Cycle News

VOL. 54 ISSUE 14 APRIL 11, 2017 P117 Boet van Dulmen, who was Middelburg's team- mate in 1980, said the customer Yamaha GP machines were very disappointing that season. The Yamaha was to be a replica of works Yamaha, but van Dulmen said the motorcycles independent teams received that year were far from being com- petitive out of the box. "They promised us other engines," says Van Dulmen. "From the first time we tried them, it was disappointing. The engine's power was less than expected and the handling was less than ideal to put in kindly. Importers who had bought the Ya- maha for riders also were complaining. We were in the same boat as Barry Sheene and Patrick Pons. We had hoped for much more. Even before the first race I asked Nico Bakker if he could make a frame. But they could not start immedi- ately, because it had to be paid for. Who paid for the frames? I think Yamaha." Van Dulmen was injured when the new Bakker frames were tested, but watched Middelburg in his first test at the Salzburgring. "With the new frame Middelburg was better," he recalls. "It wasn't really that much better, but we were try- ing to be positive since Yamaha was putting the money into improving the machine." The start of the Dutch TT in 1980 was delayed to allow time for Roberts' crew to work on his Yamaha, which experienced problems with its brakes just before the start. According to Van Dulmen the delay worked in Middelburg's favor, allowing the track to dry a bit from the full wet it might have been had they started on time. Timmer recalls the memories he took away from Middelburg's win at the Dutch TT. "Those slicks on the still wet track… that bad start... And when he came to ride in front: the roar of the crowd! With that gamble with the tires, he had luck on his side, but Jack was decisive. In my experience, it was not such a big surprise like when Hartog won in 1977. Jack was already on pole, so there was already a certain expectation. Still, it was a surprise that he won. Jack was always good for surprises." Middelburg's second GP win came at Silverstone in 1981 where, riding a Suzuki, he won out over Roberts in a last-lap duel. It was one of the closest GP finishes on record and Middelburg had beaten Roberts straight up, something very few riders could boast at that time. You can watch the race HERE. He raced on the GP circuit through 1983. Sadly, Middelburg passed away on April 2, 1984 as a result of head injuries suffered the day before in a multi-rider crash during a Dutch National road race in Croningem. Jack was a very gentle man, multi-faceted and very dry humor," said longtime Assen race offi- cial and friend Jaap Timmer. "He was very quiet, but also with a lot of talent. Sometimes being with him could be an adventure. The day Jack won the British GP in 1981, he'd overslept and I had to wake him up. We drove him to the track while he was still in his pajamas!" Countryman Wil Hartog gave perhaps the greatest praise one might ever hear from a fellow racer and GP winner. "I always saw him the fast- est of the three of us," Hartog said of the trio of Dutch 500cc GP riders, Jack, van Dulmen and himself. "He was sometimes too fast. Some days he was invincible. That day in Assen everything went his way and it was one of those days he could not be beaten. "Jack and I were great friends. Our women at the time got along well and little Jacky (Jack's son) often came to stay with us. The race at Silverstone was exceptional. Even Barry Sheene had not managed to beat Roberts at the track, but Jack did it! He was a great sportsman. I thought of highly of him. He had a big heart. After he won the Dutch TT he came to me and consoled me for having a tough race." CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

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