Auguste Mingels (24 March 1921 – 20 May 1973) was a
Belgian professional
motocross racer. He competed in the
Motocross World Championships from 1947 to 1957. Mingels is notable for winning two consecutive
F.I.M. 500cc European motocross championships in 1953 and 1954.
Les Archer
Leslie James Archer (20 June 1907 – 2001) was an English leading motorcycle racer of the 1920s, competing in long-distance speed trials, hill climbs and scrambles, now known as motocross.
Archer was the son of an Aldershot motorcycle dealer. R ...
, who won the 1956 European motocross championship, considered Mingels to be one of the best European motocross riders of his era.
Motorcycling career
Mingels was born in
Liège
Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
, Belgium and began racing motorcycles in 1947. His portly physique earned him the affectionate nickname of "Le Gros". In
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
, the
FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
inaugurated the European Motocross Championships for motorcycles using a 500cc engine displacement formula.
The European championship was considered to be the world championship at the time, as the sport of motocross had yet to develop outside of Europe. Mingels rode a
Saroléa
Saroléa was an historic Belgian manufacturer, initially of bicycles from 1892 followed by motorcycles, ending production in 1963. The name was acquired and used by a new business from 2008.
Manufacturing to 1963
Saroléa was the first Belgia ...
and finished second in the European championship behind Victor Leloup.
The following year, he competed aboard an
FN motorcycle and won three Grand Prix races to clinch the
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
European Motocross Championship.
He successfully defended his title by winning the
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
European Motocross Championship.
Mingels dropped to seventh place in the
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim ...
championship. In
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, the FIM upgraded the series to world championship status and the 36-year-old Mingels would finish the season in sixth place aboard a Saroléa.
Mingels competed for the Belgian team in the 1947, 1952 and 1953
Motocross des Nations events.
He was the fastest individual rider at the 1947 Motocross des Nations event however, the Belgian team finished in third place.
He also won four Belgian motocross national championships during his motorcycling career. He was the boyhood hero to six-time motocross world champion
Joël Robert.
References
External links
Auguste Mingels career statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mingels, Auguste
1921 births
1973 deaths
Sportspeople from Liège
Walloon sportspeople
Belgian motocross riders