Rolf Tibblin

Rolf Tibblin (born 7 May 1937) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer. 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 two-time 500cc Motocross World Champion. 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. He was one of the first motocross competitors to express the importance of physical fitness training. Tibblin was inducted into the A.M.A. Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2008.

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

In 1954 at the age of 17, Tibblin began competing in motocross and enduro competitions. Although he lacked natural riding talent, he persevered and by 1956 he won a local Swedish championship riding a BSA motorcycle. 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.

His impressive performance got the attention of the Husqvarna factory who offered him support for the 1958 season. 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 German Grand Prix and finished the season ranked second in the final point standings to Jaromír Čížek (ČZ).

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. 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. 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. 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}.

Tibblin moved up to compete in the premier 500cc division for the 1960 season. 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. It was a successful year for Swedish motorcycling as, six of the top eight competitors were Swedish riders. At the 1960 International Six Days Trial held at Bad Aussee, Austria, Tibblin was the top individual points scorer. 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. Tibblin also competed in other enduro events during this period, including five consecutive victories in the grueling Novemberkåsan Enduro from 1960 to 1964.

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. However, he led the Swedish team to victory at the 1961 Motocross des Nations as the top individual points scorer at the event.

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. Sweden continued to dominate international motocross with Swedish riders taking the top five places in the final standings for 1962. 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. 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.

The Husqvarna factory stopped producing their four-stroke motorcycles in 1963, leaving Tibblin without a motorcycle for the 1964 season. He teamed up with 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, but he faced stiff opposition from BSA factory rider, Jeff Smith. 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.

By 1965, advances in two-stroke engine technology made apparent the importance of lightness and agility in motocross racing, forcing Tibblin to join the Czechoslovakian ČZ team. He won two Grand Prix race during the 1965 season, but dropped to third place in the final standings behind Smith and his ČZ teammate, Paul Friedrichs. He won two Grand Prix races in 1966 and finished second to Friedrichs in the season final standings. In the spring of 1967, Tibblin suffered a broken arm while competing in a race in St. Antonis, Holland, forcing him to retire from World Championship competition.

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. 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. He also won the 1972 Mint 400 desert race with Bob Grossi as his teammate. He repeated his Mint 400 victory in 1973 with Mitch Mayes as his teammate.

Motocross Grand Prix Results
Points system from 1952 to 1968: