Henk van Kessel
Henk van Kessel ( born June 25, 1946) is a former Dutch motorcycle racer.
In 1974, he won the world title Kreidler in the 50 cc class of the Motorcycle World Championship.
Career
Henk van Kessel made his debut at the Grand Prix of Sweden 1972 in the Motorcycle World Championship. He started to Kreidler in the 50 cc class and immediately became the tenth. The following season he celebrated with second place behind compatriot Theo Timmer at the Grand Prix of West Germany at the Hockenheim Ring his first podium.
The 1974 season was the most successful in van Kessel's career. He won on Kreidler in the 50 class, often referred to as brandy glass class, superior to the world title. The Dutchman won six of the eight races in which he competed, also won two second places and was so superior to the maximum achievable score of 90 meters world champion.
On September 6, 1977 Henk van Kessel put on a record machine Kreidler Kreidler Black Arrow 50cc on the A50 in Apeldoorn with 221.586 km / h the still valid today world speed record for 50 cc motorcycles.
Van Kessel started up in 1986 on the various brands in the small displacement classes (up to 50 or 80 cc and up to 125 cc ) of the Motorcycle World Championship, but could not build on the successes of 1974. In the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in 1979, he celebrated the last of his seven Grand Prix victories in the 50s. At the end of the 1986 season Henk van Kessel ended 40 - year his career, in which he also won seven Dutch league titles among others.