# 1960 Motocross World Championship

The 1960 Motocross World Championship was the 4th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.
The FIM implemented new rules dividing the races into two 45 minute heat races that were referred to as motos. In the event of a tie for example: 1-2 and 2-1, the total time of the two rounds is the decisive factor to determine the winner. However, the FIM allowed certain freedoms to Grand Prix race organizers who can maintain the old method of qualifying heat races for a single final round depending on the number of competitors participating in the Grand Prix. Two Grand Prix races, the Belgian and Luxembourg Grand Prix races are held as a single round.

## Summary

Team Husqvarna's Rolf Tibblin had an early lead in the championship by winning the first two Grand Prix races of the year however, the battle for the title came down to fellow Swedes Bill Nilsson (Husqvarna) and Sten Lundin (Monark). Nilsson prevailed by a narrow 2 point margin to claim the second 500cc world championship of his career. Dave Bickers riding for the Greeves factory racing team claimed the 250cc European Motocross Championship over his countryman, Jeff Smith.
1958 500cc World Champion René Baeten was killed in a racing accident during an international non-championship race in Stekene, Belgium, on 5 June 1960.

## Grands Prix
### 500cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 24 | Austrian Grand Prix | Sittendorf | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 2 | May 15 | French Grand Prix | Vesoul | Rolf Tibblin | Sten Lundin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 3 | May 22 | Swedish Grand Prix | Knutstorp | Sten Lundin | Bill Nilsson | Bill Nilsson | Report |
| 4 | June 12 | Italian Grand Prix | Imola | Sten Lundin | Bill Nilsson | Sten Lundin | Report |
| 5 | June 26 | West German Grand Prix | Bielstein | Don Rickman | Sten Lundin | Sten Lundin | Report |
| 6 | July 3 | British Grand Prix | Shrewsbury | Bill Nilsson | Bill Nilsson | Bill Nilsson | Report |
| 7 | July 24 | Dutch Grand Prix | Bergharen | Bill Nilsson | Rolf Tibblin | Bill Nilsson | Report |
| 8 | August 7 | Belgian Grand Prix* | Namur | - | - | Bill Nilsson | Report |
| 9 | August 14 | Luxembourg Grand Prix* | Ettelbruck | - | - | Sten Lundin | Report |
| *Organizers of the Belgian and Dutch Grands Prix hold qualifying heat races for a single final round. Sources: ||||||||

### 250cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 3 | Swiss Grand Prix | Payerne | Torsten Hallman | Stig Rickardsson | Dave Bickers | Report |
| 2 | April 24 | Belgian Grand Prix | Dison | Arthur Lampkin | Dave Bickers | Jaromír Čížek | Report |
| 3 | May 1 | French Grand Prix | Pernes-les-Fontaines | Stig Rickardsson | Dave Bickers | Stig Rickardsson | Report |
| 4 | May 22 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Divoká Šárka | Miloslav Soucek | Jeff Smith | Miloslav Soucek | Report |
| 5 | May 29 | Polish Grand Prix | Katowice-Zabrze | Dave Bickers | Dave Bickers | Dave Bickers | Report |
| 6 | June 5 | Italian Grand Prix | Avigliana | Emilio Ostorero | Emilio Ostorero | Emilio Ostorero | Report |
| 7 | June 12 | East German Grand Prix | Eisenach | Lennart Dahlen | Torsten Hallman | Stig Rickardsson | Report |
| 8 | June 19 | Finnish Grand Prix | Helsinki | Arthur Lampkin | Arthur Lampkin | Arthur Lampkin | Report |
| 9 | June 26 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Schifflange | Jeff Smith | Dave Bickers | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 10 | July 17 | British Grand Prix | Shrubland Park | Jeff Smith | Dave Bickers | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 11 | August 7 | Swedish Grand Prix | Vannas | Dave Bickers | Stig Rickardsson | Dave Bickers | Report |
| 12 | September 4 | West German Grand Prix | Leichlingen | Dave Bickers | Lennart Dahlen | Dave Bickers | Report |
| Sources: ||||||||

## Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the final championship standings, half of the competitors' results + 1 are retained. Thus with 9 500cc Grands Prix, the 5 best results are retained. With 12 250cc Grands Prix, the 7 best results are retained.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
| Points | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

### 500cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)
| Pos | Rider | Machine | AUT | AUT | FRA | FRA | SWE | SWE | ITA | ITA | GER | GER | UK | UK | NED | NED | BEL | LUX | Pts |
| Pos | Rider | Machine | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1* | R1* | Pts |
| 1 | Bill Nilsson | Husqvarna | 3 | 2 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 38 |
| 2 | Sten Lundin | Monark | 2 | - | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 36 |
| 3 | Rolf Tibblin | Husqvarna | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 22 | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 26 |
| 4 | Don Rickman | Triumph-Métisse | - | - | 2 | - | - | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 26 |
| 5 | Gunnar Johansson | Lito | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 21 |
| 6 | Ove Lundell | Monark | - | - | 9 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | - | 4 | - | - | 22 | 5 | - | 3 | 10 |
| 7 | René Baeten | Matchless | 6 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| 8 | Lars Gustavsson | Monark | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 | - | 4 | 7 |
| 9 | Les Archer Jr. | Norton | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | 7 | 7 |
| 10 | John Burton | BSA | 5 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 11 | Broer Dirkx | BSA | - | - | 5 | 5 | 14 | 8 | 19 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 |
| 12 | Hubert Scaillet | Matchless | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 13 | Arthur Lampkin | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 14 | John Draper | BSA | - | 5 | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 5 | 3 |
| 15 | Derek Rickman | Triumph-Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | 21 | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 15 | Jeff Smith | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 17 | Nic Jansen | Matchless | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | 2 |
| 18 | Herman De Soete | Matchless | - | - | 11 | - | - | - | 10 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 1 |
| - | Guy Bertrand | BSA | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| - | Albert Dirkx | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 0 |
| *Organizers of the Belgian and Luxembourg Grands Prix hold qualifying heat races for a single final round. Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||

### 250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)
| Pos | Rider | Machine | CH | CH | BEL | BEL | FRA | FRA | CZE | CZE | POL | POL | ITA | ITA | GDR | GDR | FIN | FIN | LUX | LUX | UK | UK | SWE | SWE | GER | GER | Pts |
| Pos | Rider | Machine | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | Pts |
| 1 | Dave Bickers | Greeves | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 5 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 48 |
| 2 | Jeff Smith | BSA | - | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | 5 | 1 | 2 | - | 2 | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 35 |
| 3 | Miloslav Soucek | ESO | 4 | - | 3 | 6 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | 5 | 5 | 4 | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 26 |
| 4 | Stig Rickardsson | Husqvarna | - | 1 | 11 | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 9 | - | 25 |
| 5 | Arthur Lampkin | BSA | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 11 | - | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 19 | - | 3 | - | 3 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 25 |
| 6 | Lennart Dahlén | Husqvarna | 11 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
| 7 | Torsten Hallman | Husqvarna | 1 | - | 10 | - | 2 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 24 |
| 8 | Jaromír Čížek | Jawa | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 |
| 9 | Vlastimil Valek | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 5 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 5 | 5 | - | 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | - | - | 11 |
| 10 | Emilio Ostorero | Bianchi | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 |
| 11 | Sivert Eriksson | Husqvarna | - | - | 18 | 9 | 6 | 16 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 12 | Lanfranco Angelini | Aermacchi | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 13 | Arnošt Zemen | ČZ | - | - | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | - | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 14 | Willy Oesterle | Maico | 8 | 15 | - | - | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 14 | Fritz Betzelbacher | Maico | 6 | 7 | - | - | 4 | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 |
| 16 | Christoph Specht | Maico | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 3 |
| 17 | Bryan Sharp | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 17 | Rolf Stagman | Husqvarna | 5 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 17 | Tim Gibbes | AJS | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 20 | Ervín Krajčovič | Jawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 20 | Raimo Rein | Jawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 20 | Frantisek Ron | Jawa | 10 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 20 | Aarno Erola | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | 10 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 20 | Josef Chara | Jawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 1 |
| 20 | Otto Walz | Maico | 9 | - | - | - | 16 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 20 | John Draper | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | 1 |
| - | Jean Crosset | Jawa | 13 | 9 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| - | Triss Sharp | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||