Husqvarna and GP Motocross

In 2014 the FIM World Motocross Championships will celebrate its 67th year of crowning World Motocross Champions. It is a history that makes the Grand Prix series the most traditional and wealthiest Motocross Championship in the World.

Back in 1947 when Bill Nilsson won the 500cc World title on an AJS machine nobody could have imaged how much the World of Motocross would change over time. Era’s of domination by countries like Sweden, Great Britain and Belgium, and now the total control that the Red Bull KTM Factory team with their two World MX1 and MX2 Champions Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings.

One brand that has lacked major success in Motocross over the last 15 years is Husqvarna, but that might all change in 2014 as Tyla Rattray and Todd Waters try and give the MX1 effort a good reintroduction into the GP series.

Husqvarna has 15 World Motocross Championships to its name, however their last title came 14 years ago when Alessio Chiodi won the 1999 World 125cc Championship.

Husqvarna began its Motocross success story in 1960 when Nilsson picked up his second World 500cc Championship and it was an era that saw the (then) Swedish brand take control of the FIM World Motocross Championships.

After Nilsson’s victory, the 1962 500cc and 250cc Championships were won by two Swedish riders names Rolf Tibblin and Torsten Hallman. A year later both Tibblin and Hallman won again for the Husky team, and while the CZ factory did fight back a little with World titles to Paul Friedrichs in the 500cc class in 1966, 67 and 68, and Joel Robert and Victor Arbekov in the 250cc championship
in 1964 and 1965, another Swedish rider Bengt Aberg who returned Husqvarna to the top of the GP podium with a World 500cc Championship in 1969 and 1970.

Hallman was once again winning with 250cc titles in 1966 and 1967. Despite their best efforts in the early 1970’s Husqvarna didn’t win another World Motocross Championship until 1974 when Finnish legend Heikki Mikkola won the 500cc title from Suzuki mounted Roger De Coster. It had been Suzuki who had dominated both the 500cc and 250cc Championship in the previous seasons with De Coster and Robert.

Mikkola and Husqvarna added the World 250cc Championship in 1976 and in 1979 Swedish rider Hakan Carlqvist won the World 250cc Championship on a Husqvarna.

It wasn’t until 1993 when Belgian rider Jacky Martens won the 500cc World title that Husqvarna felt success on the Grand Prix scene, and then in 1998 and 1999 Alessio Chiodi won the World 125cc Championship riding the Husqvarna factory machine.

Since that 1999 title victory by Chiodi Husqvarna have struggled to come to terms with the power of teams like Rinaldi Yamaha and the Red Bull KTM Factory team, but with a little help from one of their biggest rivals (KTM), it is now looking like Husqvarna might just have the finances and motivation to once again fight for GP victories and possibly a World Motocross Championship.