1981 FIM Motocross World Championship

Motocross championship season December 2022 1981 FIM Motocross World Championship FIM 29 March/16 August 36 14 Champions 500cc BEL André Malherbe 250cc UK Neil Hudson 125cc BEL Harry Everts FIM Motocross World Championship 1980 1982 The 1981 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 25th F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season. Summary 500 class The reigning 500cc World Champion André Malherbe (Honda) successfully defended his title after a season-long battle with his Honda teammate Graham Noyce who had missed most of the 1980 season after sustaining a broken leg. As in 1980, the championship wasn't decided until the final race in Luxembourg where Malherbe would prevail to score his second consecutive World Championship.https://www.mxmag.net/2022/11/28/andre-malherbe-een-leven-vol-strijd/ André Malherbe: a life full of struggle mxmag.net 2026-02-25https://dirtbikerider.com/features/jack-burnicle-looks-back-at-andre-malherbes-remarkable-career/ Jack Burnicle looks back at Andre Malherbe's remarkable career 19 November 2020 dirtbikerider.com 2026-02-25https://issues.cycleworld.com/article/1982/6/1/malherbe-aims-for-no-3 Malherbe Aims For Number 3 Cycle World 25 February 2026 Mueller Tom June 1, 1982 Malherbe began the year by winning the 500cc Austrian Grand Prix but then suffered a dislocated shoulder at the second round in Switzerland. He also experienced mechanical problems Sweden, France, and Great Britain which allowed Noyce to take the championship points lead at mid-season. Malherbe then reclaimed the championship points lead at his home Grand Prix in Belgium when Noyce withdrew with a mechanical failure. Noyce was 10 points behind Malherbe with one race left in the season however, Malherbe clinched the World Championship when he finished in second place behind Håkan Carlqvist (Yamaha) at the season-ending 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix. Carlqvist took third place in the championship with six podium results in the final six races of the season, including victories in the final two races of the year. Suzuki returned to Grand Prix motocross after a three-year hiatus and hired Brad Lackey, the 1980 500cc class runner-up. Lackey struggled with injuries and mechanical problems while developing a new motorcycle and dropped to sixth in the 1981 world championship.http://hof.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.aspx?RacerID=73&lpos=-1px&letter=L&txtFname=&rblFname=S&txtLname=&rblLname=S&discipline=0 Motorcycle Hall of Fame motorcyclemuseum.org 17 December 2015 Future three-time World Champion David Thorpe competed in his first Motocross World Championship event at the 1981 500cc French Grand Prix riding for the Kawasaki-UK team. 250 class Georges Jobé (Suzuki) won five of the first seven Grand Prix races to lead the 1981 250cc Motocross World Championship by 53 points over his closest rival, Neil Hudson (Yamaha) with four rounds remaining and appeared to be heading towards a second consecutive World Championship when he was injured while competing in a Belgian National Championship race. He attempted to compete in the penultimate round in Russia but was injured again, allowing Hudson to overtake him and win the World Championship by only two points in the final standings.https://www.mxlarge.com/news/remembered-georges-jobe Remembered – Georges Jobe mxlarge.com 15 February 2022 15 February 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220215172943/https://www.mxlarge.com/news/remembered-georges-jobe dead 125 class The 1981 125cc Motocross World Championship developed into a four-way battle between the defending champion Harry Everts (Suzuki), Michele Rinaldi (Gilera), Eric Geboers (Suzuki), and Marc Velkeneers (Yamaha). After the first ten rounds of the championship the four competitors were 12 points apart but, Everts won the last two Grand Prix races of the year to claim his third consecutive 125cc Motocross World Championship ahead of his Suzuki teammate, Geboers. Grands Prix 500cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 April 5 AUT Austrian Grand Prix Sittendorf BEL André Malherbe BEL André Malherbe BEL André Malherbe Report 2 April 26 CH Swiss Grand Prix Payerne SWE Håkan Carlqvist BEL André Vromans SWE Håkan Carlqvist Report 3 May 17 FIN Finnish Grand Prix Ruskeasanta BEL André Vromans FIN Tapani Pikkarainen BEL André Malherbe Report 4 May 24 SWE Swedish Grand Prix Västerås UK Graham Noyce BEL André Malherbe UK Graham Noyce Report 5 May 31 ITA Italian Grand Prix Cingoli FRA Jean-Jacques Bruno BEL André Malherbe BEL André Malherbe Report 6 June 14 FRA French Grand Prix Metz UK Graham Noyce SWE Håkan Carlqvist USA Brad Lackey Report 7 June 21 USA United States Grand Prix Carlsbad USA Broc Glover USA Chuck Sun USA Chuck Sun Report 8 July 5 UK British Grand Prix Farleigh Castle SWE Håkan Carlqvist SWE Håkan Carlqvist SWE Håkan Carlqvist Report 9 July 19 Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix Lichtenvoorde UK Graham Noyce BEL André Vromans BEL André Malherbe Report 10 July 26 CZE Czechoslovak Grand Prix Sverepec BEL André Vromans FRA Jean-Jacques Bruno FRA Jean-Jacques Bruno Report 11 August 2 BEL Belgian Grand Prix Namur FRA Jean-Jacques Bruno BEL André Malherbe SWE Håkan Carlqvist Report 12 August 9 LUX Luxembourg Grand Prix Ettelbruck SWE Håkan Carlqvist BEL André Vromans SWE Håkan Carlqvist ReportSources:https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/reservation/index.php#0440929df80c4d107 1981 500cc motocross world championship race results memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 250cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 March 29 FRA French Grand Prix Cognac RFA Fritz Schneider NED Kees van der Ven BEL Georges Jobé Report 2 April 5 ESP Spanish Grand Prix Sabadell BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé Report 3 May 3 AUT Austrian Grand Prix Schwanenstadt UK Neil Hudson BEL Georges Jobé UK Neil Hudson Report 4 May 17 ITA Italian Grand Prix Gallarate BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé Report 5 May 24 CZE Czechoslovak Grand Prix Holice BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé Report 6 May 31 BUL Bulgarian Grand Prix Samokov UK Neil Hudson BEL Georges Jobé UK Neil Hudson Report 7 June 14 CH Swiss Grand Prix Roggenburg BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé Report 8 June 21 UK British Grand Prix Hawkstone Park NED Kees van der Ven UK Neil Hudson NED Kees van der Ven Report 9 July 5 RFA West German Grand Prix Beuren RFA Hans Maisch BEL Georges Jobé BEL Georges Jobé Report 10 July 26 USA United States Grand Prix Unadilla USA Donnie Hansen USA Steve Wise UK Neil Hudson Report 11 August 9 USSR Russian Grand Prix Leningrad UK Neil Hudson UK Neil Hudson UK Neil Hudson Report 12 August 16 NED Dutch Grand Prix Apeldoorn NED Kees van der Ven NED Kees van der Ven NED Kees van der Ven ReportSources:https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/philosophie/index.php#0440929df70edd802 1981 250cc motocross world championship race results memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 125cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 March 30 ITA Italian Grand Prix Lovolo ITA Giuseppe Andreani ITA Michele Rinaldi ITA Michele Rinaldi Report 2 April 5 NED Dutch Grand Prix Valkenswaard BEL Eric Geboers BEL Marc Velkeneers BEL Marc Velkeneers Report 3 April 12 AUT Austrian Grand Prix Launsdorf JPN Akira Watanabe BEL Harry Everts JPN Akira Watanabe Report 4 April 26 RFA West German Grand Prix Niederwurzb ITA Giuseppe Andreani ITA Giuseppe Andreani ITA Giuseppe Andreani Report 5 May 3 FRA French Grand Prix Berchères BEL Eric Geboers JPN Akira Watanabe BEL Eric Geboers Report 6 May 24 YUG Yugoslavian Grand Prix Tržič BEL Harry Everts BEL Harry Everts BEL Harry Everts Report 7 May 31 POL Polish Grand Prix Szczecin BEL Marc Velkeneers BEL Eric Geboers BEL Harry Everts Report 8 July 5 CH Swiss Grand Prix Frauenfeld ITA Michele Rinaldi FIN Matti Autio BEL Eric Geboers Report 9 July 19 USA United States Grand Prix Lexington USA Mark Barnett USA Mark Barnett USA Mark Barnett Report 10 August 2 FIN Finnish Grand Prix Salo BEL Eric Geboers ITA Michele Rinaldi ITA Michele Rinaldi Report 11 August 9 CZE Czechoslovak Grand Prix Dalečín BEL Harry Everts BEL Harry Everts BEL Harry Everts Report 12 August 16 ESP Spanish Grand Prix Montgai BEL Harry Everts BEL Eric Geboers BEL Eric Geboers ReportSources:https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/situation/index.php#0440929df70fdda07 1981 125cc motocross world championship race results memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 Final standings Points are awarded based on the results of each individual heat race. The top 10 classified finishers in each heat race score points according to the following scale; Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1 500cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine AUTAUT CHCH FINFIN SWESWE ITAITA FRAFRA USAUSA UKUK NEDNED CZECZE BELBEL LUXLUX Points 1 BEL André Malherbe Honda 1 1 4 2 2 2 1 3 1 3 2 7 2 2 5 4 5 1 2 8 214 2 UK Graham Noyce Honda 5 2 3 4 2 1 2 2 1 4 3 6 3 2 1 6 4 5 4 3 4 207 3 SWE Håkan Carlqvist Yamaha 1 4 8 3 2 5 1 2 8 1 1 5 3 3 2 3 2 1 2 201 4 BEL André Vromans Yamaha 3 5 1 1 5 4 8 5 9 10 1 1 3 2 3 6 1 154 5 FRA Jean-Jacques Bruno Suzuki 2 2 3 3 1 4 2 10 3 7 2 1 1 5 3 152 6 USA Brad Lackey Suzuki 3 6 7 5 2 2 6 3 6 3 6 6 9 4 99 7 NED Gérard Rond KTM 10 7 6 4 7 3 3 7 9 5 4 4 8 8 6 8 84 8 BEL Jaak van Velthoven KTM 3 6 6 5 8 6 6 6 5 9 4 7 7 6 7 5 83 9 BEL Yvan van den Broeck Maico 8 9 6 4 5 10 10 7 5 9 9 7 8 10 48 10 NED Gerrit Wolsink Honda 7 3 4 7 8 7 5 6 9 46 11 FIN Tapani Pikkarainen Maico 8 9 5 9 1 9 7 34 12 SWE Conny Carlsson Husqvarna 9 4 9 6 10 8 8 5 30 13 AUT Georg Reiter KTM 5 4 10 7 8 9 8 27 14 USA Chuck Sun Honda 5 1 21 15 UK David Thorpe Kawasaki 9 8 4 6 18 16 IRL Laurence Spence Yamaha 6 10 10 10 9 7 9 16 17 USA Broc Glover Yamaha 1 15 ITA Franco Picco Yamaha 8 4 7 15 19 NED Toon Karsmakers Honda 8 4 11 20 USA Danny LaPorte Honda 9 4 10 UK Geoff Mayes Suzuki 7 8 9 10 10 22 USA Mike Bell Yamaha 8 5 9 23 RFA Herbert Schmitz Maico 4 8 RFA Ludwig Reinbold KTM 8 6 8 RFA Walter Gruhler Suzuki 7 9 10 10 8 FIN Jukka Sintonen Suzuki 8 9 8 8 27 SWE Arne Lindfors Yamaha 5 6 UK Billy Aldbridge Suzuki 10 6 6 USA Marty Tripes Husqvarna 9 7 6 30 UK Steve Beamish Suzuki 6 5 31 DEN Arne Lodal Yamaha 7 4 SWE Lasse Karlsson KTM 7 4 USA Marty Smith Suzuki 7 4 LUX Eddy Sterckx Yamaha 10 10 9 4 35 NED Gieljo Van Zoggel Maico 9 2 SWE Bertil Ovgard Husqvarna 10 10 2 37 FRA Patrick Boniface Honda 10 1 SWE Gunnar Lindqvist Suzuki 10 1 SWE Inge Edberg Husqvarna 10 1 USA Steve Rhyan Husqvarna 10 1 FRA Daniel Péan Kawasaki 10 1Sources:https://memotocross.fr/downloads/2cm-1981-500-res-complet.pdf 1981 500cc motocross world championship final results memotocross.fr 25 February 2026https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/equipe/index.php#0440929df70ec3401 1981 500cc motocross world championship final standings memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 250cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine FRAFRA ESPESP AUTAUT ITAITA CZECZE BULBUL CHCH UKUK GERRFA USAUSA USRUSSR NEDNED Points 1 UK Neil Hudson Yamaha 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 3 1 6 2 2 2 1 1 4 6 235 2 BEL Georges Jobé Suzuki 5 2 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 1 5 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 233 3 NED Kees van der Ven Maico 8 1 9 3 7 3 3 3 5 8 9 1 2 10 5 3 3 1 1 159 4 RFA Rolf Dieffenbach Honda 7 4 6 2 4 6 10 3 3 3 9 5 3 3 101 5 AUT Heinz Kinigadner Puch 3 8 3 8 7 8 8 8 4 5 4 7 8 7 4 80 6 USA Mike Guerra Husqvarna 10 7 9 5 6 5 6 4 3 5 3 7 3 77 7 BEL Jean-Claude Laquaye SWM 4 2 9 5 4 2 6 7 6 9 10 65 8 UK Dave Watson Yamaha 2 10 7 8 5 4 7 9 6 5 5 5 63 9 BUL Dimitar Rangelov Husqvarna 4 8 5 4 4 10 10 4 2 55 10 FIN Matti Tarkkonen Yamaha 2 9 3 10 10 7 7 7 6 4 51 11 NED Henk Van Mierlo Husqvarna 5 5 2 2 36 DEN Søren Mortensen KTM 7 3 6 9 4 7 10 9 36 13 ITA Morizio Dolce Maico 8 6 7 3 7 9 7 8 35 14 RFA Hans Maisch Maico 6 6 7 1 6 34 15 BEL Jean-Paul Mingels Yamaha 3 4 3 10 29 16 BEL Raymond Boven Husqvarna 5 9 5 7 8 7 25 17 USA Steve Wise Honda 4 1 23 18 NED Peter Groeneveld Honda 6 10 6 6 6 21 19 USA Donnie Hansen Honda 1 15 RFA Fritz Schneider Sachs 1 15 RFA Fritz Kobele Honda 4 8 10 8 15 22 SWE Sven Berggren Husqvarna 9 3 9 14 FIN Erkki Sundstrom Honda 10 6 8 10 7 14 24 NED Benny Wilken Honda 9 8 9 5 13 25 FIN Simo Taimi Husqvarna 6 10 5 12 FRA Patrick Fura Husqvarna 7 9 10 6 12 27 BEL Paul Decendre Husqvarna 4 8 11 ITA Michele Magarotto Gilera 5 6 11 29 AUT Willy Willinger Puch 3 10 DEN Arno Drechsel Kawasaki 9 4 10 31 SWE Magnus Nyberg KTM 4 8 USA JoJo Keller Suzuki 4 8 USA Steve Martin Suzuki 9 5 8 34 USSR Gennady Moiseyev ČZ 8 10 10 10 6 NOR Jan Kristoffersen Yamaha 5 6 36 USA Kris Bigelow Yamaha 6 5 USSR Vladimir Kavinov ČZ 9 8 5 38 USA David Bailey Kawasaki 7 4 39 FRA Patrick Gervaise Maico 8 3 RFA Vilen Toman Suzuki 8 3 USA Chad Pedersen Kawasaki 8 3 NED Dinant Zijlstra Yamaha 8 3 IRL Steve Russell Suzuki 10 9 3 44 ITA Alberto Dotti Puch 9 2 UK Rob Hooper Maico 9 2 SWE Leif Nicklasson Husqvarna 9 2 47 SWE Rolf Wicksell Husqvarna 10 1 CZE Zdeněk Velký ČZ 10 1 NED Henk Bloemert Husqvarna 10 1Sources:https://memotocross.fr/downloads/2cm-1981-250-res-complet.pdf 1981 250cc motocross world championship final results memotocross.fr 25 February 2026https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/visite/index.php#0440929ca80bf1717 1981 250cc motocross world championship final standings memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 125cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine ITAITA NEDNED AUTAUT GERRFA FRAFRA YUGYUG POLPOL CHCH USAUSA FINFIN CZECZE ESPESP Points 1 BEL Harry Everts Suzuki 8 2 3 4 1 2 4 9 1 1 2 4 7 5 5 5 2 1 1 1 2 211 2 BEL Eric Geboers Suzuki 3 1 6 4 2 1 3 5 7 1 4 3 6 1 3 3 2 2 1 197 3 ITA Michele Rinaldi Gilera 2 1 6 4 3 3 4 2 3 3 6 1 6 2 1 4 3 170 4 BEL Marc Velkeneers Yamaha 9 3 1 2 3 7 6 2 2 3 1 5 4 8 3 4 2 3 164 5 JPN Akira Watanabe Suzuki 3 2 1 2 6 5 1 8 2 2 2 3 5 3 5 146 6 ITA Giuseppe Andreani KTM 1 7 3 8 1 1 3 4 10 5 4 4 6 108 7 BEL Gaston Rahier Gilera 6 4 4 5 5 7 5 4 8 6 2 4 8 7 8 4 97 8 ITA Corrado Maddii Aprilia 4 6 10 4 10 8 6 7 6 5 8 9 8 5 5 6 71 9 FRA Jacky Vimond Yamaha 7 10 6 8 4 3 3 10 6 8 10 7 55 10 BEL Alain Lejeune Cagiva 7 8 9 9 9 9 10 8 6 7 9 6 4 43 11 FIN Matti Autio Honda 10 8 6 9 1 9 6 9 7 39 12 NED Hank Seppenwoolde Honda 5 7 9 9 7 5 10 7 6 34 13 USA Mark Barnett Suzuki 1 1 30 ITA Mauro Miele KTM 5 5 8 8 5 6 10 30 15 LUX Johan Martens Yamaha 2 6 7 7 9 27 16 BEL Jean-Marie Milissen TGM 10 7 8 7 5 7 9 24 17 USSR Yuri Khudiakov ČZ 9 5 5 8 17 18 USA Johnny O'Mara Honda 10 2 13 19 USA Jim Gibson Honda 2 12 20 USA Richard Coon Honda 3 10 21 USA Ricky Johnson Yamaha 4 8 USA Donnie Cantaloupe Yamaha 4 8 USA Scott Durnworth Yamaha 7 7 8 24 ESP Fernando Muñoz Gilera 10 5 7 BEL Robert Greisch Honda 10 8 8 7 26 ITA Dario Nani TGM 6 5 UK Jonathan Wright Kawasaki 9 8 5 USA Danny Bentley Suzuki 8 9 5 FIN Ari Viiri Suzuki 10 10 9 10 5 30 AUT Friedrich Grabner Yamaha 7 4 NED Andre Sprengelmayer Yamaha 7 4 32 NED Erik Van Essen Suzuki 8 3 SWE Jeff Nilsson Yamaha 10 9 3 34 BEL Johan Van Poppel KTM 9 2 AUT Helmut Frauwellner Puch 9 2 USA Danny Chandler Suzuki 9 2 FIN Seppo Isomaki Suzuki 9 2 38 NED Johny Ponjee Honda 10 1 NED Albert Ensing Suzuki 10 1 FRA Alain Fura TGM 10 1 LUX Guy Van Gysegheim Honda 10 1 USA Phil Larson Yamaha 10 1 ESP Pablo Colomina Gilera 10 1Sources:https://memotocross.fr/downloads/2cm-1981-125-res-complet.pdf 1981 125cc motocross world championship final results" memotocross.fr 25 February 2026https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/chambres/index.php#0440929de30e0ce01 1981 125cc motocross world championship final standings memotocross.fr 25 February 2026 References External links https://www.fim-moto.com/en/sports/view/fim-motocross-world-championship-4414 FIM Motocross World Championship season Category:Motocross World Championship seasons