Motorcross
Motorcross
A Half-Season of Furious Continental Competition
GAVIN TRIPPE
GRIMLY AND professionally, two great motocross world champions currently are fighting to retain their titles as both 250-and 500-cc championships reach the half-way mark.
In the 250 class, tall, intelligent Torsten Hallman of Sweden, whose fourth 250 title last year made him the most successful grand prix rider in history, is staggering under a fantastic onslaught from Joel Robert of Belgium who is riding a Czechoslovakian-built works CZ. Hallman, on the works Husqvarna, has won two grands prix, but Robert has won four with three 2nd places to back up his score.
In the 500-cc class, Paul Friedrichs of East Germany went four rounds before scoring a single point. This large displacement class, in particular, is wide open by reason of a series of wet grands prix. Of the first four rounds, a different rider won each race. This unsettled the champion from behind the Iron Curtain, but with his usual drilled determination the 28-year-old policeman stormed back to win the next three GPs.
There are 13 GPs counting toward the 500 championship and 14 for the 250, ranging from the depths of Russia to the bottom of Spain. The grand prix contenders are hard, fit men, who play one of most ruthless sports invented.
Former world champion Jeff Smith once said, “Motocross isn’t played in kid gloves. The successful grand prix rider is the man who can balance what he is prepared to do against what all the others are prepared to let him do. He must have the litheness and stamina of a marathon runner, muscles of a bull and reflexes of something from the jungle. Motocross is a war of nerves.”
Each grand prix is divided into two races which last on the average 45 min. each. This is 1.5 hours of racing over rough ground. It requires fantastic stamina to last this pace in a searing heat wave in such places as the middle of Russia. Man and machine must be in fantastic form to survive such ruthless punishment.
There is no doubt the Czechoslovakian CZ factory desires desperately to win both titles this year. Before the season started, CZ did a lot of reshuffling when signing riders for 1968. Paul Friedrichs, having won the 500 championship for the past two years, wanted to switch to the 250 class, but being an East German was obligated to do what the factory demanded. Thus he continues in the bigger class. To back him up, CZ signed a young Belgian professional, Roger de Coster.
For the past three years, Joel Robert has been trying to win back the 250 title he won in 1964 when he was a flamboyant 20-year-old. There is little doubt this temperamental Belgian is probably the fastest rider in the world, but his previous attitudes have knocked him out of the running. This year CZ decided to switch British veteran Dave Bickers from the 500 class to give Joel support in the 250 rank, and, in addition, signed another young Belgian, 23-year-old Sylvain Geboers.
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Torsten Hallman signed again for Husqvarna, to be joined by a promising young Swede, a 22-year-old engineer, Hakan Andersson. Just before resigning for Husqvarna, 32-year-old veteran Olle Pettersson was snatched up by Suzuki to lead the Japanese manufacturer’s first serious attempt at motocross.
The biggest bombshell of the 500 class was the sacking of Vic Eastwood by BSA just before the season started. On paper, Eastwood’s chances for a title win were high. But the 27-year-old engineer from the South of England didn’t think he was getting enough support from the Birmingham factory, arguing that he always was second to Jeff Smith. This was quoted and published. The next day Eastwood was sacked! Within hours the Swedes had phoned through an offer of a works Husqvarna, so, a week before the first GP, Eastwood changed from a four-stroke to a two-stroke machine—a move that obviously hampered his early efforts.
Despite this, the BSA team has a strong lineup. Although ex-champion Jeff Smith now is 34 years old, he is experienced, fit and very artful, and can still win GPs. With him is John Banks, a wealthy builder’s son whose 210-lb. frame is rapidly flinging the powerful BSA into world championship class. The new BSAs are very fast, handle well and are much lighter at 230 lb.
CZ has boosted its 380 to 400 cc by increasing the stroke to gain bottom end power. The 400 turns out 44 bhp at 6500 rpm with 30 bhp on tap at 3000 rpm. Biggest of the strokers is Vlastimil Valek’s Jawa which is now a full 500, while the Husqvarna has grown from 360 to 420 cc. Oddly enough, all these massive two-strokes share the same 80-mm stroke. The 400 CZ has a bore of 80 mm, the Husqvarna’s bore is 82 mm, while the Jawa is well oversquare at 88 mm.
The 250 machines are much the same as last year. Hallman is using the Hallman replica model with the all-welded loop frame, while the single-port CZs now sport transistorized Femsatronic ignition and new Jikov carburetors. The works Suzuki has a CZ-looking frame with an engine based on the production twin-exhaust-port scrambler. The new engine has a single exhaust port and produces 34 bhp. The clutch is now on the gearbox mainshaft, instead of the crankshaft as on production models.
Complete factory teams for 1968, which will contest all championship rounds in the 250-cc class are:
CZ of Czechoslovakia-Joel Robert (Belgium), Dave Bickers (Britain), Sylvain Geboers (Belgium), and Viktor Arbekov (USSR); Husqvarna of Sweden—Torsten Hallman (Sweden), Hakan Andersson (Sweden), and Jyrki Storm (Finland); Suzuki of Japan— Olle Pettersson (Sweden); Montesa of Spain— Freddie Mayes (Britain); and AJS of BritainMalcolm Davis (Britain).
Complete factory teams for 1968, which will contest all championship rounds in the 500-ec class are:
BSA of Great Britain—Jeff Smith (Britain), and John Banks (Britain); CZ—Paul Friedrichs (East Germany), Roger de Coster (Belgium), and Gunnar Draugs (USSR); Husqvarna—Ake Jonsson (Sweden), Vic Eastwood (Britain), Bengt Aberg (Sweden), Jef Teuwissen (Belgium), and Alan Clough (Britain); and Jawa of Czechoslovakia-Vlastimil Valek (Czechoslovakia).
SPAIN
A so-called jinx hovers over the first 250 grand prix of the season contested at the end of March, in Spain. No rider has ever won this first round and gone on to win the world title. Current champion Torsten Hallman has good reason to believe it is true. He has won the Spanish before and failed to complete the season with the title. He won in Spain again this year. Until now the jinx seems to be holding true to form as Joel Robert has a good lead over the Swede with half the rounds gone.
The GP this year was on a new course outside Barcelona. This circuit was not popular with the riders. It was so twisty and bumpy that few of the works men got out of second gear!
The expected battle between Robert and Hallman lived up to expectations. Both were in a panic at the start. Robert was on the second row of the grid, having not tallied enough fast practice times. Hallman spotted a broken magneto lead moments before the start; after hasty repairs, he joined Joel on the back row of the grid.
Both fought their way to the front of the field. Robert used 25 min. to catch Marcel Weirtz (works Bultaco Pursang) and take the lead. Hallman eventually squeezed by to take 2nd place, but the intrepid little Belgian rider managed to hold off Sylvain Geboers (CZ) and the amazing Don Rickman (Bultaco). Rickman rides in only this one 250 GP every year, but always manages to get onto the leaderboard.
Hallman had the second race buttoned up from the start. Robert set out after the Swede, but it became apparent that the Belgian was running out of energy. Dave Bickers (CZ) caught and passed Robert to take over 2nd place, but then both these experts were suddenly challenged by a 22year-old Swedish newcomer, Hakan Andersson (Husqvarna). The young Swede had retired in the first race, but was determined to show his potential in the second. He caught and passed Robert and Bickers and was close to Hallman at the end of the 45-min. race.
Hallman netted the first eight points of the season from Robert and Bickers, while CZ newboy Sylvain Geboers came in 4th ahead of that evergreen manufacturer of Métissés, Don Rickman, and Adolf Weil of West Germany (Maico).
BELGIUM
A month later, the second round was contested in Belgium, where the Russians made their first appearance, having missed the Spanish because it was considered too far to travel for just one meeting. It also marked the first points scored by a Japanese factory when Olle Pettersson took the works Suzuki into 2nd place overall, avenging his disastrous debut in Spain when a footpeg broke at the start of the first race.
Belgium is motocross mad. This sport is a national institution, second only to football. The Genk course where this round was presented is typical of Belgian courses with plenty of sand and massive crowds. Determined to help their 250 contenders, the Belgians entered two 500 Grand Prix riders, Jef Teu wissen and Roger de Coster, to help act as spoilers against foreign opposition. Unfortunately, this ploy did not work. Teu wissen fell on Lap 1, breaking his arm, and de Coster finished well down.
Olle Pettersson easily won the first race from Sylvain Geboers. Riding a Suzuki similar to the production models, but with a lower frame, a clutch on the gearbox mainshaft and a single exhaust port barrel, the 32-year-old Swede showed how fast this Japanese challenger really is. Robert tried to make a race of it, but dropped back with fork trouble, to run behind Hakan Andersson.
In the second race, Andersson took the lead at half distance after Robert had retired with engine trouble. Geboers and Pettersson followed him home, which meant all three riders were equal on points. Overall victory was decided on time. Local man Geboers won from Pettersson and Andersson. Fourth was Malcolm Davis, who scored the first GP points for the Norton Villiers concern. Davis rode
the new spine-framed AJS with a very fast 250 Villiers engine. Russian Viktor Arbekov took 5 th place from Dave Bickers.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The next round was in Czechoslovakia. Again disaster struck world champion Torsten Hallman. The unfortunate Swede was involved in a first lap pile-up which put him out of the running.
A downpour which soaked the Hollice course, making it muddy and treacherous, gave Hakan Andersson a chance to score his first world championship win. In both races he beat Joel Robert. He left the Belgian trailing 500 yards behind in the first race, and, after stalking him in the second, swept past at the end to take overall victory. Arbekov of Russia was 4th overall ahead of Sylvain Geboers, which put Geboers into a narrow lead in the title table over Andersson and Robert.
FRANCE
The following week at Thouars, in Western France, the championship started to mold a firm outline when Joel Robert gained his first GP win of the season and opened up a two-point lead in the title tables over Sylvain Geboers and Hakan Andersson.
This really put the pressure on Torsten Hallman, who retired in the second race with gearbox trouble after chasing Robert home in the first race—his third retirement in three races.
Again Hakan Andersson showed his undoubted skill with a 3rd in the first race and a win over Robert in the second. This tall, boyish Swede has a relaxed style and a fantastic turn of speed, and seemed to have plenty of stamina to last two 45-min. races.
THE NETHERLANDS
After the French came a series of three GPs in one week. The West German round was run on a Thursday between the Dutch and Luxembourg rounds—Thursday being a Continental holiday.
The Dutch meeting was run at the fast, sandy Markelo course, not far from the Dutch-German border. It was to be the scene of victory-and of tragedy. Joel Robert continued his run of form and flashed home an easy winner in both races. But he was very worried by that thorn in his side, Hakan Andersson. After a bad start and a 4th place in the first race, the young Swede passed the Belgian to take the lead in the second race. But he pushed too hard. Andersson caught his leg under the footrest, breaking it in three places. Only six months before, he broke the same leg in the Trophée des Nations in Czechoslovakia, and spent weeks in recovery. In fact, doctors told him he would never ride again. The sudden end of Andersson’s comeback, and brilliant riding, saddened other riders. This youngster could have won a championship.
Suzuki again was overjoyed when Pettersson claimed 2nd overall, but Husqvarna was disgruntled, having lost Andersson, and with Hallman well below form, claiming 5th place after scratching among the back markers.
Two younger Russians showed up well at this meeting, but though they have the speed, they always seem to suffer falls from overeagerness. Leading one of the races for some time was 22-year-old Leonid Shinkarenko. His 19-year-old teammate Gennady Moiseev claimed 4th place overall.
WEST GERMANY
Four days later, the hard worked riders were practicing for the West German round. Surprise fastest time was tallied by Malcolm Davis of England on the new AJS, with young Greeves works rider Bryan Wade second fastest. Disaster struck these two youngsters, however. Davis crashed on the first corner, knocking himself unconscious, and Wade, after some brilliant riding, in the first race, crashed spectacularly, breaking his wrist. The crash looked so bad it put Dave Bickers off completely and he finished well down.
Although Robert won fairly comfortably, he was shaken rigid by the speed of local man Adolf Weil on a works Maico. Clocking up 70-mph broadslides along narrow wooded tracks, the 29-year-old German led Robert for much of the first race, but the stamina of Robert told as he swept into the lead.
Looking a bit more like the champion he is, Torsten Hallman won the second race, beating Robert and Weil. Although Robert was assured of overall victory, Hallman managed to beat Weil for 2nd place. Pettersson again put the Suzuki into the points in 4th place ahead of 19-year-old Czech newcomer Karel Konecny (CZ).
LUXEMBOURG
The Luxembourg GP, three days later, was the half-way mark in the championship, and things looked grim for Torsten Hallman. Joel Robert had chalked up 36 points to Hallman’s 16, with Sylvain Geboers splitting these two rivals with 22 points.
But the champion retaliated and scored a convincing win in Luxembourg. Adolf Weil again surprised many by leading the first race from Joel Robert, really scorching around this narrow, twisty Shifflange course. Twice Joel tried to pass the German, only to have the Maico zoom past him again at high speed. So frustrated did the Belgian become, that he fell off in his efforts, letting Hallman into 2nd place. Then, on the final lap, the unfortunate German lost second gear on his Maico, and Hallman cruised home in 1st place. Looking fit and fast, Dave Bickers flashed some of his old skill to snatch 3rd place from Robert. Although Robert won the second race, Hallman knew if he kept him in sight, the race was his. So Hallman earned his second maximum of the series, but Robert was still in 2nd spot and earning points. Dave Bickers rode a first-class race into 3rd place, and despite his bad crash tliree days before in Germany, Malcolm Davis scored 4th place for the new Norton Villiers concern.
So the 250 championship ended its halfway mark with Joel Robert of Belgium obvious favorite to win the series with 42 points to Torsten Hallman’s 24. Just after this meeting came the news that Olle Pettersson crashed at a meeting in his native Sweden, breaking his leg. The Suzuki team packed up and returned to Japan with plenty of knowledge and the promise to return next year and win!
With Olle Pettersson out, and Hakan Andersson unlikely to ride for the remainder of the season, their 4th and 5th places in the championships soon will be gobbled up by Dave Bickers and Viktor Arbekov.
AUSTRIA
If the 250 title seems cut and dried, the 500 series finished its first half wide open. Freak conditions in early rounds caused some very odd results and managed to produce a different winner in each of the first four GPs. World champion Paul Friedrichs did not score a point until the fourth round!
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History has a habit of repeating itself and at the first round in Austria, in April, it did just that. Last year, world champion Paul Friedrichs retired and an unknown Russian, Gunnar Draugs (CZ), scored a surprise win. This year, Friedrichs retired with ignition troubles after easily winning the first race, and Husqvarna’s young hope, Bengt Aberg, gave the new 420 Husqvarna a win in its first appearance. Again, an unknown Russian figured when 19-year-old Villis Brunis finished 2nd overall in this, his first European GP.
There was little doubt that the world champion, Paul Friedrichs of East Germany, had lost none of his fantastic skill. He scorched around the worn out, dusty, narrow Sittendorf course to win the first race by half a lap from Bengt Aberg (420 Husqvarna).
He seemed set to repeat the performance in the second race, but as he fought the powerful 400 CZ round the narrow track, the new transistor ignition set-up ceased to fire just as he passed Aberg to take the lead. The do-or-die young Swede stepped up the pace, but was completely shattered when BSA’s new rising star John Banks thundered past and into the distance. Unfortunately Banks had retired in the first race when the battery connections for the BSA ignition vibrated loose, so Aberg claimed 1st overall.
Villis Brunis of Russia finished 2nd overall, riding an old twin-port 360 CZ, while another unknown, Vaclav Svastal of Czechoslovakia, was 3rd. Vic Eastwood’s first outing on a 420 Husqvarna ended with a puncture. Jeff Smith dropped out, suffering from a severe headache, attributable to a crash in England the previous week.
ITALY
After this usual first round result, things were expected to settle into a more likely pattern in Italy three weeks later, but one of the wettest days in Italian history dislodged that hope! Torrential rain sluiced over the Gallarate circuit not far from the famous MV Agusta factory. Some idea of the conditions can be guaged by the fact there were only seven finishers in the second race-the 7th man being four laps behind the leader in a 13-lap race that lasted 50 min.! Not only that-there were only five overall finishers, the one point for 6th place remaining unclaimed!
Roger de Coster of Belgium on the works 400 CZ was the only man to master the conditions. Paul Friedrichs (400 CZ) and Ake Jonsson (420 Husqvarna) led, but were put out with water-logged engines. John Banks led, too, but the race lasted so long that his BSA ran out of gasoline. Alan Clough of England was placed 2nd overall, but a protest by the Czechs about the number of laps he completed relegated him to 3rd place. Petr Dobry was upgraded to 2nd.
SWEDEN
After the washed-out Italian round, the hardened circus of GP men were even more depressed when it rained again the next week in Sweden, and eventually snowed!
It proved to be a Swedish benefit with two Husqvarna works riders, Ake Jonsson and Christer Hammargren, tying for 1st place overall on points. Jonsson was awarded 1st place with a faster overall time-just 11 sec. faster than his teammate, Hammargren.
Once again Paul Friedrichs encountered ignition difficulty. After dropping out of the first race on the second lap, the East German splashed his way to victory in the second race, just to prove that although he still has no points, he remains the fastest man present. Despite this, the tough policeman from East Germany obviously was upset by this run of bad luck, and signs of nervousness were beginning to show through his professional makeup. His second-string teammate, Roger de Coster, proved again he can ride through water. Water skiing his way round the Mótala track, the young Belgian scored 3rd place overall to take a narrow lead in the championship table over Bengt Aberg, who was 5th overall behind Vlastimil Valek’s 500 Jawa. Again John Banks was fast, but suffered from water trouble! And Vic Eastwood made his first showing of the season with a 4th place in the second race.
FINLAND
Finland, the most northern of all the rounds, was dry, and, at last, some sort of form could be spotted as the true aces powered around strength-sapping, sandy Tikwurila course. Paul Friedrichs heaved a sigh of relief when he won this GP and scored his first points of the series. Although he was pleased, he also was worried by the fact he was passed and beaten in the second race by John Banks on the big BSA. After finishing 4th in the first race, because of clutch troubles, Big John shattered everyone in the second race. Forced to ride around in circles behind the start Une because of the dragging clutch, the burly BSA man started last, fighting his way through the pack to eventually catch and pass Friedrichs and claim 4th place overall. Ake Johsson rode very well to take 2nd place overall and take over leadership of the championship from de Coster, who failed miserably.
Jeff Smith, second man in the title last year, rode like a demon on the works BSA and, despite his 34 years, managed to hold 3rd place overall and score his first points of the series.
The win in Finland gave Friedrichs a boost, and coupled to the fact the next round was to be in his native East Germany, the CZ No. l’s confidence rose.
EAST GERMANY
Cheered on by 100,000 loyal supporters at Apolda, near his home town of Erfurt, Friedrichs notched his second win of the season, easily winning both races. Although he is a true professional, with a training schedule that would make many a soft living westerner wince, Friedrichs can get very nervous if things don’t go right, then start to make silly mistakes. But with this win it was obvious that there was little that can hold him on ability.
The race behind him was fantastic! Czech riders Vlastimil Valek and Petr Dobry, and Englishman John Banks all fought for 2nd place. Times were totted up and Valek was placed 2nd ahead of Dobry and Banks-only a few seconds separating them. Vic Eastwood scored his first points with 6th place overall. He would have finished higher if a crash had not delayed him first time out, for he came in 2nd to Friedrichs in the second race.
CZECHOSLOVAKIA
After the rain and snow of the early rounds, the Czech GP a week later was run in a sweltering 90-degree heat wave. Again Friedrichs won both races, but the limelight shone on John Banks (500 BSA). Proving that these ultra-fast four-strokes are more than a match for the 40-bhp works two-strokes, the burly East Anglian netted 2nd place overall with a 3rd place in the first race and a close 2nd to the East German in the second.
The young Czech, Petr Dobry, who rides a motocross bike four hours a day as training, was disqualified from 3rd place after cutting off part of the course. He fell on the last comer of the final race and was so utterly exhausted that someone had to put him back on his bike. He restarted, but cut the corner, finishing 3rd overall before exclusion.
Another young BSA star, Keith Hickman, made a successful start to this year’s series as a late entry. The 23-year-old Oxford rider scorched his works 500 BSA around to earn two points for 5th place overall behind Ake Jonsson and East German Heinz Hoope (360 CZ).
With the world championship at the halfway mark, Friedrichs narrowly leads Ake Jonsson, 24 points to the Swede’s 20, with John Banks catching up in 3rd spot with 12 points—even with Roger de Coster.
Whatever happens, the East German world champion must gain every point he possibly can and, with the pressure on, any slight troubles, mechanical or physical, could put him in dire trouble.
250-CC WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS
