1966 FIM Motocross World Championship

1966 FIM Motocross World Championship
Organizer	FIM
Duration	27 March/2 October
Number of races	29
Number of manufacturers	9
Champions
500cc	Paul Friedrichs
250cc	Torsten Hallman
FIM Motocross World Championship seasons
← 1965 1967 →

The 1966 Motocross World Championship was the 10th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

Summary

ČZ factory supported rider Paul Friedrichs dominated the 500cc displacement class by winning seven out of fourteen Grand Prix events, defeating former World Champion Rolf Tibblin and the defending World Champion Jeff Smith. ^{[1] [2] [3]} Friedrichs' victory marked the first time a motorcycle powered by a two-stroke engine had won the premier 500cc division since the inception of the Motocross World Championships in 1957. Former two-time World Champion Sten Lundin makes his final World Championship appearance with a third place at the 1966 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix.

In an effort to keep pace with the rapid pace of development in two-stroke engine technology, the BSA factory racing team constructed a new BSA Victor motorcycle for Smith which utilized a four-stroke engine cradled in an ultra-lightweight, titanium motorcycle frame. ^[4] Unfortunately, the titanium frame was too brittle and broke regularly during competitions. ^[4] Smith won the Finnish Grand Prix, but the 1966 season marked the end of the first four-stroke era in motocross competition. Two-stroke engines would dominate off-road motorcycle racing until 2003 when, mounting government environmental regulations caused the FIM implemented new rules favoring environmentally friendlier four-stroke engines.

In the 250cc division, defending champion Victor Arbekov started the season with three consecutive victories, but was injured at the second round in France and didn't recover until later in the season. ^[5] Torsten Hallman and Joël Robert traded wins back and forth in a season-long battle for the championship that wasn't decided until the final race when Hallman finally prevailed over Robert to clinch his third 250cc World Championship. ^{[1] [5] [6] [7]} Åke Jonsson wins 250cc Luxembourg Grand Prix for the first overall victory of his career.

Grands Prix

500cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 17	Swiss Grand Prix	Payerne	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
2	April 24	Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Rolf Tibblin	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
3	May 1	Italian Grand Prix	Maggiora	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
4	May 8	Danish Grand Prix	Randers	Rolf Tibblin	Jeff Smith	Rolf Tibblin	Report
5	May 15	Swedish Grand Prix	Hedemora	Bengt Aberg	Jeff Smith	Jan Johansson	Report
6	May 22	Finnish Grand Prix	Ruskeasanta	Gunnar Johansson	Jeff Smith	Jeff Smith	Report
7	June 12	East German Grand Prix	Gumpelstadt	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
8	June 19	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Přerov	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
9	June 26	Russian Grand Prix	Chișinău	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
10	July 3	British Grand Prix	Farleigh Castle	Don Rickman	Jeff Smith	Don Rickman	Report
11	July 24	Dutch Grand Prix	Lichtenvoorde	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Rolf Tibblin	Report
12	August 7	Belgian Grand Prix	Namur	Vic Eastwood	Roger De Coster	Arthur Lampkin	Report
13	August 14	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	Paul Friedrichs	Jan Johansson	Paul Friedrichs	Report
14	August 21	West German Grand Prix	Beuren	Vlastimil Valek	Dave Bickers	Victor Arbekov	Report
Sources: [3] [8]

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	March 27	Spanish Grand Prix	Sabadell	Victor Arbekov	Victor Arbekov	Victor Arbekov	Report
2	April 10	French Grand Prix	Pernes-les-Fontaines	Victor Arbekov	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
3	April 24	Belgian Grand Prix	Mont Kemmel	Torsten Hallman	Joël Robert	Torsten Hallman	Report
4	May 1	Swiss Grand Prix	Broc	Petr Dobry	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
5	May 8	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Holice	Petr Dobry	Joël Robert	Torsten Hallman	Report
6	May 15	West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Joël Robert	Torsten Hallman	Joël Robert	Report
7	May 22	Dutch Grand Prix	Markelo	Torsten Hallman	Ake Tornblom	Joël Robert	Report
8	June 5	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Schifflange	Victor Arbekov	Åke Jonsson	Åke Jonsson	Report
9	June 12	Italian Grand Prix	Cingoli	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Torsten Hallman	Report
10	June 19	Polish Grand Prix	Szczecin	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Joël Robert	Report
11	July 3	East German Grand Prix	Apolda	Joël Robert	Petr Dobry	Petr Dobry	Report
12	July 24	Swedish Grand Prix	Motala	Jan Blomqvist	Åke Jonsson	Torsten Hallman	Report
13	July 31	Finnish Grand Prix	Hyvinkää	Olle Pettersson	Olle Pettersson	Olle Pettersson	Report
14	August 7	Russian Grand Prix	Leningrad	Victor Arbekov	Victor Arbekov	Victor Arbekov	Report
15	October 2	Austrian Grand Prix	Murau	Petr Dobry	Victor Arbekov	Petr Dobry	Report
Sources: [6] [9]

Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the 500cc final championship standings, the 8 best of 14 results are retained. For the 250cc final championship standings, the 8 best of 15 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		ITA		DEN		SWE		FIN		DDR		CZE		USSR		UK		NED		BEL		LUX		GER		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	R1	R2
1	Paul Friedrichs	ČZ	1	1	2	1	1	1	2	4	5	-	3	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	-	-	-	-	11	3	1	2	-	-	62
2	Rolf Tibblin	ČZ	2	3	1	2	5	4	1	2	4	-	5	5	3	4	5	2	6	8	8	8	1	1	3	4	8	7	-	-	40
3	Jeff Smith	BSA	-	8	5	7	2	2	-	1	18	1	2	1	2	5	4	4	3	2	2	1	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	37
4	Vlastimil Valek	ČZ	3	2	4	4	4	3	-	-	6	4	6	6	4	6	2	6	2	3	3	-	4	4	6	6	5	5	1	3	34
5	Dave Bickers	ČZ	32	4	3	3	3	NC	4	5	3	-	4	4	10	9	3	3	5	4	5	5	2	2	-	-	4	8	3	1	32
6	Jan Johansson	Lindstrom	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	2	2	10	7	6	11	-	-	-	-	6	6	10	3	-	-	6	1	-	-	18
7	Igor Grigoriev	ČZ	9	9	11	5	8	7	7	-	7	9	7	9	8	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	8	12	13	-	-	-	-	9
8	Don Rickman	Triumph-Métisse	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
	Arthur Lampkin	BSA	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	11	-	-	2	2	-	-	-	-	8
	Victor Arbekov	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	8
	Chris Horsfield	ČZ	11	5	10	-	11	12	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	4	6	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	8
12	Bengt Åberg	Triumph-Métisse	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	-	-	-	-	-	6
	Gunnar Johansson	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	13	-	9	-	-	-	6
	Roger De Coster	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	1	-	-	-	-	6
	Vic Eastwood	BSA	4	-	-	-	NC	8	-	-	-	7	17	-	-	2	-	-	4	-	7	3	9	-	1	5	10	-	-	5	6
16	Bill Nilsson	Husqvarna	-	-	18	12	-	-	-	-	-	5	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	3	4	7	5
17	Sylvain Geboers	Lindstrom	10	15	13	11	NC	-	3	3	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	-	7	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Sten Lundin	Lito	16	12	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	6	-	-	4
19	Joachim Helmhold	ČZ	5	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	11	10	7	12	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	11	13	10	-	-	3
	Adolf Weil	Maico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	4	3
	Josef Hrebecek	ČZ	8	7	16	10	10	NC	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	13	9	-	-	-	-	14	14	2	9	-	-	3
	Yuri Matveev	ČZ	6	-	7	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	9	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-	-	-	6	-	3
	Sigurd Kalkis	ČZ	12	10	12	8	14	5	-	6	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	7	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
24	Erik Malmgren	Hedlund	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Vladimir Pogrebniak	ČZ	13	20	6	13	12	NC	-	-	-	-	12	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	10	4	7	-	-	-	-	2
26	Zdenek Polanka	ČZ	7	14	8	9	7	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	9	11	11	-	-	-	-	9	10	-	4	8	-	1
	Mogens Rasmussen	Métisse-Matchless	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	7	11	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
-	Jan Brabec	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	15	-	-	9	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	0
	Fritz Betzelbacher	Montesa	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	0
Sources: [2] [8]

250cc

Pos	Rider	Machine	ESP		FRA		BEL		CH		CZE		GER		NED		LUX		ITA		POL		GDR		SWE		FIN		USSR		AUT		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	R1	R2
1	Torsten Hallman	Husqvarna	3	2	2	1	1	3	3	3	2	2	3	1	1	-	-	-	1	1	2	2	4	-	2	2	3	3	-	-	2	4	58
2	Joël Robert	ČZ	-	-	3	2	10	1	2	1	-	1	1	2	2	2	-	7	3	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	11	-	3	2	5	2	49
3	Petr Dobry	ČZ	-	-	4	3	21	-	1	2	1	3	-	-	-	-	4	2	2	-	-	-	2	1	15	7	5	-	2	-	1	3	40
4	Victor Arbekov	ČZ	1	1	1	NC	11	-	-	-	3	7	2	3	-	-	1	-	-	-	4	-	3	2	9	-	14	10	1	1	3	1	36
5	Olle Pettersson	Husqvarna	-	3	5	5	3	2	-	-	5	6	6	-	10	3	-	-	5	3	-	5	6	4	8	3	1	1	4	-	4	7	29
6	Åke Jonsson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	5	-	-	4	4	-	-	3	1	-	-	3	3	-	-	4	1	6	2	-	-	-	-	28
7	Roger De Coster	ČZ	-	-	7	4	2	6	6	7	8	-	5	5	-	13	2	6	6	2	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	23
8	Gunnar Draougs	ČZ	21	-	NC	NC	11	10	5	10	-	4	7	9	4	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	9	7	-	-	-	-	10
9	Åke Tornblom	ČZ	11	-	9	12	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	3	1	8	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	7	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	8
10	Ivan Polas	ČZ	-	-	8	NC	-	-	12	4	-	-	13	6	-	8	11	8	-	6	-	-	7	3	21	8	15	6	6	3	6	5	8
11	Fritz Betzelbacher	Montesa	5	6	-	-	-	-	11	6	-	-	-	-	9	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5
12	Don Rickman	Bultaco	2	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Lanfranco Angelini	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Jan Blomqvist	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Jyrki Storm	Husqvarna	-	-	23	11	16	7	-	-	7	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	2	-	-	4	-	-	4
	Marcel Wiertz	Bultaco	26	16	10	NC	6	5	-	-	-	-	8	-	16	-	7	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
	Fred Willamowski	ČZ	-	-	NC	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4
18	Håkan Jerling	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Kalevi Vehkonen	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	8	-	-	-	-	3
	Jo Lammers	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	5	4	-	-	-	-	-	7	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Jacky Porte	Montesa	-	-	6	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	11	6	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3
	Zdenek Strnad	ČZ	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	9	8	-	-	8	-	5	9	-	5	-	-	8	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	6	3
23	Oriol Puig Bulto	Bultaco	6	5	16	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2
	Jaakko Lehmuskoski	Husqvarna	-	-	14	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	5	-	-	-	-	2
	Andrei Dezhinov	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	2
26	Pedro Pi Parera	Montesa	7	10	12	16	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Malcolm Davis	Bultaco	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Bengt Arne Bonn	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	1
	Jorma Jarvinen	Husqvarna	22	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	4	-	-	-	-	1
	Tore Lundby	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	-	-	6	-	-	1
-	Alan Clough	Greeves	-	-	NC	NC	-	-	-	-	4	-	-	-	-	24	-	13	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Håkan Andersson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Pierre Karsmakers	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Adolf Weil	Montesa	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	0
	Heikki Mikkola	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	-	-	-	-	-	0
Sources: [7] [9]

References

1. Trippe, Gavin (1 November 1966). "World Championship Motocross". Cycle World. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
2. "1966 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
3. "1966 500cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
4. Dewhurst, David (2022), Motocross The Golden Years, Walsworth, Marceline, Missouri, ISBN   978-0-578-29016-4, BSA management realized that the small, lightweight BSA engine had been a large reason for its success, and a committee figured that if a lightweight BSA was good, a super-light 491cc BSA would be even better. Unfortunately, the titanium was too brittle, and the frame broke regularly.
5. "Looking back: How Torsten Hallman claimed his third world MX title". tmxnews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
6. "1966 250cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
7. "1966 250cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
8. "1966 500cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
9. "1966 250cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 4 January 2025.