sidecarcross...
rider and the 1981 World Champion
Sidecarcross world championship
The Sidecar Motocross World Championship is an annual event, organised by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme , held since 1980. Previous to that, a European competition was held from 1971 onwards....
in the sport, together with his passenger Frits Kiggen
Frits Kiggen
Frits Kiggen is a retired Dutch sidecarcross passenger and the 1981 World Champion in the sport, together with his driver Ton van Heugten....
.
He has also won the Dutch national sidecarcross championship four times, 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 and the FIM European Championship in 1975.
Biography
Antonius Maria van Heugten, commonly referred to as Ton van Heugten, was born on 9 September 1945, as the second-last of fifteen children. He was born into a family of motocross enthusiasts, having nine brothers and five sisters. One of his brothers, Cor van Heugten, was Dutch national sidecarcross champion, from 1964 to 1966, while another brother, Fons van Heugten, also competed in the FIM European Championship.Ton van Heugten was a BMX
Bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
pioneer in the Netherlands, taking part in competitive races when he wasn't allowed to race motocross in the 1950s.
He began riding in the solo class from the age of ten, but was not allowed to take part in competitions due to his age. He won the Dutch national championship in the 50 cc class in 1963, in the 250 cc class in 1964 and 1965 and in the 500 cc class in 1966. He also competed in the Motocross World Championship. He suffered a complicated leg fracture in 1966.
Van Heugten took up the sidecarcross sport in 1971 and remained active in motor sport until 1989. As his reason for switching from the solo version of the sport to the sidecarcross one at the age of 25 he stated that he considered it to late to switch once he was over 30.
In 1982, he and Frits Kiggen took part in the Rally Paris-Dakar
Dakar Rally
The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid type of off-road automobile race, organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation...
.
Ton van Heugten died on 27 March 2008 of a heart attack, aged 62. He was buried in his home town Amersfoort
Amersfoort
Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...
on 2 April 2008.
Sidecarcross world championship results
Ton van Heugten made his debut in the FIM Cup, a predecessor of the world championship, in 1972, in the second year of the competition. With his passenger Jaak Wery he achieved a third place overall in the competition.In 1974, he switched passengers, racing with Dick Steenbergen. He raced with Steenbergen for five seasons, winning the competition, now renamed the FIM European Championship, in 1975. The team had a difficult year in 1978, struggling in the domestic championship and finishing only twelfth in Europe.
From 1979, Ton van Heugten used Frits Kiggen as his passenger, the two becoming a very successful combination. From 1980 onwards, the European championship was renamed the FIM World Championship and van Heugten, finishing fourth in its first year, became the second world champion in 1981, despite Kiggen, his passenger, having broken his collar bone during the season and having to be replaced with Sies Hurkmans for four races.
Ton van Heugten continued to be a successful rider in the world championship, finishing in the top-three four more times. He won his last world championship race at the Portuguese GP in 1986, his last really strong season, finishing third overall.
Ton van Heugten continued to race internationally until 1989, when he retired.
Season by season
The competition which was to become the sidecarcross world championship in 1980 originated as the FIM Cup in 1971 and was renamed to European championship in 1975. Van Heugtens's results in these three competitions were:| Season | Passenger | Equipment | Position | Points | Races | Wins | Second | Third |
| 1972 | Jaak Wery | Norton-Wasp | 3 | 54 | 8 | — | 2 | 3 |
| 1973 | Jaak Wery | Norton-Wasp | 12 | 17 | 2 | — | 1 | — |
| 1974 | Dick Steenbergen | Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services** Yamaha Motor Company, a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company... -Wasp |
4 | 77 | 14 | — | 2 | 2 |
| 1975 | Dick Steenbergen | Yamaha-Hagon | 1 | 141 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| 1976 | Dick Steenbergen | Yamaha-Hagon | 4 | 110 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| 1977 | Dick Steenbergen | Yamaha-Hagon | 9 | 29 | 6 | — | — | 2 |
| 1978 | Dick Steenbergen | Yamaha-Hagon | 12 | 20 | 10 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | Frits Kiggen Frits Kiggen Frits Kiggen is a retired Dutch sidecarcross passenger and the 1981 World Champion in the sport, together with his driver Ton van Heugten.... |
Weslake-Wasp | 6 | 82 | 14 | — | 1 | 3 |
| 1980 | Frits Kiggen | Yamaha-EML | 4 | 126 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1981 | Frits Kiggen | Yamaha-Wasp | 1 | 169 | 14 | 9 | 1 | — |
| Sies Hurkmans | 47 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 1982 | Frits Kiggen | Yamaha-Wasp | 3 | 102 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Jaap van Vliet | 22 | 4 | — | 1 | 1 | |||
| 1983 | Jaap van Vliet | Yamaha-Tri | 15 | 24 | 3 | — | 1 | — |
| 1984 | Frits Kiggen | Folan-Wasp | 2 | 232 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| 1985 | Frits Kiggen | Folan-Wasp | 3 | 238 | 18 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 1986 | Frits Kiggen | Folan-EML EML Sidecars The EML Sidecars company, short EML, is a Dutch Sidecarcross and Quad frame manufacturer, having won numerous worldchampionships in this sport.EML stands for Einmalig, meaning unique.-History:... |
3 | 39 | 2 | — | 2 | — |
| Ton Maessen | 74 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Piet Vandeutekom | 133 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |||
| 1987 | Piet Vandeutekom | Folan-VMC Vruwink MotorCycles The Vruwink MotorCycles company, short VMC, is a Dutch Sidecarcross frame manufacturer, having won eleven riders and six manufacturers world championships in this sport.-Company history:... |
36 | 6 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | Andre Godschalk | KTM KTM KTM Sportmotorcycle AG is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and moped manufacturer.The company was founded in 1934 by engineer Hans Trunkenpolz in Mattighofen. It started out as a metal working shop and was named Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen... -EML |
12 | 36 | 6 | — | — | — |
| Ralph Hoormann | 47 | 4 | — | — | 2 | |||
| 1989 | Epe Willems | KTM-EML | 10 | 96 | 14 | — | — | 3 |
| Overall 1972 - 1989 | 1921 | 223 | 34 | 28 | 44 |
- With the exception of Ralph Hoormann, who was German, all his passengers were Dutch nationals.
Netherlands
- Champions: (4) 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980
External links
- Article on Ton van Heugten from the NRC HandelsbladNRC HandelsbladNRC Handelsblad, often abbreviated to NRC, is a daily evening newspaper published in the Netherlands by NRC Media. The newspaper was created on October 1, 1970, from merger of the Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant and Algemeen Handelsblad . In 2006 a morning newspaper, nrc•next, was launched...
- The official FIM website
- The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com