Vlastimil Válek (motorcyclist)

Vlastimil Válek (15 March 1938 – 31 May 1989) was a Czech motocross and enduro racer. He competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships between 1960 and 1972, most prominently as a member of the ČZ factory racing team where in 1963 he became the first competitor to win a 500cc Motocross Grand Prix riding a motorcycle powered by a two-stroke engine. The victory was a turning point in motocross history as it marked the beginning of an era dominated by two-stroke machinery. Válek played an outsized role with the ČZ team, both as a motocross racer and as a development rider. His ability to provide feedback to engineers was instrumental in making ČZ the dominant manufacturer of motocross machinery in the late 1960s.