Wil Hartog (born 28 May 1948) is a Dutch former professional Grand Prix

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

road racer. He competed in the

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

world championships from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. Hartog was the first Dutch competitor to win a 500cc Grand Prix race. __TOC__

Motorcycle racing career

Born in

Abbekerk Abbekerk is a small city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Medemblik, and lies about 9 km north of Hoorn. History Abbekerk was first mentioned around 1312 as Abbenkerke, and means "(pri ...

North Holland North Holland (, ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht (province), Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevola ...

, Hartog became the first Dutchman to win a 500cc Grand Prix when he claimed a victory at the 1977 Dutch TT. When Suzuki factory team rider

Pat Hennen Pat Hennen (April 27, 1953 – April 6, 2024) was an American professional motorcycle racer. He competed in AMA dirt track and road racing competitions from 1971 to 1975 and in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 t ...

suffered career-ending injuries while competing in the 1978

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May and June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907 Isle of Man TT, 1907. The event begins on the UK Spring Bank Holiday at the e ...

, Hartog was hired as his replacement to help their number one rider,

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Su ...

, defend his world championship. However, Sheene was unhappy when his Hartog won the 1978 Belgian Grand Prix ahead of Kenny Roberts and Sheene in second and third places. He challenged Roberts and Sheene during the 1979 season however, he crashed while leading four Grand Prix races and ended the season ranked fourth in the 500cc World Championship. Hartog won five Grands Prix during his career. Standing over 1,80 meters tall, he was at a disadvantage against his jockey-sized competitors yet he still managed impressive results. With his penchant for wearing all white riding apparel, he was nicknamed The White Giant. To commemorate the fortieth anniversary of his 1977 Dutch TT victory, Hartog was honored during the

2017 Dutch TT The 2017 Dutch TT was the eighth round of the 2017 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2017 MotoGP season. It was held at the TT Circuit Assen in Assen on 25 June 2017. The MotoGP race was won by Valentino Rossi, the final victory of his career. ...

by riding a lap of the Assen TT circuit on the motorcycle he won on, accompanied by Freddie Sheene, the son of Hartog's late teammate, on one of his father's motorcycles. Wil's nephew, Rob Hartog, is a motorcycle racer who has taken part in the Supersport World Championship and the

FIM Endurance World Championship The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...

Career statistics

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartog, Wil 1948 births Living people Dutch motorcycle racers 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders People from Noorder-Koggenland Sportspeople from North Holland 20th-century Dutch people