1971 FIM Motocross World Championship explained

The 1971 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 15th F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season.

Summary

Roger De Coster won his first 500cc world championship for Suzuki in a tight points battle with Maico rider Åke Jonsson. The championship wasn't decided until the final round of the season when Jonsson suffered a mechanical failure.^[1] De Coster's victory at the season opening Italian Grand Prix gave Suzuki the first ever victory for a Japanese factory in a 500cc motocross Grand Prix.^[2] Joël Robert, claimed his fourth consecutive 250cc title, and second since joining the Suzuki factory racing team. It was his fifth 250cc world championship overall in his career.

Grands Prix

500cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 18	Italian Grand Prix	Macerata	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Report
2	May 2	Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Paul Friedrichs	Report
3	May 16	Swedish Grand Prix	Huskvarna	Roger De Coster	Christer Hammargren	Roger De Coster	Report
4	May 23	Finnish Grand Prix	Ruskeasanta	Paul Friedrichs	Åke Jonsson	Paul Friedrichs	Report
5	June 13	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Stribro	Roger De Coster	Adolf Weil	Roger De Coster	Report
6	June 20	Russian Grand Prix	Chișinău	Bengt Åberg	Åke Jonsson	Åke Jonsson
7	June 27	East German Grand Prix	Schwerin	Bengt Åberg	Åke Jonsson	Bengt Åberg	Report
8	July 11	British Grand Prix	Farleigh Castle	Åke Jonsson	Paul Friedrichs	Åke Jonsson	Report
9	July 18	West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Adolf Weil	Åke Jonsson	Adolf Weil	Report
10	August 1	Belgian Grand Prix	Namur	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Roger De Coster	Report
11	August 8	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	Roger De Coster	Åke Jonsson	Åke Jonsson	Report
12	August 22	Dutch Grand Prix	Sint Anthonis	Roger De Coster	Åke Jonsson	Roger De Coster	Report

^{[1] [3]}

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Winner	Team	Report
1	April 18	Spanish Grand Prix	Sabadell	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
2	April 25	Swiss Grand Prix	Payerne	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
3	May 2	Polish Grand Prix	Szczecin	Kalevi Vehkonen	Husqvarna	Report
4	May 9	West German Grand Prix	Beuren	Heikki Mikkola	Husqvarna	Report
5	May 16	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Karlovac	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
6	May 23	Italian Grand Prix	Busca	Joël Robert	Suzuki
7	June 20	Dutch Grand Prix	Bergharen	Sylvain Geboers	Suzuki	Report
8	July 4	East German Grand Prix	Teutschenthal	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
9	August 8	Finnish Grand Prix	Hyvinkää	Sylvain Geboers	Suzuki	Report
10	August 15	Swedish Grand Prix	Ulricehamn	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
11	August 22	British Grand Prix	Bristol	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report
12	October 3	Austrian Grand Prix	Launsdorf	Joël Robert	Suzuki	Report

^{[4] [5]}

Final standings

500cc^[6]
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1	Roger De Coster	Suzuki	97
2	Åke Jonsson	Maico	93
3	Adolf Weil	Maico	81
4	Paul Friedrichs	ČZ	70
5	Bengt Åberg	Husqvarna	52
6	Christer Hammargren	Husqvarna	45
7	John Banks	BSA	37
8	Willy Bauer	Maico	36
9	Jaak van Velthoven	Husqvarna	32
10	Jiri Stodulka	ČZ	27
11	Jan Johansson	Husqvarna	27
12	Gerrit Wolsink	Husqvarna	25
13	Willy van Loon	Husqvarna	16
14	Arne Kring	Husqvarna	14
15	Karel Konecny	ČZ	12
16	Jaroslav Homola	ČZ	10
17	Bert-Ove Wallner	Husqvarna	9
18	Hans Maisch	Maico	8
19	Herbert Schmitz	Maico	6
20	Heinz Hoppe	ČZ	5
21	Jan Erik Sallqvist	Husqvarna	5
21	Mikhail Rastvortsev	ČZ	5
23	Viatcheslav Krasnotchekov	ČZ	4
23	Peter Willems	Husqvarna	4
25	Giuseppe Cavallero	ČZ	2
25	Jim Aird	Husqvarna	2
25	Riik van Hoof	Husqvarna	2
28	Manfred Stein	ČZ	1
28	Siegfried Lerner	KTM	1
28	Vlastimil Valek	ČZ	1
28	Anatoly Botchkov	ČZ	1
28	Vladimir Ovchinnikov	ČZ	1
28	Walter Kalberer	Husqvarna	1
28	Jo Keizer	Husqvarna	1

250cc^[7] ^[8]
Pos	Rider	Team	Points
1	Joël Robert	Suzuki	105
2	Håkan Andersson	Husqvarna	72
3	Sylvain Geboers	Suzuki	66
4	Heikki Mikkola	Husqvarna	63
5	Ollie Petterson	Suzuki	59
6	Uno Palm	Husqvarna	53
7	Miroslav Halm	ČZ	46
8	Vladimir Kavinov	ČZ	41
9	Jaroslav Falta	ČZ	36
10	Kalevi Vehkonen	Husqvarna	33
11	Gaston Rahier	ČZ	20
12	Torleif Hansen	Husqvarna	17
13	Pavel Rulev	ČZ	16
14	Marcel Wiertz	Bultaco	13
15	Gennady Moiseyev	ČZ	12
16	Bengt Arne Bonn	Husqvarna	10
17	Alexej Kibirine	ČZ	10
18	Gunnar Nilsson	Husqvarna	8
19	Bryan Wade	Husqvarna	8
20	Otakar Toman	ČZ	7
21	Siegfried Lerner	KTM	5
22	Torsten Hallman	Husqvarna	4
23	François Minne	Ossa	3
23	Jyrki Storm	Husqvarna	3
23	Stig Pettersson	Husqvarna	3
23	Andy Roberton	Husqvarna	3
27	Helmut Schadenberg	ČZ	3
28	George Houssonlonge	Montesa	2
28	Friedrich Schiechtl	Husqvarna	2
30	Lars Forsberg	Montesa	1
30	Malcolm Davis	Bultaco	1
30	Oldrich Hamrsmid	ČZ	1
30	Erling Rasmussen	Husqvarna	1
30	Jiry Churavy	ČZ	1
30	Harry Everts	Puch	1

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1971 500cc motocross world championship . akejonsson.com . 12 October 2011 .
2. Web site: Roger Decoster Interview, covering 1971 thru 2001 . supercross.com . 14 February 2016 . 9 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190609165637/https://supercross.com/roger-decoster-interview-covering-1971-thru-2001/ . dead .
3. Web site: 1971 500cc motocross world championship race results . memotocross.fr . 23 January 2016 .
4. Web site: 1971 250cc motocross world championship race results . home.versatel.nl . 12 October 2011 . 5 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131005000456/http://www.jwvanessen.com/gp-results-1971.html . dead .
5. Web site: 1971 250cc motocross world championship race results . memotocross.fr . 23 January 2016 .
6. Web site: 1971 500cc motocross world championship final standings . memotocross.fr . 24 January 2016 .
7. Web site: 1971 250cc motocross world championship final standings . home.versatel.nl . 12 October 2011 . 5 October 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131005021846/http://www.jwvanessen.com/final-score-1971.html . dead .
8. Web site: 1971 250cc motocross world championship final standings . memotocross.fr . 24 January 2016 .