Jaak Van Velthoven (24 January 1951[1]) is a Belgian former professional motocross racer.
His best individual performance was a third place in the 500cc World Championship in 1973 with the Yamaha factory racing team.
[3][4] He helped Yamaha develop a revolutionary motorcycle rear suspension that used a single shock absorber (invented by the Belgian engineer Lucien Tilkens)[5] instead of the traditional dual shock absorbers.
Van Velthoven also rode for the Husqvarna and KTM factory racing teams.
He was a member of four winning Belgian teams at the Motocross des Nations in 1972, 1973, 1976 and 1977.