1964 FIM Motocross World Championship

1964 FIM Motocross World Championship
Jeff Smith leads Rolf Tibblin at the Motocross der Azen pre-season invitational race on 15 March 1964 in Sint Anthonis, Holland.
Organizer	FIM
Duration	5 April/13 September
Number of races	28
Number of manufacturers	13
Champions
500cc	Jeff Smith
250cc	Joël Robert
Motocross World Championship seasons
← 1963 1965 →

The 1964 Motocross World Championship was the 8th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

Summary

Jeff Smith riding for the BSA factory racing team won the 500cc motocross world championship to become the first British rider to claim the premier division, beating out former two-time world champions and Husqvarna teammates Rolf Tibblin and Sten Lundin. ^[1] The Husqvarna factory stopped producing their four-stroke motorcycles in 1963, leaving Tibblin without a motorcycle for the 1964 season. ^[2] He teamed up with engine tuner, Nisse Hedlund, to build their own complete motocross machine in time for the 1964 season. ^[2] Tibblin began the season strongly, winning five of the first six races of the season however, Smith consistently scored points throughout the season and the championship wasn't decided until the final race of the season in Spain, where Smith took the victory to claim the World Championship by only two points over Tibblin. ^{[3] [4]}

In the 250cc division, Husqvarna factory rider Torsten Hallman was favored to repeat after his dominant performance in the 1963 championship. The return of Greeves factory rider Dave Bickers after a two-year absence should have been Hallman's biggest challenger however, he was upset by the unexpected arrival of 20-year-old privateer, Joël Robert riding a ČZ motorcycle. After Hallman won the season opening Spanish Grand Prix, Robert reeled off a string of four consecutive victories to take the championship points lead. Bickers was able to relegate Robert to second place at the Luxembourg Grand Prix, however his Greeves proved to be too fragile and underpowered to pose a serious challenge. Hallman was able to recover with a victory at the Italian Grand Prix, but then Robert was able to win another four Grand Prix races in succession to clinch the World Championship. ^{[5] [6]} The 20-year-old Robert became the youngest motocross world champion at the time. ^[7] Victor Arbekov becomes the first Russian competitor to win a Grand Prix overall on 2 August at the East German Grand Prix. ^[8]

Grands Prix

500cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 12	Swiss Grand Prix	Payerne	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Report
2	April 26	Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Report
3	May 10	Danish Grand Prix	Volk Mølle	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Report
4	May 17	Swedish Grand Prix	Vimmerby	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Report
5	May 24	Dutch Grand Prix	Norg	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Report
6	May 31	French Grand Prix	Sucé-sur-Erdre	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Report
7	June 7	Italian Grand Prix	Avigliana	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Report
8	June 21	Russian Grand Prix	Lviv	Jeff Smith	Ove Lundell	Jeff Smith	Report
9	June 28	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Přerov	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Report
10	August 2	Belgian Grand Prix	Namur	Jeff Smith	Sten Lundin	Jeff Smith	Report
11	August 9	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Report
12	August 16	West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Sten Lundin	Report
13	August 30	East German Grand Prix	Schwerin	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Report
14	September 13	Spanish Grand Prix	San Sebastián	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Report
Sources: [3] [9]

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 5	Spanish Grand Prix	Ruta	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
2	April 26	Belgian Grand Prix	Woluwe-Saint-Lambert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
3	May 3	Swiss Grand Prix	Wohlen	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
4	May 10	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Holice	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
5	May 17	West German Grand Prix	Erlangen	Joël Robert	Dave Bickers	Joël Robert	Report
6	May 24	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Schifflange	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Dave Bickers	Report
7	May 31	Italian Grand Prix	Imola	Dave Bickers	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
8	June 28	British Grand Prix	Cadwell Park	Dave Bickers	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
9	July 5	Swedish Grand Prix	Hedemora	Joël Robert	Dave Bickers	Joël Robert	Report
10	July 12	Finnish Grand Prix	Tikkurila	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
11	July 19	Russian Grand Prix	Leningrad	Joël Robert	Victor Arbekov	Joël Robert	Report
12	July 26	Polish Grand Prix	Kielce	Victor Arbekov	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
13	August 2	East German Grand Prix	Apolda	Joël Robert	Vlastimil Valek	Victor Arbekov	Report
14	August 15	French Grand Prix	Laguépie	Åke Jonsson	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
Sources: [5] [8]

Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the final championship standings, half of the competitors' results are retained. Thus with 14 Grand 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		DEN		SWE		NED		FRA		ITA		USSR		CZE		BEL		LUX		GER		GDR		ESP		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	Jeff Smith	BSA	2	1	2	2	2	1	3	2	1	1	5	2	1	2	1	3	2	3	1	2	1	1	2	3	2	1	1	2	56
2	Rolf Tibblin	Hedlund	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	1	3	2	1	1	-	1	-	2	1	1	9	-	-	-	5	2	1	2	-	1	54
3	Sten Lundin	Lito	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	3	4	5	2	3	7	3	4	-	-	-	5	1	-	-	1	1	-	-	2	6	34
4	Ove Lundell	Husqvarna	6	7	6	-	-	-	-	5	2	4	7	4	-	10	7	1	3	4	-	-	10	3	4	4	3	-	5	4	22
5	Bill Nilsson	Métisse-ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	6	5	3		-	4	6	-	-	4	2	6	-	2	4	6	5	-	-	-	-	20
6	Per Olaf Persson	Husqvarna	-	10	5	5	-	-	6	7	7	6	4	5	2	5	-	-	-	-	10	-	3	-	3	6	-	-	-	-	16
7	Herman De Soete	Métisse-Matchless	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-	-	-	8	6	7	2	-	-	-	-	3	-	9
8	Jerry Scott	BSA	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	7	-	-	4	7	-	-	6
	Vic Eastwood	Matchless	10	-	4	4	4	-	4	-	-	7	-	-	8	4	-	-	5	5	3	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Hubert Scaillet	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	21	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	3	6
	John Burton	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	12	-	-	-	-	2	3	5	18	-	-	-	-	9	-	6
12	Pierre-André Rapin	Monark	4	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	10	-	-	-	-	7	8	27	-	8	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	5
13	Josef Chara	Jawa	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Dieter Kley	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	3	-	-	4
	Gunnar Johansson	Lito	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	4	-	-	8	6	5	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
16	Nikolaj Sokolov	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Jos Ribbens	BSA	-	-	-	-	6	5	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	16	13	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
18	Antonin Klavinsh	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Aleksandr Lebedev	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	4	-	-	2
	André Chuchard	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Broer Dirkx	Lito	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	6	-	-	-	3	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Dave Nicoll	Matchless	-	-	-	-	7	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Ervín Krajčovič	ESO	5	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	-	-	-	8	7	-	-	22	9	-	-	6	-	-	-	2
24	Josef Hrebecek	ČZ	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	14	15	11	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	5	-	-	1
	Lubomir Eichler	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	10	-	-	1
	Andy Lee	Matchless-Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	-	11	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	1
	Sigur Kalkis	ESO	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	6	-	-	1
	Roger Vanderbecken	Triumph	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	7	9	21	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Jacob Lynegaard	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
-	Sylvain Geboers	Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
Source: [1] [9]

250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	ESP		BEL		CH		CZE		GER		LUX		ITA		UK		SWE		FIN		USSR		POL		GDR		FRA		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	Joël Robert	ČZ	11	8	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	6	2	2	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	-	-	1	-	26	-	56
1	Torsten Hallman	Husqvarna	1	1	3	2	10	5	-	2	2	4	3	5	4	1	3	-	2	2	4	4	-	-	2	1	-	-	2	1	50
3	Victor Arbekov	ČZ	-	-	-	-	5	4	5	4	-	-	5	4	8	7	-	-	6	6	3	2	3	1	1	-	2	3	6	-	31
4	Igor Grigoriev	ČZ	-	-	4	5	3	2	4	7	-	-	7	7	3	3	-	-	10	13	6	7	4	3	6	3	4	4	3	6	30
5	Dave Bickers	Greeves	3	7	2	-	8	-	2	-	-	1	1	1	1	-	1	2	8	1	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-	27	20	23
6	Åke Jonsson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	4	2	3	2	-	-	-	3	5	1	2	19
7	Vlastimil Valek	ČZ	-	3	6	4	2	10	-	3	3	6	8	3	9	11	-	3	5	5	-	5	6	7	-	-	-	1	4	3	16
8	Karel Pilar	ČZ	6	5	10	10	4	3	6	6	5	5	6	6	5	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	5	13
9	Gunnar Draougs	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	3	2	5	2	26	-	12
10	Cenneth Loof	Husqvarna	8	10	16	8	6	6	-	-	4	3	4	11	7	5	-	-	4	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	-	7
11	Don Rickman	Bultaco	2	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	-	6
12	Jan Johansson	Lindstrom	7	-	5	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	4	6
13	Olle Pettersson	Husqvarna	4	6	9	6	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	10	7	9	5	6	7	4	-	-	-	-	7	-	6
14	John Griffith	Greeves	5	4	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Malcolm Davis	Greeves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Antonin Hrach	ČZ	-	-	12	13	-	-	7	9	-	-	-	9	21	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	4	7	12	14	9	3
17	Zdenek Polanka	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Bryan Goss	Greeves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
19	Derek Rickman	Bultaco	18	-	7	7	-	-	-	-	7	9	10	-	-	-	7	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	18	3
20	Eungenius Frelich	MZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	6	-	-	-	-	2
	Max Morf	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	6	-	-	2
	Jaakko Lehmuskoski	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-	-	-	5	6	11	-	-	2
23	Fritz Betzelbacher	Montesa	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	31	-	1
	Fritz Selling	Greeves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	22	1
-	Adolf Weil	Maico	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Alan Clough	Greeves	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
Sources: [6] [8]

References

1. "1964 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
2. "Hedlund Motorcycles". cybermotorcycle.com. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
3. "1964 500cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
4. "Rolf Tibblin: A Three-Times World Champion". husqvarna-motorcycles.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
5. "1964 250cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
6. "1964 250cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
7. "Joël Robert at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
8. "1964 250cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
9. "1964 500cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 14 December 2024.