CN
III ARCHIVES
BY LARRY LAWRENCE
D
utch fans will always
remember the 1980 Dutch
TT at Assen. That was the year
their countryman Jack Mid-
delburg overcame a poor start
and battled to the front before
pulling away to win in domi-
nating fashion, bringing his
fellow Dutchman to a frenzy.
The massive partisan horde
chanted "Jackie, Jackie!"
thrilled to see Middelburg win
his home Grand Prix.
Middelburg was part of the
high-water era for Dutch suc-
cess in grand prix racing. Wil
Hartog scored a total of five
grand prix wins, between 1977 and 1981 riding
Suzukis. Boet van Dulmen won the Finnish Grand
Prix in 1979 on a Suzuki. In 1979 the final FIM
500cc Grand Prix standings saw the trio of Dutch
riders all finish in the top-10 with Hartog fourth,
Van Dulmen in sixth and Middelburg seventh.
Middelburg grew up in the farming community
of Naaldwijk, a small town just southwest of The
Hague. He began road racing in the mid-1970s
and rapidly climbed the ranks in Dutch events. He
won his first Dutch National title in 1977 barely
two years after starting.
Middelburg earned a reputation as a hard-
nosed rider who wouldn't give an inch on the
track and his fans began calling him "Jumping
Jack" after the Rolling Stones hit "Jumpin' Jack
Flash."
Middelburg made his GP debut at his home
Dutch TT in 1977 where he finished a respect-
able 11th in his 500cc debut riding a Suzuki. He
became a regular on the GP circuit in 1979 and
it didn't take long for him to become one of the
leading riders in the premier GP class. In his
first full season, he scored a podium, finishing
second to Barry Sheene at the Swedish GP at
Karlskoga.
In 1980 Middelburg jumped
from Suzuki to Yamaha with
the promise of a machine that
would be identical to the one
ridden by World Champ Kenny
Roberts. It didn't quite work
out that way.
JUMPING JACK
P116
Jack Middelburg outduels Kenny
Roberts to the line in the 1981
British Grand Prix, one of the most
exciting race finishes in GP history.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
HENNY
RAY
ABRAMS
Jack Middelburg
stands on the
podium of the
1981 British
GP with Kenny
Roberts and
Randy Mamola.
