Jeff Smith (motorcyclist)

Last updated

Jeff Smith
MBE
Jeff Smith 1962.jpg
Jeff Smith in 1962
NationalityEnglish
Born1934 (age 8990)
Colne, Lancashire, England
Motocross career
Years active1953–1971
Teams BSA
Championships 500cc – 19641965
Wins30

Jeffrey Vincent Smith MBE (born 1934) is an English former professional motorcycle racer. [1] He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1954 to 1969 as a member of the BSA factory racing team.

Contents

His achievements in motorcycle racing include two FIM 500cc Motocross World Championships (1964, 1965), two British Trials Championships, multiple British Experts Trial wins, four individual race wins in the Motocross des Nations, one Scottish Six Days Trial win and eight ISDT Gold Medals. [1] [2] In the 1970 New Year Honours, Smith was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to motorcycle racing. [1] [3] [4]

Riding career

Born in Colne, Lancashire, England, Smith began in competitions as a trials rider, becoming so successful that he was offered a place on the Norton factory team. [1] After moving to BSA, he won the 1953 and 1954 British Trials Championship. [1] BSA asked Smith to compete in motocross racing which he did with such success that he soon began to concentrate on a motocross career. [1]

Smith (#37) leads Rolf Tibblin (#30) during an international race in Sint Anthonis, Netherlands in 1964 Internationale motorcrosswedstrijden in Sint Antons bij 500cc no. 37 Jeff Smith , Bestanddeelnr 916-1771.jpg
Smith (#37) leads Rolf Tibblin (#30) during an international race in Sint Anthonis, Netherlands in 1964

In the 1964 500cc Motocross World Championship, the defending champion, Rolf Tibblin, began the season strongly by winning five of the first six races of the season, but the 30-year-old Smith consistently scored points throughout the season and never finished below third place. [5] 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. [5] His performance earned him the Motorcycle News 1964 'Man of the Year' award. [1] [6] He successfully defended his crown the following year. [7] His 1965 championship win on the four-stroke engined BSA Victor would be the last victory for this type of motor, as two-stroke engine technology dominated off-road racing for the next several decades. He finally announced his retirement in January 1972. [8]

After racing

After he retired from competition, Smith helped to develop off-road motorcycles as special projects manager based in Minnesota, US, for Can-Am, the motorcycle division of Canada's Bombardier organisation. [9] [3] The Can-Am racing team claimed the first three places in the 1974 AMA 250cc motocross national championship. [1] He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2000. [1]

Smith was an AMA director and Treasurer, and also involved in vintage motorcycle racing as an Executive Director and Assistant Treasurer of the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association AHRMA, before resigning from AMA on 15 February 2008, followed by his resignation from AHRMA, as a result of irregular expense-account claims submitted by the then AMA Chairman. [10] [11]


Motocross Grand Prix Results

Points system from 1952 to 1968:

Position 1st  2nd  3rd  4th  5th  6th 
Points864321
Denotes European motocross championship only.
YearClassMachine1234567891011121314PosPts
R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2R1R2
1954 500cc BSA CH
-
CH
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
NED
6
NED
1
UK
-
UK
-
LUX
-
LUX
-
BEL
-
BEL
-
SWE
5
SWE
-
FRA
1
FRA
2
3rd20
1955 500ccBSACH
-
CH
-
FRA
2
FRA
7
ITA
2
ITA
5
FRA
5
UK
1
UK
1
BEL
-
BEL
9
LUX
-
LUX
-
SWE
2
SWE
3
NED
-
NED
-
7th14
1956 500ccBSACH
-
CH
-
NED
-
NED
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
FRA
5
FRA
-
UK
21
UK
2
BEL
1
BEL
6
LUX
-
LUX
-
SWE
1
SWE
2
DEN
2
DEN
9
11th7
1957 500ccBSACH
-
CH
-
FRA
-
FRA
-
SWE
1
SWE
3
ITA
1
ITA
2
UK
1
UK
1
NED
2
NED
5
BEL
-
BEL
4
LUX
-
LUX
-
DEN
3
DEN
8
4th23
1958 500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
DEN
4
DEN
4-
CH
1
CH
7
FRA
1
FRA
3
ITA
3
ITA
4
UK
-
UK
3
NED
9
NED
4
BEL
-
BEL
5
LUX
-
LUX
4
SWE
2
SWE
4
6th18
1959 500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
CH
19
CH
1
DEN
-
DEN
-
FRA
7
FRA
4
ITA
7
ITA
8
GER
6
GER
7
UK
1
UK
2
NED
4
NED
7
BEL
-
BEL
6
LUX
-
LUX
2
SWE
-
SWE
-
6th21
1960 500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
FRA
-
FRA
-
SWE
-
SWE
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
GER
-
GER
-
UK
8
UK
2
NED
-
NED
-
BEL
-
BEL
-
LUX
-
LUX
-
15th2
1961 500ccBSACH
-
CH
-
AUT
-
AUT
-
FRA
-
FRA
-
CZE
-
CZE
-
ITA
4
ITA
5
UK
-
UK
-
NED
3
NED
-
BEL
-
BEL
3
LUX
-
LUX
-
SWE
-
SWE
-
GER
-
GER
-
12th6
1962 500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
FRA
-
FRA
-
CH
-
CH
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
CZE
-
CZE
-
UK
-
UK
-
NED
-
NED
-
BEL
4
BEL
-
LUX
7
LUX
1
SWE
1
SWE
3
7th9
1963 500ccBSAAUT
8
AUT
6
CH
4
CH
2
DEN
1
DEN
1
NED
1
NED
2
FRA
3
FRA
2
ITA
NC
ITA
NC
CZE
9
CZE
4
USR
5
USR
4
UK
1
UK
2
BEL
3
BEL
3
LUX
6
LUX
4
GDR
1
GDR
1
3rd44
1964 500ccBSACH
2
CH
1
AUT
2
AUT
2
DEN
1
DEN
2
SWE
3
SWE
2
NED
1
NED
1
FRA
5
FRA
2
ITA
1
ITA
2
URS
1
URS
3
CZE
2
CZE
3
BEL
1
BEL
2
LUX
1
LUX
1
GER
2
GER
3
GDR
2
GDR
1
ESP
1
ESP
2
1st56
1965 500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
CH
1
CH
2
FRA
1
FRA
1
FIN
1
FIN
1
SWE
1
SWE
1
GDR
4
GDR
4
CZE
-
CZE
-
URS
2
URS
2
UK
1
UK
2
ITA
-
ITA
-
GER
3
GER
-
NED
1
NED
3
LUX
3
LUX
-
1st54
1966500ccBSACH
-
CH
8
AUT
5
AUT
7
ITA
2
ITA
2
DEN
-
DEN
1
SWE
18
SWE
1
FIN
2
FIN
1
GDR
2
GDR
5
CZE
4
CZE
4
URS
3
URS
2
UK
2
UK
1
NED
5
NED
-
BEL
-
BEL
-
LUX
-
LUX
-
GER
-
GER
-
3rd34
1967500ccBSAAUT
3
AUT
24
ITA
-
ITA
-
SWE
5
SWE
1
CZE
3
CZE
2
USR
2
USR
1
FRA
6
FRA
3
GER
3
GER
4
UK
4
UK
3
BEL
5
BEL
3
LUX
8
LUX
-
CH
16
CH
6
2nd35
1968500ccBSAAUT
25
AUT
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
SWE
-
SWE
-
FIN
3
FIN
3
GDR
10
GDR
10
CZE
6
CZE
-
UK
6
UK
10
GER
-
GER
-
FRA
6
FRA
5
NED
5
NED
5
BEL
5
BEL
6
LUX
-
LUX
-
CH
5
CH
3
8th16
1969500ccBSAAUT
-
AUT
-
SWE
-
SWE
-
NED
-
NED
-
ITA
-
ITA
-
CZE
-
CZE
-
USR
-
USR
-
GER
-
GER
-
BEL
6
BEL
7
LUX
-
LUX
-
FRA
-
FRA
-
CH
-
CH
-
GDR
-
GDR
-
26th5
Sources: [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Jeff Smith at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  2. "Jeff Smith career profile". bestsports.com. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 Walker, Mick (2004). The BSA Gold Star. ISBN   9780954435738 . Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  4. United Kingdom list: "No. 44999". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1969. p. 17.
  5. 1 2 "Rolf Tibblin: A Three-Times World Champion". husqvarna-motorcycles.com. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  6. "1964 500cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  7. "1965 500cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  8. Bashford, Mike (19 January 1972). "So long Jeff". Motor Cycle. IPC Specialist Publications. pp. 12–13.
  9. Motor Cycle News 15 August 1979, p.14 Guest Spot, Jeff Smith Accessed and added 12 February 2015
  10. From the AHRMA Board of Trustees: Statement by Jeff Smith Archived 17 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  11. "Updated: After Resigning From AMA Board Of Directors, Jeff Smith Says He Feels "Some Responsibility" For Expense-account Scam And Resigns As Treasurer Of AHRMA". www.roadracingworld.com. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  12. "1954 500cc European motocross championship classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  13. "1955 500cc European motocross championship classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  14. "1956 500cc European motocross championship classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  15. "1957 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  16. "1958 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  17. "1959 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  18. "1960 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  19. "1961 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  20. "1962 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  21. "1963 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  22. "1964 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  23. "1965 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  24. "1966 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  25. "1967 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  26. "1968 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  27. "1969 500cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 26 September 2024.