1974 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1974 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 18th FIM Motocross Racing World Championship season.

Summary

Heikki Mikkola claimed his first 500cc world championship in a season-long battle with three-time world champion Roger De Coster that wasn't decided until the final Grand Prix of the season.^[1] The 250cc world championship ended in controversy as Russian riders used questionable riding tactics to secure the championship for Guennady Moisseev over Jaroslav Falta.^[2][3]

500cc Class

Mikkola and De Coster dominated the series winning 17 of the 22 races as they competed for the premier division in motocross racing.^[4] Suzuki hired former privateer, Gerrit Wolsink to be De Coster's teammate. Former world champion, Bengt Åberg, left Husqvarna to join the Bultaco factory racing team. Brad Lackey replaced the departed Åberg, joining Mikkola and Arne Kring on the Husqvarna team while, Christer Hammargren replaced Lackey on the Kawasaki team.

The season began at the Austrian Grand Prix where Husqvarna's Mikkola won both races while De Coster's Suzuki had engine problems in the first race then suffered a flat tire in the second moto.^[5] Mikkola continued his winning streak with two more victories at the French Grand Prix, relegating De Coster to second in both races.^[5] Mikkola won a fifth consecutive moto at the Danish Grand Prix while De Coster retired with a loose exhaust pipe.^[5] De Coster finally scored his first moto win with a second moto victory in Denmark, holding Mikkola to second place.^[4] In the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix, Mikkola took a victory in the first race and, was leading the second race when it began to rain causing him to crash three times, allowing De Coster to take the victory.^[5] At the halfway point of the season, Mikkola and De Coster had accounted for all of the race wins with Mikkola winning 7 motos to De Coster's 3 wins.^[4]

At the German Grand Prix, Mikkola injured his ribs during practice and missed the race, allowing Maico rider, Adolf Weil to finally break the monopoly with a win in the first race at his home Grand Prix while De Coster finished in fourth place.^[5] A malfunctioning front brake caused De Coster to crash in the second race while his Suzuki teammate, Gerrit Wolsink took the win.^[5] Three weeks later at the British Grand Prix, Mikkola was back in action however, a bent brake pedal in a first turn crash forced him out of the race.^[5] De Coster was leading the race when his rear suspension broke and led to his retirement, allowing Yamaha rider Jaak van Velthoven to claim the victory.^[5] De Coster came back to win the second race while Mikkola once again was involved in a first turn crash with Weil putting him in last place.^[5] In a display of determination, Mikkola fought his way through the pack and into third place after 10 laps.^[5] The series then crossed the Atlantic for the United States Grand Prix with Mikkola holding a 25-point lead in the standings.^[6] De Coster had suffered mechanical breakdowns while leading five races.^[6] In the first moto, Wolsink held the lead before allowing his teammate De Coster to pass him and collect maximum championship points three laps from the finish.^[6] Mikkola rode the last four laps with a flat tire to salvage a fourth-place finish.^[5] De Coster was hindered by a damaged front wheel hub in the second race while his teammate Wolsink barely held off a charging Mikkola to win the race by a one-foot margin and deny Mikkola valuable championship points.^[6] An exhausted Wolsink collapsed from his bike immediately after crossing the finish line.^[6][7]

Citadel of Namur with track visible to far left

Back in Europe for the Dutch Grand Prix, Mikkola and De Coster traded moto wins in the exhausting deep, sand track at Markelo.^[5] Going into the final two events of the season, Mikkola held a 10-point lead meaning that De Coster would have to win three of the last four motos to secure his fourth consecutive 500cc world championship.^[5] The setting of the Belgian Grand Prix was a rugged, narrow track in the forests surrounding the picturesque hilltop Citadel of Namur.^[5] Wolsink took the lead at the start of the first race while Mikkola and De Coster battled their way to the front of the pack.^[5] When Wolsink's engine seized, the two series points leaders once again found themselves first and second with Mikkola holding on to the lead to the end of the race.^[4] Now De Coster had to win the final three races to win the championship.^[5] Wolsink once again grabbed the early lead in the second race but, soon crashed allowing De Coster into the lead with Mikkola in second place.^[5] De Coster continued to widen his lead to win the second moto to extend the championship points battle to the final race of the season in Luxembourg.^[5] In the first race, De Coster worked his way through the pack to take the lead before his Suzuki suffered an engine problem forcing him out of the race.^[5] Mikkola took over the lead and won the race to clinch his first world championship.^[1]

250cc Class

The 250cc championship was a battle between Soviet KTM rider Guennady Moisseev and Czech ČZ rider Jaroslav Falta which ended in controversy at the final race of the season.^[2] Moisseev won the first moto and took the overall victory at the season opening Spanish Grand Prix.^[2] Falta won both races at the Italian Grand Prix followed with a win in the first moto of his home Grand Prix in Czechoslovakia but, then suffered two breakdowns in Poland while Moisseev won both races.^[2] Falta won a moto in Yugoslavia and at the halfway point of the season, he trailed the Russian rider by 20 points.^[2] Each rider took a second place at the West German Grand Prix but, Falta won a moto at the Dutch Grand Prix to close the points gap to 5 points going into the final race of the season in Switzerland.^[2]

Falta took the lead in the first race and appeared to be heading for victory while Moisseev was being slowed by a rear suspension failure.^[2] When Falta came upon the slowing Russian rider and tried to pass him, the KTM rider made an attempt to obstruct him allowing second and third place riders, Harry Everts and Håkan Andersson to catch up.^[2] When Falta attempted to pass Moisseev, the Russian rider collided with him causing him to fall off his bike.^[2] Falta was quickly able to remount but, finished the race in third place.^[2] Falta had to win the final moto to have any chance to claim the world championship.^[2] As the race began, Falta once again jumped into the lead while Moisseev was forced to retire on the seventh lap.^[2] When Falta came upon two Russian riders, Victor Popenko and Eugeny Rybaltchenko, they appeared to attempt to block him.^[2] As Falta tried to pass them, Rybaltchenko rode into him, knocking him down.^[2] He remounted in third place as race officials waved the black flag at the two Russian riders, disqualifying them from the race.^[2] Falta was able to catch up and pass Everts and Gaston Rahier to recapture the lead and win the race, apparently clinching the world championship.^[2] However two hours after the conclusion of the race, jury officials penalized Falta one minute for jumping the start which dropped him to eighth place handing the world championship to Moisseev.^[2]

Grands Prix

500cc^[4][8][9]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	21 April	Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Heikki Mikkola	Heikki Mikkola	Heikki Mikkola	Report
2	5 May	French Grand Prix	Gaillefontaine	Heikki Mikkola	Heikki Mikkola	Heikki Mikkola	Report
3	26 May	Italian Grand Prix	Esanatoglia	Heikki Mikkola	Roger De Coster	Heikki Mikkola	Report
4	3 June	Danish Grand Prix	Nissebjerget	Heikki Mikkola	Roger De Coster	Heikki Mikkola	Report
5	9 June	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Přerov	Heikki Mikkola	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Report
6	16 June	West German Grand Prix	Beuern	Adolf Weil	Gerrit Wolsink	Adolf Weil	Report
7	7 July	British Grand Prix	Dodington Park	Jaak van Velthoven	Roger De Coster	Jaak van Velthoven	Report
8	14 July	United States Grand Prix	Carlsbad	Roger De Coster	Gerrit Wolsink	Gerrit Wolsink	Report
9	28 July	Dutch Grand Prix	Markelo	Heikki Mikkola	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Report
10	4 August	Belgian Grand Prix	Namur	Heikki Mikkola	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Report
11	11 August	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	Heikki Mikkola	Bengt Åberg	Jaak van Velthoven	Report

250cc^[10]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Winner	Team	Report
1	7 April	Spanish Grand Prix	Sabadell	Guennady Moisseev	KTM	Report
2	21 April	Italian Grand Prix	Gallarate	Jaroslav Falta	ČZ	Report
3	5 May	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Holice	Miroslav Halm	ČZ	Report
4	12 May	Polish Grand Prix	Szczecin	Guennady Moisseev	KTM	Report
5	19 May	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Karlovac	Torleif Hansen	Kawasaki	Report
6	2 June	British Grand Prix	Portsmouth-Charlton	Torleif Hansen	Kawasaki	Report
7	9 June	West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Gaston Rahier	Suzuki	Report
8	16 June	Dutch Grand Prix	Valkenswaard	Sylvain Geboers	Suzuki	Report
9	4 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Hyvinkää	Harry Everts	Puch	Report
10	11 August	Swedish Grand Prix	Upplands Väsby	Torleif Hansen	Kawasaki	Report
11	25 August	Swiss Grand Prix	Wohlen	Harry Everts	Puch	Report

Final Standings

500cc[1][4][11] Pos Rider Team Points 1 Heikki Mikkola Husqvarna 174 2 Roger De Coster Suzuki 165 3 Adolf Weil Maico 133 4 Gerrit Wolsink Suzuki 124 5 Jaak van Velthoven Yamaha 109 6 Willy Bauer Maico / CZ 88 7 Åke Jonsson Yamaha 85 8 Arne Kring Husqvarna 80 9 Bengt Åberg Bultaco 69 10 Brad Lackey Husqvarna 57 11 Otakar Toman ČZ 28 12 Arne Lodal Maico 17 13 Victor Popenko ČZ 15 14 Pierre Karsmakers Yamaha 13 15 John Banks CCM 13 16 Anatoly Botchkov ČZ 11 17 Christer Hammargren Kawasaki 9 18 Raymond Heeren Maico 7 19 Paolo Piron Husqvarna 6 19 Serge Bacou Maico 6 21 Pauli Piippola ČZ 5 21 Julien de Roover ČZ 5 23 Jimmy Weinert Kawasaki 5 23 André Massant Yamaha 5 25 Gilbert de Roover Husqvarna 5 25 Andy Roberton Husqvarna 5 25 Daniel Péan Maico 5 28 Vic Eastwood Maico 5 29 Vladimir Khudiakov ČZ 5 30 Jiri Ondryas ČZ 4 30 Frans Sigmans Maico 4 32 Zdenek Strnad ČZ 4 33 Marty Tripes Husqvarna 3 34 Arne Lindfors Maico 3 35 Jean-Paul Mingels Bultaco 2 35 Toon Karsmakers Husqvarna 2 37 Ivano Bessone ČZ 1

250cc[12] Pos Rider Team Points 1 Guennady Moisseev KTM 145 2 Jaroslav Falta CZ 139 3 Harry Everts Puch 132 4 Torleif Hansen Kawasaki 101 5 Gaston Rahier Suzuki 96 6 Håkan Andersson Yamaha 81 7 Pavel Rulev KTM 75 8 Miroslav Halm CZ 70 9 Hans Maisch Maico 69 10 Joël Robert Suzuki 58 11 Sylvain Geboers Suzuki 53 12 Raymond Boven Montesa 49 13 Torao Suzuki Yamaha 45 14 Jim Pomeroy Bultaco 41 15 Vic Allan Bultaco 33 16 Herbert Schmitz Puch 33 17 Kalevi Vehkonen Husqvarna 28 18 Jiry Churavy CZ 26 19 Zdeneck Velky CZ 22 20 Evgeniy Rybalchenko CZ 17 21 Jean-Claude Laquaye Yamaha 15 22 Antonin Baborowsky CZ 13 23 Jo Lammers Bultaco 12 24 Olle Pettersson Kawasaki 11 25 Håkan Carlqvist Ossa 7 26 Anatoly Ovchinnikov CZ 6 27 Malcolm Davis Bultaco 4 28 Alessandro Gritti KTM 4 28 Claude Jobe Montesa 4 30 Erkki Sundström Husqvarna 2 30 Uno Palm Husqvarna 2 30 Max Bunter KTM 2 33 Josef Festa CZ 1 33 Jean-Claude Nowak Montesa 1 33 René Rossy KTM 1

References

External links

• Official website

Motocross World Championship seasons
1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017