Motocross Sweden

[Malene Mederios]

keJonsson (born 5 October 1942) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer.[1] He was one of the top riders in the Motocross World Championships during the late 1960s and early 1970s.[1] Jonsson came close to winning the world championship title in 1968, 1970 and in 1971 when he led the championship going into the final round when, a mechanical failure ruined his bid.[1][2][3][4]

Born in Hammerdal, Jonsson's family moved to Vsters when he was a child. He became a skilled speed skater and belonged to the Swedish top junior elite before his motorcycle racing career took precedence.[5] His physical conditioning from ice skating helped him achieve early success when he transitioned to motorcycle racing.[5]

At the age of 16, he acquired his first motorcycle when he purchased a DKW.[5] He began competing in motocross races and progressed to the Swedish motocross national championship in 1963.[5] Unable to afford a new motorcycle, Jonsson decided to build his own motorcycle from spare parts and, rode it to a ninth place in the 250cc Swedish national championship.[5][6]

His impressive results earned him a sponsorship to ride for the Husqvarna factory and with a new motorcycle, Jonsson was able to defeat Torsten Hallman for the 1964 250cc Swedish national championship.[5][7] In 1964, Jonsson began competing in the 250cc Motocross World Championships and posted impressive results with a third place at his home Swedish Grand Prix and finishing second to defending world champion Joel Robert at the Finnish Grand Prix.[8] In 1966, Jonsson won his first Grand Prix race with a victory at the 1966 250cc Luxembourg Grand Prix at Schifflange.[9]

Jonsson completed his engineering degree in 1967, but delayed entering the engineering profession and continued to compete in motocross. In 1967 Jonsson joined his Husqvarna teammates, Torsten Hallman and Arne Kring, along with ČZ factory teammates Jol Robert, Roger De Coster and Dave Bickers in a series of exhibition races in the United States that had been organized by Edison Dye, the American importer for Husqvarna motorcycles.[10] The exhibition races served as a means to introduce the sport of motocross to an American audience, and eventually led to the formation of the Inter-AM and Trans-AMA motocross series that helped to popularize the sport of motocross in the United States.[11][12][13]

Jonsson moved up to the 500cc class in 1968 and won the national championship over Christer Hammargren and Bengt berg.[5][14] Although Jonsson was posting impressive results, Husqvarna's meager racing budget meant that world champions Bengt Aberg and Torsten Hallman received most of their support, leaving Jonsson struggling to secure spare parts for his motorcycle.[3] Nevertheless, he finished in third place in the 1968 500cc World Championship and claimed his first 500cc world championship race at home by winning the Swedish Grand Prix at Motala.[15]

In 1969 he was hired to ride for the Maico factory racing team alongside teammates Adolf Weil and Willy Bauer.[5] He rode a Maico to finish once again in third place in the 1970 500cc World Championship.[16] Later that season he won the Inter-AM series in America.[17] The 1971 season would be Jonsson's best year. Going into the final race of the 500cc world championship, Jonsson held a slight points lead over Suzuki's Roger De Coster.[4] While leading the race, his motorcycle's spark plug came loose, allowing DeCoster to pass him for the victory and the World Championship.[1][2][3] A few weeks later he took a slight revenge by winning both motos in the Motocross des Nations held in Vannes, France.[4][18]

Jonsson was injured in the middle of the 1972 Grand Prix season but, almost finished the season as the series runner up. At the last race for the season in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg, Jonsson won the first moto and, was leading the second moto on the last lap when his bike ran out of fuel, causing a DNF.[19] Instead of being the runner up, he now took a fourth place in the 1972 world championship.[20][21] Jonsson then dominated the season ending 1972 Trans-AMA motocross series held in America, winning nine consecutive races at one point.[4][22][23]

For the 1973 season, Jonsson was hired for three years, by the Yamaha to ride their new motorcycle with its innovative rear suspension using a single shock absorber called a monoshock.[3] When he first joined the Yamaha team, it was rumored that he installed Maico front suspension to his bike but, Jonsson stated in a later interview that the forks were manufactured in Japan.[3] He had a series of mechanical difficulties and a lot of development in the motorcycle and failed to repeat his performance of the previous years. In 1976, he returned to ride for the Maico team but, broke his collarbone and finished in eighth place in the world championship.[24]

Jonsson retired from competition after the 1978 Swedish national championship season. Jonsson was also a member of three victorious Swedish Motocross des Nations teams in 1970, 1971 and 1974, and three Trophees des Nations wins, 1964, 1966 and 1967. Jonsson has won the Swedish National Championship seven times. After his racing career he ran a Yamaha dealership in Sweden.[3] Today he lives a retired life in Sweden.

He was also a co-author of "The Technique of Moto-Cross," with Vin Gilligan, a book on advanced riding techniques for racers. Former Dutch world championship motocross competitor, Gerrit Wolsink, in an interview with "Motocross Action" magazine, praised the book strongly, saying that even at his level, he learned helpful information about techniques to use in various situations.

Comprising of 50 hectares in the South of France and located 80 km from Toulouse, near Albi; on the shores of the lake, Royal Hills Experience is a completely unique off-road track, and one of the best.

Set in the stunning mid-Pyrenees, the facility offers guests a mix of motocross, supercross, endurocross, enduro, freeride, FMX and MTB. There are two main motocross tracks which are both progression-focussed, fun tracks with a mix of easy and challenging sections with some big, safe jumps to master at your own pace.

Consisting of a main track that features long sweeping corners, natural elevation changes, huge jumps and some insanely fast sections that are all ready to test the best, and a second, slightly less demanding motocross track designed for the improving rider.

It goes without saying that Matterley Basin is one of the best motocross tracks in Europe, with 95% visibility of the whole track. Located in the South of England and sitting in a huge dip, it gets its name from looking like a basin and is home to several race weekends including the UK rounds of MXGP.

Located just outside the small town of Valkenswaard, Valkenswaard MX is a Motocross Track in the Netherlands that holds a round of the MX1 and MX2 World Motocross Championship. The first Motocross GP took place at the track in 1974, which was won by Sylvain Geboers. Since then, they have held numerous GPs on the ever-popular track.

Most of the jumps and hills on the track are man-made, with very few natural hills at the venue, and with a track length of 1,630m and a sandy terrain, Eurocircuit Valkenswaard will offer up challenges for even the most experienced rider.

Located in the beautiful hills of Pietramurata, the route guidance and the special underground are characteristics of this unique motocross track. It is one of the technical tracks most appreciated by both experienced and less experienced riders who can have a lot of fun there.

Located in West Turkey, not far from the town of Afyonkarahisar, Afyon Motor Sports Center MX track is built on 250 thousand square meters at a length of 750m and plays host to a range of championships including the MXGP.

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The long wait will be wortwhile. Early Springtime 2024 the last part of this amazing project will be introduced. This edition goes far beyond the concept of the printed Book.

This package will contain the original Swedish book and a digtal English PDF format book of the same design as the printed. The pdf is for reading only as it has low resolution photos, the originals to be viewed in the book. Page numbering is retained between the two versions so a full correlation regardless of language, just turn the pages as you read.

An novel feature presented in the digital version are the previously never released filmed interviews with Bill Nilsson, Sten Lundin and Torsten Hallman. These recordings were made by Bo Ingvar and his friend Film maker Kurt-ke Lindhe during the 90s. The movie interviews have subtitles in English and also included are narrated clips of concurrent motocross events and related memorabilia.

Motocross from the mid-50s to end of 60s was without doubt the Golden era of our motorcycle history. Success due to many coinciding factors that mostly are unknown. From a few dedicated petrol-heads exploring the scrapyards and remains of a bankrupt motorcycle industry evolves a stream of World Champions who became the Invincibles.

What makes this story remarkable is that they all raced on Swedish bikes. If you take into account that Sweden at this time had no producer of 4-stroke motorcycles at all, the achievements become truly impressive.

This book is the result of one man and his lifelong devotion to Motocross. The writer and storyteller, Bo Ingvar Svensson, has remained a dedicated Motocross fan since his very early years. He had the fortune to grow up in the Scania region , the most southern part of Sweden, which was full of motor racing activities and circuits. And one of the most prestigious of them all, The Saxtorp Motocross Track within cycling reach.

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