The 1973 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 17th F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season.

Summary

500cc championship

Roger De Coster won his third consecutive 500cc world championship for Suzuki ahead of West German rider, Willy Bauer. The championship wasn't decided until the final race in the Netherlands, when Bauer suffered a mechanical breakdown, losing the championship to De Coster by two points.[1] Kawasaki joined the world championships with Brad Lackey in the 500cc class and Torleif Hansen in the 250cc class.

Suzuki's defense of the 500cc world championship was dealt a setback when, the FIM announced a new motorcycle minimum weight limit of 209 pounds just before the start of the season.[2] European motorcycle manufacturers competing in the championship complained to the FIM that Suzuki was spending millions of dollars to build lightweight motorcycles that the smaller European manufacturers found impossible to compete with.[2] Suzuki had already developed and built their race bikes so, there was no time to build new bikes. As a result, Suzuki resorted to adding ballast to the bikes.[2] Unfortunately, these alterations threw the bikes out of balance and caused them to lose traction.[2][3] To make matters worse, Maico and Yamaha had developed new rear suspensions with longer travel which helped transfer power to the rear wheel over rough terrain.[2][3] The Suzuki management felt they were being unjustly treated by the FIM and were slow to react to developments by the other manufacturers.[2][3][4]

Most of the Western European riders boycotted the Austrian 500cc round due to heavy snow on the track.[5] As the season got underway, Yamaha's new "monoshock" rear suspension began to make an impact with Christer Hammargren winning a moto and Jaak van Velthoven taking the overall win at the Finnish Grand Prix.[2] De Coster won both motos of the Italian Grand Prix but, Bauer came back with a hard fought victory in Czechoslovakia, relegating De Coster to second place in both motos and took the lead in the championship points tally.[2] Bauer then took control of the championship by winning 5 out of the next 6 motos.[5] Suzuki management's frustration at their perceived unfair treatment led to a lapse in support and, Suzuki team riders De Coster and Sylvain Geboers then took matters into their own hands by modifying their motorcycle's frames and developed new rear suspensions.[2][3]

Going into the final race of the season at Sint Anthonis, Holland, Bauer was still holding the points lead but, the Suzukis were showing improvement. The Sint Anthonis track was composed of deep sand which robbed engines of power and increased fuel consumption.[2] A Suzuki engineer calculated that their bike's gas tanks did not have sufficient capacity to finish the race.[2] De Coster then took one of their tanks and drove two and a half hours to have the tank modified to increase its volume.[2] He then drove back in time for the race. Despite having little sleep, De Coster scored two fourth-place finishes while Bauer suffered a mechanical failure handing De Coster his third consecutive 500cc world championship.[2]

250cc championship

Håkan Andersson won the 250cc world championship to give Yamaha its first motocross world championship. Yamaha's new and innovative rear suspension with a single shock absorber made its debut at the third round in Belgium and was proven to be successful when Andersson won the overall victory.[6] The new suspension design would go on to revolutionize the sport.[6] Jim Pomeroy riding a privateer Bultaco, became the first American rider to win an overall victory in an FIM Motocross Grand Prix race when he won the season opening Spanish Grand Prix.[7] His victory also marked the first Grand Prix victory for the Bultaco factory.[8] Competitors from nine different manufacturers placed in the top ten of the 250cc championship final standings, reflecting the thriving vitality of the sport of motocross.

Grands Prix

500cc

Round Date Grand Prix Location Race 1 Winner Race 2 Winner Overall Winner Report
1 April 1 France French Grand Prix Tarare Sweden Christer Hammargren Belgium Roger De Coster Netherlands Gerrit Wolsink Report
2 April 15 Austria Austrian Grand Prix Sittendorf Czechoslovakia Jiri Stodulka Czechoslovakia Jiri Stodulka Czechoslovakia Jiri Stodulka Report
3 May 20 Finland Finnish Grand Prix Ruskeasanta Sweden Christer Hammargren Belgium Roger De Coster Belgium Jaak van Velthoven Report
4 May 27 Italy Italian Grand Prix Pinerolo Belgium Roger De Coster Belgium Roger De Coster Belgium Roger De Coster Report
5 June 3 Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Holice Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Report
6 June 24 United States United States Grand Prix Carlsbad Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Report
7 July 15 Germany West German Grand Prix Bielstein Germany Willy Bauer Belgium Roger De Coster Belgium Roger De Coster Report
8 August 5 Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Namur Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Germany Willy Bauer Report
9 August 12 Luxembourg Luxembourg Grand Prix Ettelbruck Sweden Åke Jonsson Sweden Åke Jonsson Sweden Åke Jonsson Report
10 August 12 Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix Sint Anthonis Sweden Åke Jonsson Netherlands Gerrit Wolsink Sweden Åke Jonsson Report

[5][9]

250cc

Round Date Grand Prix Location Race 1 Winner Race 2 Winner Overall Winner Report
1 April 8 Spain Spanish Grand Prix Sabadell United States Jim Pomeroy Germany Adolf Weil United States Jim Pomeroy Report
2 April 15 Italy Italian Grand Prix Serramazzoni Finland Heikki Mikkola Soviet Union Pavel Rulev Germany Adolf Weil Report
3 April 29 Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Wuustwezel Finland Heikki Mikkola Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Report
4 May 6 Switzerland Swiss Grand Prix Payerne Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Report
5 May 13 Poland Polish Grand Prix Szczecin Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Report
6 May 20 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix Orehova vas Soviet Union Gennady Moiseyev Sweden Håkan Andersson Soviet Union Gennady Moiseyev Report
7 June 17 France French Grand Prix Cassel Germany Adolf Weil Sweden Håkan Andersson Germany Adolf Weil Report
8 August 5 Finland Finnish Grand Prix Hyvinkää Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Report
9 August 12 Soviet Union Russian Grand Prix Leningrad Germany Adolf Weil Germany Adolf Weil Germany Adolf Weil Report
10 August 19 Sweden Swedish Grand Prix Ulricehamn Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Sweden Håkan Andersson Report
11 August 26 Austria Austrian Grand Prix Launsdorf Germany Adolf Weil Finland Heikki Mikkola Germany Adolf Weil Report

[10][11]

Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

500cc

Pos Rider Machine FRA
France		 AUT
Austria		 FIN
Finland		 ITA
Italy		 CZE
Czech Republic		 USA
United States		 GER
Germany		 BEL
Belgium		 LUX
Luxembourg		 NED
Netherlands		 Points
1 Belgium Roger De Coster Suzuki 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 3 4 4 145
2 West Germany Willy Bauer Maico 4 4 5 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 143
3 Belgium Jaak van Velthoven Yamaha 2 2 2 3 3 4 3 10 6 5 2 2 3 2 3 122
4 Sweden Åke Jonsson Yamaha 3 7 8 7 7 3 2 4 1 1 1 2 109
5 Netherlands Gerrit Wolsink Maico 6 2 4 4 5 6 4 6 2 4 3 5 3 4 1 105
6 Sweden Christer Hammargren Yamaha 1 1 3 5 8 5 4 3 7 3 87
7 Czech Republic Jiri Stodulka ČZ 1 1 3 10 7 6 5 56
8 West Germany Werner Schutz Maico 5 6 6 7 6 5 6 6 4 6 9 56
9 Czech Republic Oldrich Hamrsmid ČZ 3 5 2 5 6 9 7 45
10 Czech Republic Otakar Toman ČZ 9 9 3 4 5 8 7 8 5 10 45
11 United Kingdom John Banks BSA 4 3 4 4 9 36
12 Sweden Bengt Åberg Husqvarna 8 5 2 8 9 5 8 35
13 United States Brad Lackey Kawasaki 8 9 8 8 7 10 6 6 26
14 Netherlands Frans Sigmans Yamaha 4 7 8 5 8 24
15 Austria Walter Leitgeb Puch 3 2 22
16 Soviet Union Anatoly Botchkov ČZ 3 10 8 6 20
17 Sweden Bert-Ove Wallner Husqvarna 7 7 8 6 16
18 Austria Friedrich Schiechtl Husqvarna 4 6 13
19 Italy Giuseppe Cavallero Maico 2 12
Soviet Union Vladimir Ovchinnikov ČZ 5 5 12
United Kingdom Vic Eastwood Maico / AJS 7 9 9 7 12
22 Netherlands Peter Willems Yamaha 9 9 5 10
23 Switzerland Fritz Graf Yamaha 4 10 9
24 Belgium Willy van Loon ČZ 8 6 8
25 Italy Paolo Piron Husqvarna / Bultaco 10 6 10 7
26 France Daniel Péan Maico 5 6
Netherlands Pierre Karsmakers Yamaha 7 9 6
Belgium Yvan Van den Broeck Husqvarna / Maico 9 7 6
29 Sweden Arne Lindfors Yamaha 6 5
United States John DeSoto ČZ 9 8 5
31 France Serge Bacou Bultaco 7 4
Netherlands Tony Van Erp Maico 7 4
Belgium Raymond Heeren Maico 8 10 4
Belgium Julien de Roover ČZ 8 10 4
Sweden Arne Kring Husqvarna 10 10 9 4
Austria Siegfried Lerner KTM 7 4
Soviet Union Anatoly Mandritchenko ČZ 9 10 10 4
38 Soviet Union Nikolai Efimov ČZ 10 9 3
Italy Alberto Angiolini Maico 8 3
Czech Republic Zdenek Strnad ČZ 9 10 3
41 Soviet Union Viatcheslav Krasnotchekov ČZ 10 1
United States Jimmy Weinert Kawasaki 10 1

Sources:[1][5][12]

250cc

Pos Rider Machine ESP
Spain		 ITA
Italy		 BEL
Belgium		 CH
Switzerland		 POL
Poland		 YUG
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia		 FRA
France		 FIN
Finland		 USSR
Soviet Union		 SWE
Sweden		 AUT
Austria		 Points
1 Sweden Håkan Andersson Yamaha 6 2 3 6 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 4 177
2 West Germany Adolf Weil Maico 5 1 4 2 5 3 2 2 4 1 2 2 1 1 5 4 1 2 157
3 Finland Heikki Mikkola Husqvarna 3 1 1 2 3 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 3 5 1 143
4 Sweden Torleif Hansen Kawasaki 4 4 6 5 6 3 4 3 3 2 2 2 3 111
5 Soviet Union Gennady Moiseyev KTM 2 4 2 2 1 3 2 4 3 6 104
6 Czech Republic Jaroslav Falta ČZ 7 3 6 4 4 5 4 2 6 6 5 8 6 4 86
7 United States Jim Pomeroy Bultaco 1 4 5 5 7 6 5 5 3 10 8 10 71
8 Soviet Union Pavel Rulev KTM 9 6 1 8 4 7 7 7 7 49
Sweden Uno Palm Puch 8 6 8 10 8 5 5 9 7 3 5 49
10 Finland Kalevi Vehkonen Montesa 10 5 3 5 3 8 6 9 43
11 West Germany Hans Maisch Maico 2 3 10 7 4 35
Soviet Union Leonid Shinkarenko ČZ 8 7 5 5 7 6 5 10 35
13 Soviet Union Evgeniy Rybalchenko ČZ 9 7 9 7 9 6 10 7 6 8 32
14 Belgium Harry Everts Puch 8 9 9 7 7 8 4 9 9 30
15 Czech Republic Antonin Baborowsky ČZ 8 3 10 9 9 8 5 27
Belgium Jean-Claude Laquaye Yamaha 8 5 7 6 7 10 7 27
17 Japan Torao Suzuki Yamaha 7 4 4 10 8 24
18 Belgium Joël Robert Suzuki 10 5 4 15
Netherlands Jo Lammers Montesa 10 8 9 7 8 9 15
20 Belgium Gaston Rahier Suzuki 10 10 10 10 9 6 11
Czech Republic Miroslav Halm ČZ 8 8 7 10 11
22 Belgium Sylvain Geboers Suzuki 6 6 10
23 United Kingdom Andy Roberton Husqvarna 10 9 10 6 9
24 West Germany Herbert Schmitz Maico 7 8 7
25 Czech Republic Zdeneck Velky ČZ 9 9 9 6
26 Soviet Union Alexej Kibirin ČZ 6 5
27 Finland Lars Ohberg Montesa 8 3
Finland Jorma Jarvinen Montesa 8 3
29 Soviet Union Yuri Khudiakov ČZ 9 2
Belgium Claude Jobe Montesa 9 2
Belgium Raymond Boven Montesa 9 2
32 Belgium Marcel Wiertz Bultaco 10 1
Netherlands Stef Van der Sluis Yamaha 10 1
Sweden Olle Pettersson Kawasaki 10 1

Sources:[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 "1973 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "1973 Suzuki RN-73". mxworksbike.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Roger De Coster Interview". supercross.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "The First US GP". motoretroillustrated.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "1973 500cc motocross world championship". akejonsson.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Torsten Hallman 2005". mxworksbike.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  7. ↑ "Jim Pomeroy at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Jim Pomeroy, Motocross Legend". ultimatemotorcycling.com. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "1973 500cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "1973 250cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "1973 250cc motocross world championship race results". jwvanessen.com. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "1973 500cc motocross world championship final standings" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "1973 250cc motocross world championship final standings" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "1973 250cc motocross world championship final standings". jwvanessen.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
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