1961 Motocross World Championship

1961 Motocross World Championship
Start of the Motocross der Azen pre-season invitational race on 12 March 1961 in Sint Anthonis, Holland.
Organizer	FIM
Duration	8 April/3 September
Number of races	11
Number of manufacturers	15
Champions
500cc	Sten Lundin
250cc [a]	Dave Bickers
Motocross World Championship seasons
← 1960 1962 →

The 1961 Motocross World Championship was the 5th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

Summary

Sten Lundin, riding a Monark motorcycle rebadged as a Lito, took an early championship lead by winning the first three Grand Prix races of the year then, held off a challenge from Husqvarna's Bill Nilsson to claim his second 500cc Motocross World Championship. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Dave Curtis swept both races of the 500cc British Grand Prix while Broer Dirkx repeated his 1959 success in the 500cc Dutch Grand Prix.

Dave Bickers riding for the Greeves factory racing team claimed his second consecutive 250cc European Motocross Championship over his countrymen, BSA teammates Arthur Lampkin and Jeff Smith. ^{[4] [5]} Bickers dominates the season winning 6 out of 13 Grand Prix races and sets a season record with 14 individual race victories. Lampkin actually scored more points overall than did Bickers, but fell victim to FIM scoring rules which only recognize the top seven of thirteen results. The rules would be changed in 1977. Future four-time 250cc world champion, Torsten Hallman, wins the first world championship race of his career at the 1961 250cc Finnish Grand Prix.

Future three-time World Champion Paul Friedrichs makes his first World Championship appearance at the 250cc East German Grand Prix. Due to the Berlin Crisis of 1961 at the height of the Cold War, few western European riders attend the season ending East German Grand Prix in Apolda.

Grands Prix

500cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 9	Swiss Grand Prix	Payerne	Sten Lundin	Bill Nilsson	Sten Lundin	Report
2	April 30	Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Report
3	May 28	French Grand Prix	Jonzac	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Report
4	June 4	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Přerov	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Report
5	June 11	Italian Grand Prix	Imola	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Report
6	July 2	British Grand Prix	Hawkstone Park	Dave Curtis	Dave Curtis	Dave Curtis	Report
7	July 24	Dutch Grand Prix	Dreumel	Broer Dirkx	Bill Nilsson	Broer Dirkx	Report
8	August 5	Belgian Grand Prix*	Namur	-	-	Sten Lundin	Report
9	August 13	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Report
10	August 20	Swedish Grand Prix	Uddevalla	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Bill Nilsson	Report
11	September 3	West German Grand Prix	Immenstadt	Bill Nilsson	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Report
*Organizers of the Belgian Grand Prix hold qualifying heat races for a single final round. Sources: [2] [6]

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 23	Belgian Grand Prix	Aywaille	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
2	May 7	French Grand Prix	Thomer-la-Sôgne	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
3	May 11	Dutch Grand Prix	Markelo	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Report
4	May 21	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Divoká Šárka	Dave Bickers	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Report
5	May 28	Polish Grand Prix	Katowice-Zabrze	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
6	June 4	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Schifflange	Jeff Smith	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
7	June 18	Finnish Grand Prix	Tikkurila	Dave Bickers	Arthur Lampkin	Torsten Hallman	Report
8	June 25	Italian Grand Prix	Settimo	Jeff Smith	Lanfranco Angelini	Arthur Lampkin	Report
9	July 2	West German Grand Prix	Ühlingen	Arthur Lampkin	Torsten Hallman	Arthur Lampkin	Report
10	July 15	British Grand Prix	Shrubland Park	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
11	August 13	Swiss Grand Prix	Wohlen	Arthur Lampkin	Dave Bickers	Arthur Lampkin	Report
12	September 3	Swedish Grand Prix	Knutstorp	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
13	September 10	East German Grand Prix	Apolda	Jaromír Čížek	Jaromír Čížek	Jaromír Čížek	Report
Sources: [4] [7]

Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the final championship standings, half of the competitors' results + 1 are retained. Thus with 11 500cc Grands Prix, the 6 best results are retained. With 13 250cc Grands Prix, the 7 best 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	CH		AUT		FRA		CZE		ITA		UK		NED		BEL	LUX		SWE		GER		Pts
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Sten Lundin	Lito	1	2	1	1	1	1	4	3	2	2	-	-	2	3	1	1	1	3	2	2	1	48
2	Bill Nilsson	Husqvarna	2	1	3	-	2	-	1	1	1	1	-	-	5	1	-	-	-	1	1	1	10	36
3	Gunnar Johansson	Lito	3	4	4	5	21	-	-	-	3	3	4	2	4	11	2	4	-	2	3	5	7	25
4	Miloslav Soucek	ESO	5	6	5	3	-	-	2	2	9	9	-	-	18	15	12	5	3	-	-	10	13	19
5	Rolf Tibblin	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	4	5	4	-	6	-	-	-	2	10	6	7	3	2	15
6	John Burton	BSA	-	-	2	2	-	-	-	-	7	-	6	4	8	-	10	7	2	8	5	-	-	13
7	Broer Dirk	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	4	5	12
8	David Curtis	Matchless	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
9	Ove Lundell	Monark	-	-	-	-	8	2	6	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	7
10	Ervín Krajčovič	ESO	4	12	6	4	-	-	3	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	7	8	7
11	Lars Gustavsson	Lito	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	2	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
12	Jeff Smith	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	5	-	-	3	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
13	Herman De Soete	Matchless	-	-	-	-	10	3	-	-	6	7	8	12	-	-	4	3	-	-	-	-	-	6
14	Derek Rickman	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-	9	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
15	Guy Bertrand	BSA	-	-	-	-	7	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
16	Jan Clijnk	BSA	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
17	Per Olaf Persson	Monark	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	6	-	-	3
18	Gordon Blakeway	Triumph	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	4	3
19	Tim Gibbes	AJS	15	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	11	2
20	John Harris	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
21	Frans Slechten	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
22	Hubert Scaillet	Triumph	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	9	-	-	-	-	2
23	Roine Lööf	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	4	-	-	2
24	Georges Delpeyrat	Triumph	15	9	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	12	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
25	Josef Hrebecek	ESO	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	17	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
26	Florian Thevenaz	Triumph	10	5	-	-	22	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
27	Roger Vanderbecken	Triumph	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	8	11	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
28	Jef Teuwissen	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	12	12	1
29	Jacques Langel	BSA	-	-	-	-	27	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	-	16	16	10	4	-	-	-	-	1
-	Donald Rickman	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Les Archer Jr.	Norton	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	0
	Pierre André Rapin	Monark	-	3	-	-	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Arthur Lampkin	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
*Organizers of the Belgian Grand Prix hold qualifying heat races for a single final round. Sources: [3] [6]

250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	BEL		FRA		NED		CZE		POL		LUX		FIN		ITA		GER		UK		CH		SWE		GDR		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
1	Dave Bickers	Greeves	1	1	1	1	5	2	1	-	1	1	2	1	1	-	-	-	2	-	1	1	-	1	1	1	-	-	51
2	Arthur Lampkin	BSA	2	-	-	-	2	4	4	2	3	2	3	4	5	1	2	2	1	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	-	-	48
3	Jeff Smith	BSA	-	-	3	2	1	1	3	1	2	6	1	3	3	4	1	3	4	3	-	-	3	3	11	-	-	-	40
4	Torsten Hallman	Husqvarna	6	4	2	3	3	3	-	4	-	-	4	2	2	3	-	-	5	1	3	4	2	6	3	-	-	-	33
5	Jaromír Čížek	Jawa	4	5	6	15	-	-	2	5	-	-	8	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	5	1	1	19
6	Aarno Erola	Husqvarna	-	-	14	11	4	5	-	-	4	-	-	-	4	2	-	-	-	-	5	3	-	-	4	3	-	-	17
7	Vlastimil Valek	ČZ/Greeves	9	7	24	-	-	-	-	7	5	3	7	7	6	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	7	2	2	14
8	Lennart Dahlén	Jawa	5	3	10	8	-	-	-	6	-	-	9	9	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	9	-	-	8	4	-	-	10
9	Fritz Selling	Greeves	-	11	16	7	6	6	-	-	-	-	15	12	-	-	3	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	3	9
10	Fritz Betzelbacher	Maico	7	6	8	9	9	8	-	-	-	-	5	6	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	4	4	-	-	-	-	7
11	Sivert Eriksson	Husqvarna	10	8	13	12	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	8	-	-	7	4	9	-	7	7	9	6	5	4	7
12	John Draper	Cotton	3	10	4	4	7	13	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	3	-	7	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
13	Nic Jansen	Greeves	11	-	5	5	10	7	-	-	-	-	12	10	-	-	4	6	-	-	14	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	5
14	Miloslav Soucek	ESO	12	13	-	-	-	-	5	3	6	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Fred Willamowski	MZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	5	3
16	Josef Chara	Jawa	-	9	9	10	-	-	6	-	-	4	10	11	8	9	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
17	Luciano Conti	Aermacchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Gerhard Stauch	Maico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Otto Walz	Maico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	5	-	-	-	-	2
20	Vincenzo Soletti	Parilla	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Bryan Sharp	Greeves	-	-	7	6	-	-	-	-	7	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Jan Johansson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	8	-	-	1
	Paul Friedrichs	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6	1
-	Stig Rickardsson	Greeves	-	2	28	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-
	Lanfranco Angelini	Aermacchi	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Don Rickman	Greeves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Sources: [5] [7]

Notes

1. Now called the European Championship.

References

1. "Classic Motocross Iron: 1961 Lito 500 Motocross". motocrossactionmag.com. 11 June 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
2. "1961 500cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
3. "1961 500cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
4. "1961 250cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
5. "1961 250cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
6. "1961 500cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
7. "1961 250cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 18 December 2022.