Joey Litjens (born 8 February 1990, in

Venray Venray or Venraij (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016 ...

) is a motorcyclist from

America, Netherlands America (Limburgish: ''Amerika,'' ) is a parish village in the Dutch province of Limburg, known historically for its peat extraction. Geography America is part of the municipality of Horst aan de Maas in Limburg, and lies approximately north ...

Career

His "career" started when he was three years of age and drove his Yamaha PW50 around his parents' house in America. His fascination with everything concerning motorcycles was the basis for his later driving of

minibikes A minibike is a two-wheeled, motorized, off-highway recreational vehicle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, but available continuously from a wide variety of manufacturers since 1959. Their off-highway nature and (in many countries) typically ent ...

. When he was nine years old he was given special permission to drive in the "heaviest" class in this sport. He entered in the 2000 season and ended up finishing second. With a championship in the Junior B class he finished his career in the minibikes. Before that he drove in the European championships minibike in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, finishing 17th in a strong field and 6th in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. In 2009 his career ended abruptly. After a heavy crash on the Hengelo circuit he tore four nerves in his right arm causing paralysis of this arm. Although is unable to ride a motorbike he stated in several interviews he would like to stay part of the motorsport world, for instance in training young talents. On Friday 19 May 2012 Litjens rode a Yamaha YZF 125R on the kart circuit Soka Fran on the inside ring of Spa Francorchamps; the first ride since his accident.

Achievements

* - 2000 - Start minibike racing. * - 2001 - Dutch champion Minibike racing (11 years old). * - 2002 - Dutch champion in Aprilia 125 Cup: 9 victories in 10 races. * - 2003 - 5th in Dutch championship 125cc on Honda (Rookie of the Year). * - 2004 - 12th in Dutch championship 125cc on Honda. * - 2004 - 9th in German championship (125cc Honda). German season, 8 races. * - 2004 - 11th in European championship on 125cc Honda (8 races). * - 2005 - 4th in European championship 125cc on HONDA . * - 2005 - 6th in Dutch championship 125cc on Honda, win at Assen (drove 3 of 8 ONK-races). * - 2005 - Netherlands – Racing Team of the year (Stichting Litjens Racing). * - 2005 - 16th in German championship (1 race) 125cc on Honda. * - 2005 - GP-debut - TT Assen/NETH - 125cc Honda - 30th (no GP starts: 1). * - 2005 - November, testraces for Molenaar-Honda team in Valencia and Jerez. * - 2006 - Grand Prix 125cc in the Molenaar Racing Team. * - 2007 - Grand Prix 125cc in the Molenaar/DeGraaf Racing Team.

Career statistics

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

- 35th, European Superstock 600 Championship,

Yamaha YZF-R6 The Yamaha YZF-R6 is a sport bike, produced by Yamaha as a 600 class from 1999 to 2020. From 2021, production availability is limited to a non- homologated race-only specification in most global markets, causing race organizers to realign their ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

- 13th, European Superstock 600 Championship,

Grand Prix motorcycle results

By season

Races by year

External links

Joey Litjens
1990 births Living people Dutch motorcycle racers Sportspeople from Venray {{Netherlands-autoracing-bio-stub