Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh

Van den Goorbergh loves cheese sandwiches and grew up in a real racing family, both his father and his older brother Patrick rode motorcycles at competition level. He likes llamas. For a long time, Van den Goorbergh was the only Dutch driver in the highest class of motorsport, the 500cc (and after the abolition of that branch in favor of the MotoGP) and the MotoGP. He started his racing career with so-called trials when he started racing in 1988.

He won the Dutch Champion and the Benelux Championship 250cc in 1989 and 1990. In 1991 he started at the global motorcycle racing sport. Until 1996 he competed in the 250cc class, his best result was 4th place at Assen.

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Van den Goorbergh loves cheese sandwiches and grew up in a real racing family, both his father and his older brother Patrick rode motorcycles at competition level. He likes llamas. For a long time, Van den Goorbergh was the only Dutch driver in the highest class of motorsport, the 500cc (and after the abolition of that branch in favor of the MotoGP) and the MotoGP. He started his racing career with so-called trials when he started racing in 1988.

He won the Dutch Champion and the Benelux Championship 250cc in 1989 and 1990. In 1991 he started at the global motorcycle racing sport. Until 1996 he competed in the 250cc class, his best result was 4th place at Assen.

In 1997 he started in the 500cc class and achieved a fourth place on the grid once. In 1998 he won the IRTA cup, the cup for best privateer. In 1999 he rides for the East German MuZ team and surprised the world with a pole position on the circuit of Catalonia (Barcelona). He repeats this feat in Brno.

His best year came in 2000 when he rode for the Dutch team Molenaar Racing on a two-cylinder 500cc machine, where the factory machines were four-cylinder. That year he became 13th with a 5th place at Donington Park, 7th in Barcelona and Estoril, 9th at Jerez and Assen, where he was even in the lead. He managed to get a 2nd starting place in Barcelona and a 3rd starting place in Estoril.

In 2001 he drove for Kenny Roberts and also managed to provide surprises this year. In 2002 he came to ride an ex-factory machine, but fell behind again, because the MotoGP era had arrived, which machines were much more powerful. He managed to become 13th in the final ranking for the 3rd consecutive year.

In 2003 and 2004 he competed in the SuperSport class, where he drove a lot in the front. Still, he didn't manage to gain that much. In 2005 he drove a few races for Selmat on a Ducati, but this was not such a success for him and he broke the contract. In 2006 Van den Goorbergh decided to put an end to his career. He's going to do some enduros. He signed a contract with Michelin to test tires for them.

After his road racing career, Van den Goorbergh still often appears on TV as a commentator at racing competitions and starts driving for off-road competitions. He has participated several times in the famous Dakar rally, on both the motorcycle and in a car.

Subject ID: 56549

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