Rolf Tibblin

Rolf Tibblin
Rolf Tibblin (left) and Mickey Quade at Camalu, Mexico, in the 1972 Baja 1000.
Nationality	Swedish
Born	7 May 1937 (1937-05-07) (age 87) Stockholm, Sweden
Motocross career
Years active	1957 - 1967
Teams	Husqvarna, ČZ
Championships	500cc- 1962, 1963
Wins	22

Rolf Tibblin (born 7 May 1937) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer.^[1] He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1957 to 1967, most prominently as a member of the Husqvarna factory racing team where he was a two-time 500cc Motocross World Champion. His motorcycle racing career spanned the transition from the heavy, four-stroke motorcycles of the 1950s, to the lightweight two-stroke motorcycles of the 1960s. He was one of the first motocross competitors to stress the importance of a rigorous physical fitness training routine.^[2]

Tibblin was part of a contingent of Swedish motorcyclists including; Bill Nilsson, Sten Lundin and Torsten Hallman who dominated the sport of motocross in the early 1960s.^[3][4] He was a member of Swedish teams that won two consecutive Motocross des Nations events (1961-1962) and was the top individual points scorer at the 1962 event. Tibblin was also an accomplished enduro racer, finishing as the top individual points scorer at the 1960 International Six Days Trial. After his World Championship career, he competed in desert racing, winning the prestigious Baja 1000 off-road race in 1972. Tibblin was inducted into the A.M.A. Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008.^[1]

Tibblin was born in the Sollentuna Municipality on the north side of Stockholm, Sweden on May 7, 1937.^[5] As a youth, he participated in the sports of ice hockey and football.^[2][5] He showed enough promise in football that he trained with the Turebergs Athletic Club, however he didn't enjoy the club's slave driving mentality in regards to training.^[5] Convinced that physical training should be enjoyable, his interests turned to motorcycle racing and he joined the local Upplands Väsby Motorcycle Club.^[5] Tibblin regarded the physical training as an absolute must in order to become a successful rider.^[2]

In 1954 at the age of 17, Tibblin began competing in motocross and enduro competitions.^[6] Although he lacked natural riding talent, he persevered and by 1956 he won a local Swedish championship riding a BSA motorcycle.^[5] In 1957, Tibblin scored an impressive fourth place at the 500cc Swedish Motocross Grand Prix aboard his BSA and ended the season ranked 12th in the 500cc Motocross World Championship.^[7]

His impressive performance got the attention of the Husqvarna factory who offered him support for the 1958 season.^[6] Tibblin entered the 250cc European Motocross Championship (the predecessor to the 250cc Motocross World Championship) where he scored his first victory in international competition by winning the 250cc West German Grand Prix and finished the season ranked second in the final point standings to Jaromír Čížek (ČZ).^[8][9][10]

In the 1959 250cc European Motocross Championship, Tibblin won the first heat race at the season-opening 250cc Austrian Grand Prix, but suffered an eye injury after crashing in the second heat race which forced him to miss the next three rounds.^[9] He returned to compete in the East German Grand Prix, but was forced to abandon the race as his eye injury made it difficult for him to focus.^[9] Tibblin then scored two third place finishes at the 250cc Polish Grand Prix before he went on a winning streak, winning six of the final seven rounds to claim his first major championship.^[9][11] He clinched the European Championship at the 250cc Luxembourg Grand Prix by lapping the entire field with the exception of second placed Brian Stonebridge (Greeves}.^[9]

Tibblin moved up to compete in the premier 500cc division for the 1960 season.^[2] He won the first two Grand Prix races of the season in Austria and France, but then his luck changed, and he was overtaken by Husqvarna teammate Bill Nilsson and Sten Lundin (Monark) to finish the season in third place.^[2] It was a successful year for Swedish motorcycling as, six of the top eight competitors were Swedish riders.^[12] At the 1960 International Six Days Trial held at Bad Aussee, Austria, Tibblin was the top individual points scorer.^[5] The International Six Days Trial is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics that is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM, dating back to 1913.^[13] Tibblin also competed in other enduro events during this period, including five consecutive victories in the grueling Novemberkåsan Enduro from 1960 to 1964.^[5]

In 1961, Tibblin suffered a broken leg early in the season and dropped to fifth place in the final standings of the 500cc World Championship.^[6][14] However, he returned in late August to help the Swedish team to victory at the 1961 Motocross des Nations event.^[2][15]

Tibblin returned to form in the 1962 500cc World Championship, winning five of the ten Grand Prix races to claim his first premier class title by four points over second placed Gunnar Johansson.^[2][16] Sweden continued to dominate international motocross with Swedish riders taking the top five places in the 500cc Class final standings for 1962. His Husqvarna teammate, Torsten Hallman, won the 250cc Motocross World Championship giving the Husqvarna factory both of the FIM motocross world titles.^[17] Tibblin repeated his performance at the 1962 Motocross des Nations event, where he led the Swedish team to victory as the top individual points scorer.^[18]

He successfully defended his crown in the 1963 FIM Motocross World Championship, taking five victories out of twelve races to become the first competitor to win back to back 500cc World Championships.^[2][19] Hallman repeated as the 250cc Motocross World Champion in 1963 to put the Husqvarna factory at the top of the motocross hierarchy by claiming both world championships for the second consecutive year.^[20] However, a significant moment in motocross history occurred during the 1963 season when ČZ factory rider Vlastimil Valek rode a 263cc two-stroke motorcycle to defeat Tibblin in the first moto of the 500cc Czechoslovakian Grand Prix.^[21] The victory was a turning point in motocross history as, it marked the first time that a two-stroke powered motorcycle had won a 500cc Motocross World Championship race.^[21]

The Husqvarna factory stopped producing their four-stroke motorcycles in 1963, leaving Tibblin without a motorcycle for the 1964 season.^[22] He teamed up with engine tuner, Nisse Hedlund, to build their own complete motocross machine in time for the 1964 season.^[22] Tibblin began the season strongly, winning five of the first six races of the season, but he faced strong opposition from BSA factory rider, Jeff Smith.^[2] Smith consistently scored points throughout the season and never finished below third place, as 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.^[2][23]

Tibblin's 1965 season started with an accident before the first race of the season.^[24] Tibblin and Nilsson were test riding motorcycles in their hotel parking lot when they collided in a blind corner.^[24] Neither rider was wearing their riding gear and Nilsson suffered a broken arm, an amputated toe and a concussion, while Tibblin lost the end of his little finger and also received a concussion which forced him to sit out the start of the season.^[24]

By 1965, advances in two-stroke engine technology made apparent the importance of lightness and agility in motocross racing. Motorcycles powered by two-stroke engines weighed significantly less than four-stroke motorcycles, thus took less effort to ride over unforgiving terrain. These advances rendered heavy four-stroke motorcycles obsolete.^[25] Upon his return from his injuries, Tibblin was forced to join the Czechoslovakian ČZ team in order to remain competetive.^[2] He won the Italian and German Grand Prix races, but was unable to make up lost ground and dropped to third place in the final standings behind Smith and his ČZ teammate, Paul Friedrichs.^[26]

Tibblin won two Grand Prix races in 1966 and ended the season ranked second to his teammate Friedrichs who dominated the season by winning eight Grand Prix races.^[27] Friedrichs victory on the ČZ marked the first time that a two-stroke motorcycle had won the premier 500cc division. In the spring of 1967, Tibblin suffered a broken arm while competing in a pre-season race in Sint Anthonis, Holland, forcing him to retire from World Championship competition at the age of 30.^[5]

Seeking new challenges, Tibblin moved his family to the United States in 1971 where he operated the "Husqvarna International Training Center"; a motocross school in Carlsbad, California during the mid-1970s as the sport enjoyed a boom in popularity.^[1][2] He also began to compete in desert racing, teaming with Gunnar Nilsson to win the prestigious Baja 1000 off-road race on a Husqvarna in 1972.^[1][28] He also won the 1972 Mint 400 desert race with Bob Grossi as his teammate.^[29] He repeated his Mint 400 victory in 1973 with Mitch Mayes as his teammate, and in 1976 with teammate Jack Johnson.^[30][31] In 1982, Tibblin won the Mint 400 Class-2 division for unlimited four wheel two-seat vehicles with co-driver Jim Temple.^[32]

He later moved to Sri Lanka, where he operated a luxury bed and breakfast with his wife.^[33] He also held membership with the Sri Lanka Association of Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR), supporting motor sports in Sri Lanka.^[1][10][34]

Points system from 1952 to 1968:

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rolf Tibblin.

• Rolf Tibblin at the AMA Hall of Fame
• Rolf Tibblin AMA Hall of Fame profile
• Rolf Tibblin March 1963 Cycle World profile
• Rolf Tibblin profile at Husqvarna website
• Swedish web page profiling Rolf Tibblin's motocross racing career (in Swedish)
• Villa Hundira, Tibblin's villa in Sri Lanka