Shock for Wilco Zeelenberg: open-heart surgery

Wilco Zeelenberg, former rider and MotoGP manager, revealed that he had to undergo heart surgery. Fortunately, his recovery is going well and we will soon see him back in the pits, commenting on the feats of the World Championship.

A simple medical check-up turned into a much more serious operation for Wilco Zeelenberg. The former Dutch rider underwent open-heart surgery, but as he shared on social media, he is gradually recovering. The former team manager of Jorge Lorenzo at Yamaha and current commentator for Ziggo Sport had been absent from the MotoGP paddock for several weeks.

He himself explained the reason for his absence in a post published on social media, reassuring everyone about his health. "Medical update | As some of you may have noticed, I wasn’t present at last month’s Dutch Grand Prix. There was a reason," Zeelenberg recounted. He initially went to the hospital for a routine cardiac check-up. "The day after what was supposed to be a scheduled angioplasty to insert a stent, I unexpectedly had to undergo open-heart bypass surgery. The surgeons performed three bypasses around my heart."

Everything went well. Just four weeks after the operation, Wilco says he feels better and that his recovery is progressing as expected. "Now, four weeks on, I feel much better and my recovery is going well. I am grateful for the care I received and for all the support and well wishes from my family, friends, and everyone who reached out."

If everything continues smoothly, his return to television won’t be long. "You’ll see me back soon as a MotoGP analyst on Ziggo Sport." “Meet The Speed 2026,” the event he has organized for years in the Netherlands, will celebrate its 25th anniversary as planned.

Although many fans remember him for his work alongside Jorge Lorenzo, Wilco Zeelenberg’s career began much earlier. In the 1980s and 1990s he raced in the 250cc World Championship, a category in which he left an indelible mark on Dutch motorcycling. At the 1990 German GP he claimed a victory after an intense duel with John Kocinski and Carlos Cardús. This triumph made him the first Dutch rider to win a race in the 250cc class. The following year, he also achieved his best final championship result, finishing fourth.

After retiring from racing, he embarked on a new chapter in the paddock. At Yamaha he worked with Jorge Lorenzo and was part of the project that led to MotoGP titles in 2010, 2012 and 2015, becoming one of the first specialists in on-track rider performance analysis. He later took on the role of Team Manager for Petronas Yamaha SRT, helping launch riders such as Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli. Under his guidance, the satellite team claimed several MotoGP victories and celebrated Morbidelli’s runner-up finish in the 2020 World Championship.

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