Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126990
f-i.. ~ Interview: .ZScc World Champion John Van den Berk ~ No longer just asbadow By Alex Hodgkinson Photos by Hodgkinson and Davey Coombs John Van den Berk spent the first three years of his adult motocross racing career in the shadow of Dave Strijbos, just a few months his junior and, unti lthey both went into tax exile h is n ear n eighbor in , f O· IH I the to wn 0 ss In cen tra 0 land. . During h is first G P seaso n Van den Berk fin ish ed 13th, j u mped to fifth a year la ter af ter win ni ng h is first FIM gold medal as a member of the wi n ni ng 125cc Coupe des Nat ions team the previo us au tum n , a nd last year he was Yamah a 's main cha lle nger to th e powerful Cagiva team in wi n ni ng h is first C P on the wav to the FIM silver meda l in the 125cc C Ps , befor e sna tchi ng further FI M honor s as the Rod il Stadium Champion. T hiIS season h e sh a d owe d c h am. h p ron Striiib as a II te way as th e j Cagiva rider wo n in n u merable races d uri ng the first half o f the year before. ta kin advan tage of every mista ke b y . . g.. ~IS gr:eat' r~val to ~ve Yamah~ th eir Iirst individua l title holder in th e cla ss: . ' " W1th )us~ five moto wms to t~e ~O o.f his riva l, V:a n den Berk wi ll in evitably be considered fortun ate to have won the c;rown by s?me, b u t he had shown hi s maturit y in u nder standing ~he req uirements o f modern ti tle-ch asing tacll~ by con~en traung o n the accu m ula tion o~ p.01~ts; never lower tha!l seve~th in fini shi ng every mo to untIl0e fin al two roun~s. Va n den Berk, in fact, ,",:,on the titl e by th e largest mar~m sl~ce ~he da ys of Geboera/Suzuki domination, We talked to ~he 20-year·o l ~ Cabal lero Yamaha n der abo ut his career to da te. How old were you 'when you started riding? I started when I was nine-years-old, It was around th is time that the youth motocross started in H olland. I rode Suzuki in the 80cc class a nd beca me Du tch Champio n in 1981. What influenced yo u .t~ start racing? My fa th er was sti ll ri ding the n and from a very you ng age I had wa n ted to ride a lso. My fat he r was still raci ng wh en I started and we had to div ide th e we.ekends bet ween his meetin gs and m me. Mostl y I got to race when he had a. fr~ weekend. . H o w bi g IS th e yo u th sport 10 H ollan.d? . A~ I said. 1t ~mly started when. I was ru ne. T hen 1t becam e reall y big, but for the last few years It has becC?me less , po pu lar beca use people Jus t don ~ have as m uch money. . I bel ieve you were abl e to race 10 the ad u h 125cc class before yo u were 16 years Iold. 15 h Yes, was \" ked . . f I ten. ve as Y per h d th th miSSIOn. a ter. a won e au Cham pions hip a nd the DU ,tch Iedera~!on decided that 11 w as