Antonius Maria van Heugten (9 September 1945 – 27 March 2008) was a Dutch sidecarcross rider and the 1981 World Champion in the sport, together with his passenger Frits Kiggen.
He has also won the Dutch national sidecarcross championship four times, 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 and the FIM European Championship in 1975.
Biography Antonius Maria van Heugten, commonly referred to as Ton van Heugten, was born on 9 September 1945, as the second-last of fifteen children. He was born into a family of motocross enthusiasts, having nine brothers and five sisters. One of his brothers, Cor van Heugten, was Dutch national sidecarcross champion, from 1964 to 1966, while another brother, Fons van Heugten, also competed in the FIM European Championship.
Van Heugten was a BMX pioneer in the Netherlands, taking part in competitive races when he wasn't allowed to race motocross in the 1950s.
Van Heugten began riding in the solo class from the age of ten, but was not allowed to take part in competitions due to his age. He won the Dutch national championship in the 50 cc class in 1963, in the 250 cc class in 1964 and 1965 and in the 500 cc class in 1966. He also competed in the Motocross World Championship. He suffered a complicated leg fracture in 1966.
Van Heugten took up the sidecarcross sport in 1971 and remained active in motor sport until 1989. As his reason for switching from the solo version of the sport to the sidecarcross one at the age of 25, he stated that he considered it too late to switch once he was over 30.
In 1982, van Heugten and Frits Kiggen took part in the Rally Paris-Dakar.
Van Heugten died on 27 March 2008 of a heart attack, aged 62. He was buried in his home town Amersfoort on 2 April 2008.
Sidecarcross world championship results Van Heugten made his debut in the FIM Cup, a predecessor of the world championship, in 1972, in the second year of the competition. With his passenger Jaak Wery, he achieved a third place overall in the competition.
In 1974, van Heugten switched passengers, racing with Dick Steenbergen. He raced with Steenbergen for five seasons, winning the competition, now renamed the FIM European Championship, in 1975. The team had a difficult year in 1978, struggling in the domestic championship and finishing only twelfth in Europe.
From 1979, van Heugten used Frits Kiggen as his passenger, the two becoming a very successful combination. From 1980 onwards, the European championship was renamed the FIM World Championship and van Heugten, finishing fourth in its first year, became the second world champion in 1981, despite Kiggen, his passenger, having broken his collar bone during the season and having to be replaced with Sies Hurkmans for four races.
Van Heugten continued to be a successful rider in the world championship, finishing in the top-three four more times. He won his last world championship race at the Portuguese GP in 1986, his last really strong season, finishing third overall.
Van Heugten continued to race internationally until 1989, when he retired.
Season by season The competition which was to become the sidecarcross world championship in 1980 originated as the FIM Cup in 1971 and was renamed to European championship in 1975. Van Heugtens's results in these three competitions were: Season Passenger Equipment Position Points Races Wins Second Third1972 Jaak WeryNorton-Wasp 3548—231973 Jaak WeryNorton-Wasp12172—1—1974 Dick SteenbergenYamaha-Wasp47714—221975 Dick SteenbergenYamaha-Hagon 1141185341976 Dick SteenbergenYamaha-Hagon4110163141977 Dick SteenbergenYamaha-Hagon9296——21978 Dick SteenbergenYamaha-Hagon122010———1979 Frits KiggenWeslake-Wasp68214—131980 Frits KiggenYamaha-EML412618215 1981 Frits Kiggen Yamaha-Wasp 11691491— Sies Hurkmans474121 1982 Frits Kiggen Yamaha-Wasp 31028413 Jaap van Vliet224—111983 Jaap van VlietYamaha-Tri15243—1—1984 Frits KiggenFolan-Wasp 2232204141985 Frits KiggenFolan-Wasp 323818362 1986 Frits Kiggen Folan-EML 339 2—2 — Ton Maessen746112 Piet Vandeutekom133122131987 Piet VandeutekomFolan-VMC3662——— 1988 Andre Godschalk KTM-EML 12366——— Ralph Hoormann474——21989 Epe WillemsKTM-EML109614——3 Overall 1972 - 19891921223342844 With the exception of Ralph Hoormann, who was German, all his passengers were Dutch nationals.
Honours
World Championship Champions: (1) 1981 Runners-up: (1) 1984
European Championship Champions: (1) 1975
Netherlands Champions: (4) 1975, 1976, 1979, 1980
References
External links Article on Ton van Heugten from the NRC Handelsblad The official FIM website The World Championship on Sidecarcross.com