Vlastimil Válek

Vlastimil Válek was a Czech motocross and enduro racer, born in Rokycany on 15 March 1938 and died on 31 May 1989, who competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships between 1960 and 1972 as a member of the ČZ factory racing team. In 1963 he became the first rider to win a 500 cc Motocross Grand Prix on a two-stroke motorcycle, a victory that marked a turning point in the sport and the beginning of an era dominated by two-stroke machinery. His first Grand Prix win came at the 1962 Czech Grand Prix, which was also the first Grand Prix victory for the ČZ factory, and he finished that year fourth in the 250 cc world championship. He began as a regional rider and won the Czech 500 cc championship in 1959 on an ESO motorcycle. Besides racing he worked as a development rider, and his feedback to engineers helped make ČZ the dominant motocross manufacturer of the late 1960s.