In Brief

The year 2016 is remembered in motocross history for historic rookie achievements, a German show in America, and a one-point thriller at the Motocross of Nations.

• Tim Gajser’s historic rookie season: Only 19 years old, Slovenian Tim Gajser rose straight from an MX2 championship to become an MXGP premier class winner on a Honda, becoming the youngest premier class champion in history, while the Netherlands’ Jeffrey Herlings sovereignly dominated the MX2 class on his KTM bike.
• Ken Roczen’s dominance in the USA: German Ken Roczen rode a dazzling season, winning 20 out of 24 motos in the AMA 450 outdoor series (RCH Suzuki). Ryan Dungey, for his part, renewed his Supercross title, and Cooper Webb took the 250 class championship.
• France’s one-point victory in Maggiora: The Motocross of Nations (MXoN) returned to Italy 30 years after the legendary 1986 race, where France (Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin, Benoît Paturel) snatched the championship by a narrow one-point margin over the Netherlands, after the US team fell to third place due to misfortune in the final moto.

The year 2006 is remembered in motocross history for the end of the career of the sport’s most successful rider of all time, the emergence of young super-talents, and the updating of class names to modern standards.

• Stefan Everts’ perfect swan song: Belgian Stefan Everts rode to his tenth and final world championship in the MX1 class, winning an incredible 14 out of 15 rounds of the season before retiring.
• “The GOAT” Carmichael and Villopoto (AMA): Ricky Carmichael won the 450cc championship with the Suzuki team in his final full outdoor season, and young Ryan Villopoto took his first career championship in the new MX Lites class.
• Tensions peaked at the Motocross des Nations (MXoN): Stefan Everts won both of his motos against James Stewart at Matterley Basin, but a consistent Team USA took the overall victory to the United States, with Finland finishing tenth.
• The revolution of class names: The series officially moved away from class definitions based on engine displacement as four-strokes displaced two-strokes, leading to the introduction of MX1, MX2, and MX3 classes in the World Championship, and MX and MX Lites classes in America.

The year 1996 is remembered for one of the most ferocious championship battles in the sport’s history, the dominance of the Americans, and a technological breakthrough that permanently changed the future of motocross.

• Emig dethroned the “King of Supercross”: After Jeremy McGrath’s near-perfect supercross season (14 wins out of 15 races), Jeff Emig broke the winning streak outdoors and dramatically secured the AMA 250cc class championship at the season finale in Steel City.
• New rulers of the World Championship: Belgium’s Stefan Everts captured his third world championship (250cc), 18-year-old French prodigy Sébastien Tortelli won the 125cc class, and New Zealand’s Shayne King made history by winning the 500cc premier class championship on a KTM.
• Team USA returned to the top: The American team consisting of Jeremy McGrath, Jeff Emig, and Steve Lamson dominated the Motocross des Nations team world championship held in Jerez, Spain, and brought the victory back to the United States.
• The modern four-stroke era began: Yamaha announced that it had developed a lightweight and high-revving YZM400F four-stroke prototype, which sealed the end of the decades-long supremacy of two-stroke bikes.

The year 1986 is remembered in motocross history for an exceptional rule change that permanently altered racing bikes, as well as for the most dominant team performance in the history of the sport.

• Historical “Production Rule”: The production bike rule that came into effect in the US AMA series banned the factory team prototypes that cost millions and forced teams to compete with bikes based on consumer models, which directly improved the quality of bikes available for purchase.
• Team USA’s dream ride in Maggiora: The American trio of Rick Johnson, David Bailey, and Johnny O’Mara wiped the floor with other countries by taking 1-2 finishes in every moto at the Motocross des Nations. O’Mara was particularly memorable for passing the 500cc class leaders on his tiny 125cc Honda.
• World Championship winners: Great Britain’s David Thorpe renewed his 500cc premier class championship on a Honda, Jacky Vimond made history as France’s first world champion (250cc, Yamaha), and Dave Strijbos took the 125cc title on a Cagiva.
• American rulers: Rick Johnson, riding for Honda, was the top name in the USA, winning both the Supercross and the AMA 250cc outdoor championship. The heavier 500cc class title was taken by David Bailey and the 125cc class by Micky Dymond.

The year 1976 went down in motocross history as exceptionally exciting from a Finnish perspective, as Heikki Mikkola squeezed his way to a world championship in his class by an extremely narrow margin.

• 250cc class thriller: Riding for Husqvarna, the “Flying Finn” Heikki Mikkola won the world championship by a margin of just one point (163–162 points) after defeating the Soviet Union’s Gennady Moiseev in an epic battle.
• 500cc class king: Belgian legend Roger De Coster rode his Suzuki to the fifth and final 500cc world championship title of his career, ahead of his teammate Gerrit Wolsink, who provided stiff competition.
• 125cc class dominance: Belgium’s Gaston Rahier continued his control of the series at the helm of a Suzuki and successfully defended his previous year’s world championship.
• The emergence of new stars in the United States (AMA): The sport grew rapidly across the Atlantic, and Bob “The Hurricane” Hannah, who rose from obscurity, stormed to the 125cc class championship, ending Marty Smith’s winning streak. The championships in the heavier classes were celebrated by Tony DiStefano (250cc) and Kent Howerton (500cc).

The year 1966 became a historical turning point for motocross, as a technological revolution ended the reign of heavy four-strokes and the sport made its breakthrough in the United States.

• 500cc class two-stroke revolution: East Germany’s Paul Friedrichs rode to the premier class world championship gold on a Czechoslovakian ČZ bike. This was the first time in history that the 500cc championship was won on a lightweight two-stroke bike.
• The end of the four-stroke era: Defending champion Jeff Smith (Great Britain) tried to defend his title on his four-stroke BSA bike, but the experimental bike’s mechanical failures sealed the end of the heavy four-strokes’ dominance for decades.
• 250cc class mud battle: Sweden’s Torsten Hallman returned to the championship ranks and captured his third world championship of his career on a Husqvarna after a tough, season-long battle against Belgium’s Joël Robert.
• Motocross landing in the United States: Newly crowned champion Torsten Hallman traveled to the USA in the autumn to market the Husqvarna and won every one of the 23 heats he raced with complete dominance. The exhibition ignited a huge motocross boom in the country and laid the foundation for the current AMA series.