1980 Van Veen Kriedler 50cc

Lot details
Registration No: N/A
Frame No: Not Visible
Engine No: Not Visible
cc: 50
MOT Expiry Date: N/A

Kreidler had won the 1961 European 50cc Championship, the precursor to the World Championship that was introduced in 1962, however as the decade progressed they found themselves struggling to match the increasingly sophisticated machines fielded by Suzuki and Honda for both pace and reliability which resulted in their withdrawal from competition at the end of 1965. 1969 saw the marque return to the World Championship prompted by a change in the rules governing the technical specifications of the 50cc machines and the success of a machine run by the Dutch importers, Van Veen, and ridden by Aalt Toersen in securing three world records at Elvington during October 1968. The new regulations which came into force for the 1969 season restricted the smallest World Championship class to a single cylinder and six gears effectively nullifying the technical advantage held by the Japanese teams. Kreidler and Van Veen entered Toersen and his Kreidler in the World Championship in recognition of his endeavours at Elvington. He repaid them with 3 wins in the first three races of the season and a second place finish in the championship standings.
The machine that he employed featured an engine derived from the 1965 rotary disc valve engine which benefited from Van Veens tuning to deliver 15 bhp. The new machine was unable to compete with the Derbi of Angelo Nieto prompting a new design, penned by Jorg Moller, which featured water cooling housed in a new chassis with Ceriani forks and Fontana brakes. Claimed to produce 17.5 bhp it took the 1971 World Championship with Dutchman Jan de Vries in the saddle. Derbi reclaimed the crown in 1972 but the following three years saw the German/Dutch machine reigning supreme with de Vries (1973), Henk van Kessel (1974) and Angelo Nieto (1975) winning the title on machines that had changed little from their 1971 predecessor. Bultaco and Nieto took the title in 1976 and 1977 before Kreidler re-established their dominance in the class with a significantly revised machine in 1978. Throughout the late sixties and early seventies, machines based on the Kreidler Florett RS, fitted with either the tuning kit offered by the factory or parts supplied by Van Veen or other tuners, had started to dominate the class at club and national level. By 1974 Van Veen offered a liquid cooled race engine to privateers and in 1978 Kreidler Van Veen marketed a GP replica.
The example offered is described as being in "good original condition overall".