# 1964 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1964 Motocross World Championship was the 8th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

## Summary

Jeff Smith riding for the BSA factory racing team won the 500cc motocross world championship to become the first British rider to claim the premier division, beating out former two-time world champions and Husqvarna teammates Rolf Tibblin and Sten Lundin. The Husqvarna factory stopped producing their four-stroke motorcycles in 1963, leaving Tibblin without a motorcycle for the 1964 season. He teamed up with engine tuner, Nisse Hedlund, to build their own complete motocross machine in time for the 1964 season. Tibblin began the season strongly, winning five of the first six races of the season however, Smith consistently scored points throughout the season and the championship wasn't decided until the final race of the season in Spain, where Smith took the victory to claim the World Championship by only two points over Tibblin.
In the 250cc division, Husqvarna factory rider Torsten Hallman was favored to repeat after his dominant performance in the 1963 championship. The return of Greeves factory rider Dave Bickers after a two-year absence should have been Hallman's biggest challenger however, he was upset by the unexpected arrival of 20-year-old privateer, Joël Robert riding a ČZ motorcycle. After Hallman won the season opening Spanish Grand Prix, Robert reeled off a string of four consecutive victories to take the championship points lead. Bickers was able to relegate Robert to second place at the Luxembourg Grand Prix, however his Greeves proved to be too fragile and underpowered to pose a serious challenge. Hallman was able to recover with a victory at the Italian Grand Prix, but then Robert was able to win another four Grand Prix races in succession to clinch the World Championship. The 20-year-old Robert became the youngest motocross world champion at the time. Victor Arbekov becomes the first Russian competitor to win a Grand Prix overall on 2 August at the East German Grand Prix.

## Grands Prix
### 500cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 12 | Swiss Grand Prix | Payerne | Rolf Tibblin | Jeff Smith | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 2 | April 26 | Austrian Grand Prix | Sittendorf | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 3 | May 10 | Danish Grand Prix | Volk Mølle | Rolf Tibblin | Jeff Smith | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 4 | May 17 | Swedish Grand Prix | Vimmerby | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 5 | May 24 | Dutch Grand Prix | Norg | Jeff Smith | Jeff Smith | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 6 | May 31 | French Grand Prix | Sucé-sur-Erdre | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 7 | June 7 | Italian Grand Prix | Avigliana | Jeff Smith | Rolf Tibblin | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 8 | June 21 | Russian Grand Prix | Lviv | Jeff Smith | Ove Lundell | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 9 | June 28 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Přerov | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Rolf Tibblin | Report |
| 10 | August 2 | Belgian Grand Prix | Namur | Jeff Smith | Sten Lundin | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 11 | August 9 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Ettelbruck | Jeff Smith | Jeff Smith | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 12 | August 16 | West German Grand Prix | Bielstein | Sten Lundin | Sten Lundin | Sten Lundin | Report |
| 13 | August 30 | East German Grand Prix | Schwerin | Jeff Smith | Rolf Tibblin | Jeff Smith | Report |
| 14 | September 13 | Spanish Grand Prix | San Sebastián | Jeff Smith | Rolf Tibblin | Jeff Smith | Report |
| Sources: ||||||||

### 250cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 5 | Spanish Grand Prix | Ruta | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 2 | April 26 | Belgian Grand Prix | Woluwe-Saint-Lambert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 3 | May 3 | Swiss Grand Prix | Wohlen | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 4 | May 10 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Holice | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 5 | May 17 | West German Grand Prix | Erlangen | Joël Robert | Dave Bickers | Joël Robert | Report |
| 6 | May 24 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Schifflange | Dave Bickers | Dave Bickers | Dave Bickers | Report |
| 7 | May 31 | Italian Grand Prix | Imola | Dave Bickers | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 8 | June 28 | British Grand Prix | Cadwell Park | Dave Bickers | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 9 | July 5 | Swedish Grand Prix | Hedemora | Joël Robert | Dave Bickers | Joël Robert | Report |
| 10 | July 12 | Finnish Grand Prix | Tikkurila | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Joël Robert | Report |
| 11 | July 19 | Russian Grand Prix | Leningrad | Joël Robert | Victor Arbekov | Joël Robert | Report |
| 12 | July 26 | Polish Grand Prix | Kielce | Victor Arbekov | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| 13 | August 2 | East German Grand Prix | Apolda | Joël Robert | Vlastimil Valek | Victor Arbekov | Report |
| 14 | August 15 | French Grand Prix | Laguépie | Åke Jonsson | Torsten Hallman | Torsten Hallman | Report |
| Sources: ||||||||

## Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers. For the final championship standings, half of the competitors' results are retained. Thus with 14 Grand 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 | CH | CH | AUT | AUT | DEN | DEN | SWE | SWE | NED | NED | FRA | FRA | ITA | ITA | USSR | USSR | CZE | CZE | BEL | BEL | LUX | LUX | GER | GER | GDR | GDR | ESP | ESP | 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 | Pts |
| 1 | Jeff Smith | BSA | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 56 |
| 2 | Rolf Tibblin | Hedlund | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | - | 1 | 54 |
| 3 | Sten Lundin | Lito | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 6 | 34 |
| 4 | Ove Lundell | Husqvarna | 6 | 7 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 4 | - | 10 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | - | - | 10 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | 5 | 4 | 22 |
| 5 | Bill Nilsson | Métisse-ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | | - | 4 | 6 | - | - | 4 | 2 | 6 | - | 2 | 4 | 6 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 20 |
| 6 | Per Olaf Persson | Husqvarna | - | 10 | 5 | 5 | - | - | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 10 | - | 3 | - | 3 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 16 |
| 7 | Herman De Soete | Métisse-Matchless | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 6 | 7 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 | - | 9 |
| 8 | Jerry Scott | BSA | - | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 7 | - | - | 4 | 7 | - | - | 6 |
| 8 | Vic Eastwood | Matchless | 10 | - | 4 | 4 | 4 | - | 4 | - | - | 7 | - | - | 8 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 5 | 3 | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 |
| 8 | Hubert Scaillet | Triumph-Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 8 | John Burton | Triumph-Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 12 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | 6 |
| 12 | Pierre-André Rapin | Monark | 4 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | 27 | - | 8 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| 13 | Josef Chara | Jawa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 13 | Dieter Kley | ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 3 | - | - | 4 |
| 13 | Gunnar Johansson | Lito | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | - | - | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 16 | Nikolaj Sokolov | ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 16 | Jos Ribbens | BSA | - | - | - | - | 6 | 5 | - | - | 10 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | 16 | 13 | 20 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 18 | Antonin Klavinsh | ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 18 | Aleksandr Lebedev | ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | 4 | - | - | 2 |
| 18 | André Chuchard | Triumph-Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 18 | Broer Dirkx | Lito | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 3 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 18 | Dave Nicoll | Matchless | - | - | - | - | 7 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 18 | Ervín Krajčovič | ESO | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | 8 | 7 | - | - | 22 | 9 | - | - | 6 | - | - | - | 2 |
| 24 | Josef Hrebecek | ČZ | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 14 | 15 | 11 | - | - | 6 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 5 | - | - | 1 |
| 24 | Lubomir Eichler | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 10 | - | - | 1 |
| 24 | Andy Lee | Matchless-Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | - | 11 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | 1 |
| 24 | Sigur Kalkis | ESO | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 6 | - | - | 1 |
| 24 | Roger Vanderbecken | Triumph | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 13 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 12 | 7 | 9 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| 24 | Jacob Lynegaard | BSA | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| - | Sylvain Geboers | Métisse | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Source: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

### 250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)
| Pos | Rider | Machine | ESP | ESP | BEL | BEL | CH | CH | CZE | CZE | GER | GER | LUX | LUX | ITA | ITA | UK | UK | SWE | SWE | FIN | FIN | USSR | USSR | POL | POL | GDR | GDR | FRA | FRA | 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 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 26 | - | 56 |
| 1 | Torsten Hallman | Husqvarna | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 5 | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | - | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | - | - | 2 | 1 | - | - | 2 | 1 | 50 |
| 3 | Victor Arbekov | ČZ | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | - | - | 5 | 4 | 8 | 7 | - | - | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 3 | 6 | - | 31 |
| 4 | Igor Grigoriev | ČZ | - | - | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 7 | - | - | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | - | - | 10 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 30 |
| 5 | Dave Bickers | Greeves | 3 | 7 | 2 | - | 8 | - | 2 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 27 | 20 | 23 |
| 6 | Åke Jonsson | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| 7 | Vlastimil Valek | ČZ | - | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 10 | - | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 9 | 11 | - | 3 | 5 | 5 | - | 5 | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | 1 | 4 | 3 | 16 |
| 8 | Karel Pilar | ČZ | 6 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 5 | 13 |
| 9 | Gunnar Draougs | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 26 | - | 12 |
| 10 | Cenneth Loof | Husqvarna | 8 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 6 | - | - | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 5 | - | - | 4 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 20 | - | 7 |
| 11 | Don Rickman | Bultaco | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 24 | - | 6 |
| 12 | Jan Johansson | Lindstrom | 7 | - | 5 | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| 13 | Olle Pettersson | Husqvarna | 4 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 9 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 4 | - | - | - | - | 7 | - | 6 |
| 14 | John Griffith | Greeves | 5 | 4 | - | - | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 14 | Malcolm Davis | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| 14 | Antonin Hrach | ČZ | - | - | 12 | 13 | - | - | 7 | 9 | - | - | - | 9 | 21 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 14 | 9 | 3 |
| 17 | Zdenek Polanka | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 17 | Bryan Goss | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 6 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 |
| 19 | Derek Rickman | Bultaco | 18 | - | 7 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 9 | 10 | - | - | - | 7 | 8 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 25 | 18 | 3 |
| 20 | Eungenius Frelich | MZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 6 | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| 20 | Max Morf | ČZ | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 6 | - | - | 2 |
| 20 | Jaakko Lehmuskoski | Husqvarna | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 6 | 11 | - | - | 2 |
| 23 | Fritz Betzelbacher | Montesa | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 9 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 31 | - | 1 |
| 23 | Fritz Selling | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 10 | 7 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | 22 | 1 |
| - | Adolf Weil | Maico | - | - | 13 | - | - | - | - | - | 6 | - | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| - | Alan Clough | Greeves | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 |
| Sources: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||