Interview with Joey Litjens

"I don't put that pressure on myself anymore."

He was ready for great success, but one hard hit against a tree determined otherwise. Over thirteen years later, former Grand Prix driver Joey Litjens (33) still feels the "thump" on a daily basis, but he no longer lets it limit him. "The big have to is gone and that gives me an enormous amount of freedom," he said.

About Joey Litjens

Suddenly, Joey Litjens' much-promising motorsports career was over. The then nineteen-year-old rider was chasing success, but one hard hit against a tree determined otherwise. Ascension Day 2009, Varsselring, the famous street circuit of Hengelo The Netherlands. As Litjens is looking for a fast practice time on his Yamaha YZF-R6, he collides with another rider, resulting in an inevitable crash. The huge misfortune is that he comes to a quick and hard stop against that particular tree. It soon becomes clear that the Limburger is lucky to be alive, but inevitably he suffers serious injuries. The doctors in charge detect no functionality in his right arm and pronounce the worst words that can be said to a racing driver. Motorcycle racing is not going to be it anymore.

The former Grand Prix rider does not accept the conclusion drawn by the medics and goes into full swing with his rehabilitation. Miraculously, aided by an operation, he regains some feeling in his arm, and with many hours of therapy, Litjens makes steady progress. He set himself a major goal, getting back on the race bike. "Every day that was the motivation to work extremely hard on my rehabilitation," the former racer points out. "It even became an obsession for me. I wanted to fight for what I was worth and repeated the same recipe every day. Each time I hoped for a different outcome, but real big results were lacking. I did eventually get my arm and hand back to work somewhat, but obviously I wanted more."

Growing into World Superbike paddock

It is obviously difficult for a young driver with a still hopeful future in racing to accept that his career is coming to an early end. Certainly Litjens is not having an easy time of it, especially also because of the timing of the accident. "I had just made a successful switch to the four-strokes by getting on a supersport," notes the former driver with the row number 37. "Where I actually lost the joy of racing in the Grand Prix world, I found that again with that switch. It ran, perhaps precisely because of that, enormously well. I seemed to have found my place in the World Superbike paddock and I saw enough opportunities to continue to grow there."

Despite this painful realization, the little Limburger is biting into recovery. "I put a lot of my energy into rehabilitation, but of course I was also regularly confronted with the mental pain. Nine months after my accident there was still no function in my arm, then you know enough. I secretly still had hopes of returning at the national level, but I could abandon that thought too when I looked realistically at the situation. But one thing kept motivating me ... I'm going to show the doctors that I can race a motorcycle again."

Continue

Although he remains clearly impaired in his right arm, Joey Litjens is not giving up on his goals and motivation. The slow recovery process is accompanied by several physical setbacks, but finally, three years after his crash, he manages to ride the necessary laps on a circuit again. However, the ultimate goal is achieved in 2017, during the TT of Assen. As a side program of the Grand Prix classes, a Dutch Supersport 300 race is scheduled and the start list also features Joey Litjens' name. Naturally, the number 37 appears on the fairings of his Yamaha YZF-R3. "What a great weekend that was," he looks back. "I showed everyone that I hadn't lost the ability to race. It was an emotional rollercoaster of course, but in this way it felt like a worthy conclusion to my racing career. Not that one tree determined the end of it, but myself. That was worth a lot to me."

Dream splashes apart

Soon after the crash on the street circuit of Hengelo, the former driver put his knowledge and expertise to use to raise the level of Dutch youth to a higher platform. As a coach and coordinator, he has been working hard for years and also quickly found himself at the international level. Again he shows the same drive as during his racing career and rehabilitation. Yet there also appears to be another reason why he puts a lot of energy and time into his role as a coach, of both drivers and entire training classes. "Actually, I was just constantly running, from the pain," he said.

Besides having his big dream burst apart in 2009 and facing a tough rehabilitation, he suffers another solid blow in 2014. Father Jeu loses the battle against cancer, and Joey loses his great support and anchor in the process. "I was really hard up, but didn't really show that to anyone. I never took the time to really look at my mental state. That way, I just kept going and trying to keep all the balls up again and again." For a long time Litjens maintained that lifestyle, partly through the use of alcohol and drugs, but in 2021 the moment came when the burden became too great. "I completely collapsed," he reports. "Because of my problems, my relationship with my girlfriend, with whom I had been together for 10 years, also came to an end. I had been living on autopilot for months, and I found that I just didn't have the energy anymore. The traumas had piled up and I was literally trying to get rid of them. That just didn't work out. I went back to live with my mother and for the first period all I did was sleep. I also couldn't keep appointments anymore, didn't feel like doing anything. If I got anything done at all, it was gaming with a bottle of beer."

Huge escape route

Eventually Litjens realizes that he cannot continue his life on this footing and makes the decision to report to a clinic specializing in people with addictions and trauma. "I came back in there as the 'old' Joey, the little guy with a very big mouth. During the first lesson I was already expelled from the class, because I thought it was just a ballpark. In the end, of course, they knew exactly how to treat me, literally and figuratively. Because if you look deeper into my soul, it turns out that there is an emotional person hidden there. That came out completely in the clinic."

The huge escape route Joey took for years, he now leaves behind and focuses on his reborn version. In the Limburg town of America in The Netherlands, where Joey's parental home is located, the 33-year-old former driver is currently in calm waters and is looking toward the future with a lot of positive energy. He recently started working four days a week at a furniture company as a sales assistant and is working intensively to get through life as fit as possible. So, the necessary hours are spent in the local gym to train both body and mind. One of the reasons is also the fact that he has now begun a second period of rehabilitation for his right arm. "For a long time I stood still, hardly exercising. All I cared about was motorcycling. I was overworking my body by putting an enormous amount of energy into my work as a coach and coordinator. Of course, I am getting a day older and realize all too well that I now need to see a good foundation for my arm. Any gains I can still make now will be nice."

'Embracing' the problem

In fact, the second breath regarding the rehabilitation of his right arm is causing Joey to go under the knife once again. To regain more functionality in the hand, a complicated rerouting of his tendons was recently performed. "The surgery causes me to have to control my hand in a different way. That requires adjustments, because for years now I've been used to closing the throttle in a completely individual way. That is a consequence I take for granted, because chances are I will soon have more possibilities with my right arm." So still the former GP rider is working hard to suffer as little as possible from his impairment, but by now he has been able to accept that he will permanently face the consequences of his serious accident for the rest of his life. He now "embraces" the problem, allowing Joey Litjens to face life with a smile again.

Another course

That joy of today, however, is far from there in 2021. For a long time there also seems to be no place for motorsports, until the Limburger realizes that the holy fire in him is certainly not yet extinguished. The request for help from a local talent provides the turnaround. "I was really kind of done with racing, but of course the passion doesn't disappear. For a while I kept calm, but eventually it started itching again. Especially the moment Yauri Crienen himself came to me to ask if I could train him. I coach him, but I'm much different now. I want to have fun and that is what such a young driver has to do. There is too much pressure on these young guys to perform. I know from experience that that doesn't work." And he now uses that same experience and expertise during Ziggo Sport's MotoGP broadcasts. Indeed, since 2022, he has regularly appeared on TV as an analyst. "I have experienced a lot in motorsport and therefore I can offer the necessary information that is interesting for viewers. It's a nice challenge for me and that's how I continue to see it. The big have to is gone, I don't put that pressure on myself anymore. That gives me an enormous amount of freedom."