1968 FIM Motocross World Championship

Motocross championship season December 2022 1968 FIM Motocross World Championship FIM 2 April/20 August 26 8 Champions 500cc GDR Paul Friedrichs 250cc BEL Joël Robert FIM Motocross World Championship 1967 1969 The 1968 Motocross World Championship was the 12th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles. Summary ČZ factory-sponsored Paul Friedrichs overcame a late-season charge by BSA factory team rider John Banks to win his third consecutive 500cc World Championship by a single point over his British competitor.https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/equipe/index.php#0440929f230e59301 1968 500cc motocross world championship final standings memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/reservation/index.php#0440929f230f77c06 1968 500cc motocross world championship race winners memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 The championship wasn't decided until the final round in Switzerland, where Friedrichs, Banks, and Åke Jonsson (Husqvarna) each had a mathematical chance of winning the world championship. Friedrichs won the season-ending Swiss Grand Prix to claim the 500cc World Championship by a narrow margin over Banks. Banks actually scored more points overall but fell victim to FIM scoring rules, which only recognize the top seven of thirteen results. The rules would be changed in 1977. Friedrichs won four of the thirteen Grand Prix events to become the first three-time winner of the premier 500cc displacement class since the inception of the Motocross World Championships in 1957. In the face of the rapid development of two-stroke engine technology, the BSA factory was the last remaining manufacturer to compete with four-stroke engines. Joël Robert and Torsten Hallman once again battled for supremacy in the 250cc class.https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1968/9/1/motorcross Motocross Cycle World 13 January 2025 Trippe Gavin September 1, 1968 The ČZ factory switched Dave Bickers from the 500cc class to the 250cc class and hired 23-year-old Sylvain Geboers to support Robert, while the Husqvarna team hired Håkan Andersson in support of Hallman. Andersson won the Czechoslovak Grand Prix to become an early title contender; however, he suffered a broken leg at the Dutch Grand Prix and was forced to withdraw from the competition. After Robert won three consecutive Grand Prix races in France, Holland, and West Germany to take the early points lead, Hallman then won three races in Russia, Yugoslavia, and Sweden to tie Robert for the championship points lead as they went into the final round in Austria, where Robert won the event to clinch the World Championship by two points over Hallman.https://www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/fr-fr/Good-old-times/hallman-s-fight-for-the-5th-title.html Hallman's Fight For The fifth Title husqvarna-motorcycles.com 13 January 2025 https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/visite/index.php#0440929ca80bf3124 1968 250cc motocross world championship final standings memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 https://www.memotocross.fr/maison/philosophie/index.php#0440929f230e7bd02 1968 250cc motocross world championship race winners memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 Suzuki became the first Japanese manufacturer to win a Motocross World Championship heat race when Olle Pettersson rode a Suzuki to win the first heat race at the 250cc Belgian Grand Prix in Genk. Grands Prix 500cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 April 21 AUT Austrian Grand Prix Sittendorf DDR Paul Friedrichs UK John Banks SWE Bengt Åberg Report 2 May 12 ITA Italian Grand Prix Gallarate BEL Roger De Coster BEL Roger De Coster BEL Roger De Coster Report 3 May 19 SWE Swedish Grand Prix Motala SWE Åke Jonsson DDR Paul Friedrichs SWE Åke Jonsson Report 4 May 26 FIN Finnish Grand Prix Tikkurila DDR Paul Friedrichs UK John Banks DDR Paul Friedrichs Report 5 June 9 GDR East German Grand Prix Apolda DDR Paul Friedrichs DDR Paul Friedrichs DDR Paul Friedrichs Report 6 June 16 TCH Czechoslovak Grand Prix Přerov DDR Paul Friedrichs DDR Paul Friedrichs DDR Paul Friedrichs Report 7 July 7 UK British Grand Prix Farleigh Castle UK Vic Eastwood SWE Åke Jonsson UK Vic Eastwood Report 8 July 14 RFA West German Grand Prix Beuren DDR Paul Friedrichs RFA Adolf Weil SWE Åke Jonsson Report 9 July 21 FRA French Grand Prix Bellême BEL Roger De Coster UK John Banks UK John Banks Report 10 July 28 NED Dutch Grand Prix Sint Anthonis UK John Banks UK John Banks UK John Banks Report 11 August 4 BEL Belgian Grand Prix Namur UK John Banks DDR Paul Friedrichs SWE Bengt Åberg Report 12 August 11 LUX Luxembourg Grand Prix Ettelbruck DDR Paul Friedrichs UK Vic Eastwood UK Vic Eastwood Report 13 August 18 SWI Swiss Grand Prix Wohlen SWE Bengt Åberg UK Vic Eastwood DDR Paul Friedrichs ReportSources:https://memotocross.fr/downloads/1968---gp-500-et-classement-final.pdf 1968 500cc motocross world championship results memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 250cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 March 31 ESP Spanish Grand Prix Sabadell BEL Joël Robert SWE Torsten Hallman SWE Torsten Hallman Report 2 April 28 BEL Belgian Grand Prix Genk SWE Olle Pettersson SWE Håkan Andersson BEL Sylvain Geboers Report 3 May 5 TCH Czechoslovak Grand Prix Holice SWE Håkan Andersson SWE Håkan Andersson SWE Håkan Andersson Report 4 May 12 FRA French Grand Prix Thouars BEL Joël Robert SWE Håkan Andersson BEL Joël Robert Report 5 May 19 NED Dutch Grand Prix Markelo BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert Report 6 May 23 RFA West German Grand Prix Bielstein BEL Joël Robert SWE Torsten Hallman BEL Joël Robert Report 7 May 26 LUX Luxembourg Grand Prix Schifflange SWE Torsten Hallman BEL Joël Robert SWE Torsten Hallman Report 8 June 16 POL Polish Grand Prix Szczecin BEL Joël Robert SWE Torsten Hallman BEL Joël Robert Report 9 June 23 USSR Russian Grand Prix Lviv TCH Karel Konečný SWE Torsten Hallman SWE Torsten Hallman Report 10 June 30 YUG Yugoslavian Grand Prix Tržič SWE Torsten Hallman SWE Torsten Hallman SWE Torsten Hallman Report 11 July 27 FIN Finnish Grand Prix Hyvinkää FIN Kalevi Vehkonen FIN Kalevi Vehkonen FIN Kalevi Vehkonen Report 12 August 4 SWE Swedish Grand Prix Hedemora BEL Joël Robert FIN Heikki Mikkola SWE Torsten Hallman Report 13 August 11 UK British Grand Prix Dodington Park BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert Report 14 October 6 AUT Austrian Grand Prix Launsdorf BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert BEL Joël Robert ReportSources:https://memotocross.fr/downloads/1968---gp-250-et-classement-final.pdf 1968 250cc motocross world championship results memotocross.fr 13 January 2025 Final standings Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the 500cc final championship standings, the 7 best of 13 results are retained. For the 250cc final championship standings, the 7 best of 14 results are retained. Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th  Points 8 6 4 3 2 1 500cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine AUTAUT ITAITA SWESWE FINFIN GDRGDR TCHTCH UKUK GERRFA FRAFRA NEDNED BELBEL LUXLUX CHCH Points R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 GDR Paul Friedrichs ČZ 1 18 NC - - 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 - - 1 - - - - - 8 1 1 3 2 2 42 2 UK John Banks BSA 30 1 - - - - 5 1 4 4 3 2 - - 8 4 2 1 1 1 1 4 6 2 3 5 41 3 SWE Åke Jonsson Husqvarna - 6 NC - 1 6 2 4 6 3 4 3 - 1 3 2 5 6 - 7 - - 7 4 4 4 34 4 SWE Bengt Åberg Husqvarna 2 2 NC - - 2 - - - - - - 9 10 2 3 37 2 6 - 3 2 4 5 1 10 29 5 BEL Roger De Coster ČZ 11 - 1 1 5 5 - - - - - - 5 6 10 - 1 3 4 12 4 - - - 7 - 21 6 UK Vic Eastwood Husqvarna - - NC - - 4 - - 9 2 - - 1 2 4 - 29 30 3 - 2 - 2 1 - 1 17 7 TCH Petr Dobrý ČZ - - 6 2 - - - - 2 6 2 5 3 3 - - 13 7 - - 7 7 - - 11 - 16 8 UK Jeff Smith BSA 25 - NC - - - 3 3 10 10 6 - 6 8 - - 6 5 5 5 5 6 - - 5 3 16 9 BEL Jeff Teuwissen Husqvarna 8 26 - - - - - - - - 7 7 - - - 7 3 4 2 2 6 3 11 - - - 14 10 SWE Christer Hammargren Husqvarna 9 8 NC - 4 3 - - 8 7 - - 2 5 7 5 31 - 8 - 16 21 - 8 - 6 13 11 TCH Vlastimil Válek ČZ 4 24 8 - 3 - - - 3 5 - - - - 6 8 7 27 17 11 10 8 3 6 6 7 13 12 TCH Václav Švastal ČZ 3 7 5 4 - - - - 7 8 - - 7 12 - - 4 8 - - 17 9 8 7 - - 8 13 USSR Vilis Brunis ČZ 5 3 4 - - - - - 15 12 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 14 UK Allan Clough Husqvarna 26 - 3 3 - - - - - - - - 10 13 - - 36 36 - - 19 18 - - - - 4 15 RFA Wolfgang Müller Maico - - 9 - - - - - - - - - - - 5 6 - - 12 13 - - - - 8 8 4 USSR Vladimir Pogrebniak ČZ 7 4 NC - 2 - - - 11 17 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 17 GDR Heinz Hoppe ČZ 10 9 NC - - - 4 - 13 13 5 6 - - - - - - - 15 18 12 10 12 - - 3 18 UK Dave Bickers ČZ - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 19 NED Pierre Karsmakers ČZ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 9 7 6 13 14 - - - - 3 20 RFA Adolf Weil Maico 12 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 - - - - - - - - - - 2 RFA Erwin Schmider Maico - - 7 6 - - - - - - - - - - 15 12 - - - - - - - - - - 2 22 UK Keith Hickman BSA - - - - - - - - 5 14 8 4 8 9 - - 40 - - - - - 5 - - - 2 NED Gerrit Wolsink Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 4 25 16 - - - - 2 USSR Gunnar Draugs ČZ 6 23 NC - - - 6 6 12 9 11 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 25 SWE Jan Johansson Lindstrom - 10 - - 6 - 8 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 BEL Gaston Rahier ČZ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9 5 - 9 - - 1 - USSR Yuri Matveev ČZ - - 2 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 NED Frans Sigmans Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - 0Sources: 250cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine ESPESP BELBEL TCHTCH FRAFRA NEDNED GERRFA LUXLUX POLPOL USSRUSSR YUGYUG FINFIN SWESWE UKUK AUTAUT Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 1 BEL Joël Robert ČZ 1 4 4 - 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 - - - 8 2 2 1 - 1 1 1 1 54 2 SWE Torsten Hallman Husqvarna 2 1 - - - - 2 - 8 3 3 1 1 2 7 1 2 1 1 1 3 - 4 2 2 2 2 - 52 3 BEL Sylvain Geboers ČZ 5 5 2 2 5 4 5 3 3 6 14 - 10 7 2 4 - - 3 3 - - - - - - 3 4 31 4 TCH Karel Konečný ČZ - - - - 6 9 6 4 32 11 5 5 11 9 3 3 1 2 2 2 7 4 - - 5 3 6 3 29 5 UK Dave Bickers ČZ 6 3 6 8 7 - 4 7 24 - 8 12 2 3 - - 4 3 5 7 - - 7 6 3 4 7 5 21 6 SWE Håkan Andersson Husqvarna - 2 3 1 1 1 3 1 4 26 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18 7 SWE Olle Pettersson Suzuki - 13 1 3 8 6 11 6 6 2 4 6 6 4 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 18 8 FIN Kalevi Vehkonen Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 1 - - - - 8 - 8 9 USSR Victor Arbekov ČZ - - 9 4 3 3 8 5 11 27 6 4 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 10 FIN Heikki Mikkola Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 - 6 1 - - 9 - 7 11 SWE Stig Pettersson Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 5 5 5 11 - 11 - 7 12 BEL Marcel Wiertz Bultaco 3 - 8 9 14 13 - - 18 12 13 11 12 14 - - - - - - - - - - 10 - 5 2 6 13 RFA Adolf Weil Maico 7 8 - - - - - - 15 18 2 3 9 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 14 UK Malcolm Davis AJS 10 12 5 7 - - 10 9 - - - - 4 6 - - - - - - - - 2 - - - - - 6 15 USSR Gennady Moiseyev ČZ - - 21 11 9 12 12 19 5 5 12 10 14 13 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 USSR Leonid Shinkarenko ČZ - - 10 15 - 17 9 11 2 - - - 5 - 4 6 5 4 4 5 - - - - - - - - 5 17 SWE Bengt Arne Bonn Husqvarna 17 11 - - - - - - - - 11 16 19 16 - 5 - - - - 4 3 - 3 - - - - 4 18 FIN Jyrki Storm Husqvarna - - - 6 28 7 16 13 7 4 19 17 18 15 - - - - - - - - - 4 9 6 - - 4 19 TCH Jiří Stodůlka ČZ - - 13 18 4 5 31 12 22 9 15 7 13 8 - - - - 6 6 - - - - 7 7 10 - 4 20 USSR Evgeny Petushkov ČZ - - 11 10 15 14 13 10 17 - 9 8 8 10 - - - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 3 USSR Vilis Brunis ČZ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 5 - - - - - - - - - - 3 22 UK Don Rickman Bultaco 4 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2 UK Bryan Wade Greeves - - - - - - 7 8 9 7 - - - - - - - - - - - - 3 - 4 5 - - 2 SWE Torleif Hansen Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 - - - - - - - - - 12 - 4 6 2 25 SWE Uno Palm Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 6 - - - - - - - - - - 1 SWE Yngve Holmqvist Husqvarna - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7 - - - - 1 UK Vic Allan Greeves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6 8 - - 1 - BEL Gaston Rahier ČZ 13 10 7 12 - - - 14 - - - - 16 11 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 BEL Roger De Coster ČZ - - - 5 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Sources: Notes References Category:Motocross World Championship seasons Motocross World Championship