# 1968 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1968 Motocross World Championship was the 12th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

## Summary

ČZ factory sponsored Paul Friedrichs overcame a late season charge by BSA factory team rider John Banks to win his third consecutive 500cc World Championship by a single point over his British competitor. The championship wasn't decided until the final round in Switzerland where Friedrichs, Banks and Åke Jonsson (Husqvarna) each had a mathematical chance of winning the world championship.
Friedrichs won the season ending Swiss Grand Prix to claim the 500cc World Championship by a narrow margin over Banks. Banks actually scored more points overall but fell victim to FIM scoring rules which only recognize the top seven of thirteen results. The rules would be changed in 1977. Friedrichs won four of the thirteen Grand Prix events to become the first three-time winner of the premier 500cc displacement class since the inception of the Motocross World Championships in 1957. In the face of the rapid development of two-stroke engine technology, the BSA factory was the last remaining manufacturer to compete with four-stroke engines.
Joël Robert and Torsten Hallman once again battled for supremacy of the 250cc class. The ČZ factory switched Dave Bickers from the 500cc class to the 250cc class and hired 23-year-old Sylvain Geboers to support Robert while the Husqvarna team hired Håkan Andersson in support of Hallman. Andersson won the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix to become an early title contender, however he suffered a broken leg at the Dutch Grand Prix and was forced to withdraw from the competition. After Robert won three consecutive Grand Prix races in France, Holland and West Germany to take the early points lead, Hallman then won three races in Russia, Yugoslavia and Sweden to tie Robert for the championship points lead as they went into the final round in Austria where Roberts won the event to clinch the World Championship by two points over Hallman. Suzuki became the first Japanese manufacturer to win a Motocross World Championship heat race when Olle Pettersson rode a Suzuki to win the first heat race at the 250cc Belgian Grand Prix in Genk.

## Grands Prix
### 500cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 21 | Austrian Grand Prix | Sittendorf | Paul Friedrichs | John Banks | Bengt Åberg | Report |
| 2 | May 12 | Italian Grand Prix | Gallarate | Roger De Coster | Roger De Coster | Roger De Coster | Report |
| 3 | May 19 | Swedish Grand Prix | Motala | Åke Jonsson | Paul Friedrichs | Åke Jonsson | Report |
| 4 | May 26 | Finnish Grand Prix | Tikkurila | Paul Friedrichs | John Banks | Paul Friedrichs | Report |
| 5 | June 9 | East German Grand Prix | Apolda | Paul Friedrichs | Paul Friedrichs | Paul Friedrichs | Report |
| 6 | June 16 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Přerov | Paul Friedrichs | Paul Friedrichs | Paul Friedrichs | Report |
| 7 | July 7 | British Grand Prix | Farleigh Castle | Vic Eastwood | Åke Jonsson | Vic Eastwood | Report |
| 8 | July 14 | West German Grand Prix | Beuren | Paul Friedrichs | Adolf Weil | Åke Jonsson | Report |
| 9 | July 21 | French Grand Prix | Bellême | Roger De Coster | John Banks | John Banks | Report |
| 10 | July 28 | Dutch Grand Prix | Sint Anthonis | John Banks | John Banks | John Banks | Report |
| 11 | August 4 | Belgian Grand Prix | Namur | John Banks | Paul Friedrichs | Bengt Åberg | Report |
| 12 | August 11 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Ettelbruck | Paul Friedrichs | Vic Eastwood | Vic Eastwood | Report |
| 13 | August 18 | Swiss Grand Prix | Wohlen | Bengt Åberg | Vic Eastwood | Paul Friedrichs | Report |
| Sources: ||||||||

### 250cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | March 31 | Spanish Grand Prix | Sabadell | Joël Robert | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 2 | April 28 | Belgian Grand Prix | Genk | Olle Pettersson | Håkan Andersson | Sylvain Geboers | Report |
| 3 | May 5 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Holice | Håkan Andersson | Håkan Andersson | Håkan Andersson | Report |
| 4 | May 12 | French Grand Prix | Thouars | Joël Robert | Håkan Andersson | Joël Robert | Report |
| 5 | May 19 | Dutch Grand Prix | Markelo | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 6 | May 23 | West German Grand Prix | Bielstein | Joël Robert | Torsten Hallman | Joël Robert | Report |
| 7 | May 26 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Schifflange | Torsten Hallman | Joël Robert | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 8 | June 16 | Polish Grand Prix | Szczecin | Joël Robert | Torsten Hallman | Joël Robert | Report |
| 9 | June 23 | Russian Grand Prix | Lviv | Karel Konecny | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 10 | June 30 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix | Tržič | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 11 | July 27 | Finnish Grand Prix | Hyvinkää | Kalevi Vehkonen | Kalevi Vehkonen | Kalevi Vehkonen | Report |
| 12 | August 4 | Swedish Grand Prix | Hedemora | Joël Robert | Heikki Mikkola | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 13 | August 11 | British Grand Prix | Dodington Park | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 14 | October 6 | Austrian Grand Prix | Launsdorf | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| Sources: ||||||||

## Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the 500cc final championship standings, the 7 best of 13 results are retained. For the 250cc final championship standings, the 7 best of 14 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 | ITA | ITA | SWE | SWE | FIN | FIN | GDR | GDR | CZE | CZE | UK | UK | GER | GER | FRA | FRA | NED | NED | BEL | BEL | LUX | LUX | CH | CH | Points |
| 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 | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | Paul Friedrichs | ČZ | 1 | 18 | NC | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 42 |
| 2 | John Banks | BSA | 30 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 41 |
| 3 | Åke Jonsson | Husqvarna | - | 6 | NC | - | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | - | 7 | - | - | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 34 |
| 4 | Bengt Åberg | Husqvarna | 2 | 2 | NC | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 37 | 2 | 6 | - | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 29 |
| 5 | Roger De Coster | ČZ | 11 | - | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 6 | 10 | - | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 4 | - | - | - | 7 | - | 21 |
| 6 | Vic Eastwood | Husqvarna | - | - | NC | - | - | 4 | - | - | 9 | 2 | - | - | 1 | 2 | 4 | - | 29 | 30 | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 17 |
| 7 | Petr Dobry | ČZ | - | - | 6 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 13 | 7 | - | - | 7 | 7 | - | - | 11 | - | 16 |
| 8 | Jeff Smith | BSA | 25 | - | NC | - | - | - | 3 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 6 | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | - | - | 5 | 3 | 16 |
| 9 | Jeff Teuwissen | Husqvarna | 8 | 26 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 11 | - | - | - | 14 |
| 10 | Christer Hammargren | Husqvarna | 9 | 8 | NC | - | 4 | 3 | - | - | 8 | 7 | - | - | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 31 | - | 8 | - | 16 | 21 | - | 8 | - | 6 | 13 |
| 11 | Vlastimil Valek | ČZ | 4 | 24 | 8 | - | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | 7 | 27 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 12 | Vaclav Svastal | ČZ | 3 | 7 | 5 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | - | - | 7 | 12 | - | - | 4 | 8 | - | - | 17 | 9 | 8 | 7 | - | - | 8 |
| 13 | Vilis Brunis | ČZ | 5 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 14 | Allan Clough | Husqvarna | 26 | - | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 13 | - | - | 36 | 36 | - | - | 19 | 18 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 15 | Wolfgang Müller | Maico | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 6 | - | - | 12 | 13 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| 15 | Vladimir Pogrebniak | ČZ | 7 | 4 | NC | - | 2 | - | - | - | 11 | 17 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 17 | Heinz Hoppe | ČZ | 10 | 9 | NC | - | - | - | 4 | - | 13 | 13 | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 12 | - | - | 3 |
| 18 | Dave Bickers | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 19 | Pierre Karsmakers | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 14 | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 20 | Adolf Weil | Maico | 12 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 20 | Erwin Schmider | Maico | - | - | 7 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 22 | Keith Hickman | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 9 | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | 2 |
| 22 | Gerrit Wolsink | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | 25 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 22 | Gunnar Draugs | ČZ | 6 | 23 | NC | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | 12 | 9 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 25 | Jan Johansson | Lindstrom | - | 10 | - | - | 6 | - | 8 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 25 | Gaston Rahier | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 5 | - | 9 | - | - | 1 |
| - | Yuri Matveev | ČZ | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| - | Frans Sigmans | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

### 250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)
| Pos | Rider | Machine | ESP | ESP | BEL | BEL | CZE | CZE | FRA | FRA | NED | NED | GER | GER | LUX | LUX | POL | POL | USSR | USSR | YUG | YUG | FIN | FIN | SWE | SWE | UK | UK | AUT | AUT | 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 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 |
| 1 | Joël Robert | ČZ | 1 | 4 | 4 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 54 |
| 2 | Torsten Hallman | Husqvarna | 2 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | 52 |
| 3 | Sylvain Geboers | ČZ | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | - | 10 | 7 | 2 | 4 | - | - | 3 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | 31 |
| 4 | Karel Konecny | ČZ | - | - | - | - | 6 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 29 |
| 5 | Dave Bickers | ČZ | 6 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 7 | - | 4 | 7 | 24 | - | 8 | 12 | 2 | 3 | - | - | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | - | - | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 21 |
| 6 | Håkan Andersson | Husqvarna | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 26 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 18 |
| 7 | Olle Pettersson | Suzuki | - | 13 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 18 |
| 8 | Kalevi Vehkonen | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | 8 |
| 9 | Victor Arbekov | ČZ | - | - | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| 10 | Heikki Mikkola | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | 6 | 1 | - | - | 9 | - | 7 |
| 11 | Stig Pettersson | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 11 | - | 11 | - | 7 |
| 12 | Marcel Wiertz | Bultaco | 3 | - | 8 | 9 | 14 | 13 | - | - | 18 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 5 | 2 | 6 |
| 13 | Adolf Weil | Maico | 7 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 14 | Malcolm Davis | AJS | 10 | 12 | 5 | 7 | - | - | 10 | 9 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 15 | Gennady Moiseyev | ČZ | - | - | 21 | 11 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 15 | Leonid Shinkarenko | ČZ | - | - | 10 | 15 | - | 17 | 9 | 11 | 2 | - | - | - | 5 | - | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 17 | Bengt Arne Bonn | Husqvarna | 17 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 11 | 16 | 19 | 16 | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 18 | Jyrki Storm | Husqvarna | - | - | - | 6 | 28 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 9 | 6 | - | - | 4 |
| 19 | Jiri Stodulka | ČZ | - | - | 13 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 12 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 7 | 13 | 8 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 7 | 10 | - | 4 |
| 20 | Evgeny Petushkov | ČZ | - | - | 11 | 10 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 17 | - | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 20 | Vilis Brunis | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 22 | Don Rickman | Bultaco | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 22 | Bryan Wade | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 4 | 5 | - | - | 2 |
| 22 | Torleif Hansen | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | - | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 25 | Uno Palm | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 25 | Yngve Holmqvist | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 25 | Vic Allan | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | 1 |
| - | Gaston Rahier | ČZ | 13 | 10 | 7 | 12 | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | - | 16 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| - | Roger De Coster | ČZ | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||