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1972 FIM Motocross World Championship

Motocross championship season

Field	Value
title	1972 FIM Motocross World Championship
logo	[[File:Joel Robert in actie, Bestanddeelnr 925-5853.jpg	300px]]
caption	Joël Robert in action in 1972
organizer	FIM
duration	9 April/27 August
no_of_races	24
no_of_mfrs	12
champions_title	Champions
award1_title	500cc
award1_champ	BEL Roger De Coster
award2_title	250cc
award2_champ	BEL Joël Robert
seasonslistnames	FIM Motocross World Championship
prevseason_year	1971
prevseason_link	1971 FIM Motocross World Championship
nextseason_year	1973
nextseason_link	1973 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1972 Motocross World Championship was the 16th edition of the Motocross World Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

Summary

With no weight limit rules imposed by the FIM, Suzuki were able to develop extremely lightweight motorcycles for the 1972 season. Suzuki factory rider Roger De Coster led the 500cc World Championship from start to finish, winning six of twelve Grand Prix races to clinch the title with two races remaining on the schedule. The victory was the second consecutive 500cc World Championship for De Coster and Suzuki.

Second place in the championship would not be decided until the final race of the season in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg where Åke Jonsson (Maico) appeared poised to repeat his second-place result from the previous year. Jonsson won the first moto and, was leading the second moto on the last lap when his motorcycle ran out of fuel, dropping him to fourth in the final championship points standings. In his final season of competition, former three-time World Champion, Paul Friedrichs (ČZ), won the French and East German Grand Prix races and finished the season in second place to mark the end of his impressive career. Heikki Mikkola (Husqvarna) moved up from the 250cc class and made a positive impression with Grand Prix victories in Switzerland and Czechoslovakia to claim third in the 500 class. Friedrichs, Mikkola and Jonsson finished the season separated by just three points in the final standings.

The Yamaha factory team added former Husqvarna riders Christer Hammargren and Jaak van Velthoven in the 500cc class and Håkan Andersson in the 250cc class. Van Velthoven won the 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix to give the Yamaha factory its first World Championship victory. Van Velthoven actually scored enough points to finish the season ranked second overall but fell victim to FIM scoring rules which only recognize the top seven of twelve results. The rules would be changed in 1977.

Suzuki factory rider Joël Robert once again dominated the 250cc World Championship, winning six of the twelve Grand Prix events to clinch the title with four races to go. The victory would be Robert's fifth consecutive 250cc World Championship, and sixth overall. Yamaha factory rider Håkan Andersson would take second place in the championship ahead of Suzuki's Sylvain Geboers. Pavel Rulev gave the KTM factory its first race victory by winning the first moto of the 250cc Russian Grand Prix. Olle Pettersson scored the Kawasaki factory's first motocross world championship points with a 6th place at the 1972 250cc French Grand Prix.

Grands Prix

500cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner
April 23	Austria Austrian Grand Prix	Sittendorf	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
April 30	Switzerland Swiss Grand Prix	Payerne	Finland Heikki Mikkola	Finland Heikki Mikkola	Finland Heikki Mikkola	Report
May 7	Italy Italian Grand Prix	Pinerolo	Cancelled	-	-	Report
May 14	Sweden Swedish Grand Prix	Västerås	Belgium Roger De Coster	RFA Adolf Weil	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
May 24	France French Grand Prix	Corseul	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	Report
June 4	USSR Russian Grand Prix	Poltava	Belgium Roger De Coster	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
June 11	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Přerov	Belgium Roger De Coster	SWE Bengt Åberg	Finland Heikki Mikkola	Report
July 9	UK British Grand Prix	Farleigh Castle	Belgium Roger De Coster	SWE Åke Jonsson	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
July 16	Germany West German Grand Prix	Beuren	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
July 23	East Germany East German Grand Prix	Apolda	Belgium Roger De Coster	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	East Germany Paul Friedrichs	Report
August 6	Belgium Belgian Grand Prix	Namur	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Belgium Roger De Coster	Report
August 13	Luxembourg Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	SWE Åke Jonsson	RFA Adolf Weil	Belgium Jaak van Velthoven	Report

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner
April 9	Spain Spanish Grand Prix	Sabadell	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Sylvain Geboers	Belgium Sylvain Geboers	Report
April 16	France French Grand Prix	Pernes-les-Fontaines	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
May 7	Netherlands Dutch Grand Prix	Markelo	Belgium Joël Robert	USSR Gennady Moiseyev	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
May 14	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Holice	Belgium Joël Robert	USSR Vladimir Kavinov	USSR Vladimir Kavinov	Report
May 28	Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Tržič	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
June 4	Germany West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
June 11	Poland Polish Grand Prix	Szczecin	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
June 18	USSR Russian Grand Prix	Chișinău	USSR Pavel Rulev	Belgium Joël Robert	Belgium Joël Robert	Report
August 6	Finland Finnish Grand Prix	Hyvinkää	Belgium Sylvain Geboers	Belgium Sylvain Geboers	Belgium Sylvain Geboers	Report
August 13	Sweden Swedish Grand Prix	Huskvarna	Sweden Arne Kring	Sweden Håkan Andersson	Sweden Håkan Andersson	Report
August 20	UK British Grand Prix	Dodington Park	Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Falta	Sweden Håkan Andersson	Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Falta	Report
August 27	Switzerland Swiss Grand Prix	Wohlen	Belgium Joël Robert	USSR Gennady Moiseyev	Sweden Håkan Andersson	Report

Final standings

Points are awarded to the top 10 classified finishers. For the 500cc final championship standings, since the Italian Grand Prix was canceled the net result is achieved by taking half of the 11 results + 1 or the 6 best results. For the 250cc final championship standings, the 7 best of 12 results are retained.

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points
15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

500cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	AUT
AUT	CH
CH	ITA
ITA	SWE
SWE	FRA
FRA	USSR
USSR	TCH
TCH	UK
UK	GER
RFA	GDR
GDR	BEL
BEL	LUX
LUX	Points	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	90	2	62	3	61	4	60	5	57	6	45	7	44	8	42	9	33	10	32	11	19	12	18	13	16	14	16	15	14	16	11	17	8	18	7	19	7	20	6	21	4	4	4	4	25	3	26	2	2	1	29	1	1	1	1	1	Sources:
BEL Roger De Coster	Suzuki	1	1	2	2	-	-	1	3	5	-	1	2	1	-	1	3	1	1	1	3	1	1	-	-
GDR Paul Friedrichs	ČZ	-	-	5	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	8	1	-	-	7	-	2	5	2	1	6	-	6	3
FIN Heikki Mikkola	Husqvarna	10	6	1	1	-	-	-	-	6	5	3	5	2	3	5	-	-	-	5	5	13	5	-	-
SWE Åke Jonsson	Maico	6	2	6	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	3	13	2	3	1	4	3	-	2	2	2	1	-
BEL Jaak van Velthoven	Yamaha	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	6	10	6	4	-	5	4	4	2	5	2	6	6	4	3	2	2
CZE Jiří Stodůlka	ČZ	4	4	-	-	-	-	14	5	-	-	5	7	3	5	-	9	8	6	9	7	10	15	5	4
SWE Bengt Åberg	Husqvarna	7	8	3	3	-	-	2	-	3	4	2	6	-	1	6	-	-	-	4	4	5	-	-	-
RFA Adolf Weil	Maico	-	-	4	-	-	-	3	1	2	2	-	-	4	-	2	4	-	-	-	-	3	4	-	1
RFA Willy Bauer	Maico	2	3	-	-	-	-	4	2	-	3	-	-	-	-	9	8	7	4	3	-	-	-	-	-
NED Gerrit Wolsink	Husqvarna	5	10	7	4	-	-	8	-	4	8	-	-	-	-	8	5	3	-	12	-	7	6	4	12
UK Andy Roberton	Husqvarna	8	5	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	10	-	-	8	8	12	7	-	-	11	8	11	8	-	-
SWE Christer Hammargren	Yamaha	9	-	9	-	-	-	6	4	7	-	7	10	10	-	-	-	-	-	10	9	8	9	15	-
UK John Banks	ČZ	-	-	8	6	-	-	7	9	8	-	-	-	9	6	17	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	3	-
CZE Vlastimil Válek	Jawa	3	7	14	10	-	-	-	-	11	7	-	-	7	-	14	12	11	9	8	-	12	13	-	-
USSR Nikolai Efimov	ČZ	-	9	10	9	-	-	9	-	9	9	10	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	10	-	-	-	-
FIN Jyrki Storm	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	16	14	10	14	12	15	16	7	5
UK Bryan Wade	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
NED Pierre Karsmakers	Husqvarna	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	9	7	-	-
CZE Zdeněk Strnad	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	-	-	12	8	-	-	-	-	-	-
AUT Friedrich Schiechtl	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	8	7
USSR Viatcheslav Krasnotchekov	ČZ	-	-	11	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
USSR Vladimir Ovchinnikov	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Bert-Ove Wallner	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-
ITA Afro Rustignoli	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	6
FRA Serge Bacou	Bultaco	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	13	-	11	-	-	-	-	9	10
SWE Jan Johansson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
CH Anton Stifter	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	9
UK Vic Eastwood	AJS	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Anders Hermansson	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
GDR Heinz Hoppe	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	28	13	-	-	-	-
USA Bryan Kenney	Yamaha	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	11	-	-	-	-
USA Bill Clements	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	20	16	11
USSR Anatoly Botchkov	ČZ	-	-	12	13	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	ESP
ESP	FRA
FRA	NED
NED	TCH
TCH	YUG
YUG	GER
RFA	POL
POL	USSR
USSR	FIN
FIN	SWE
SWE	UK
UK	CH
CH	Pts	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	102	2	82	3	62	4	57	5	53	6	45	7	44	8	42	9	39	10	38	11	38	12	33	13	23	14	18	15	13	16	13	17	12	18	9	19	6	20	5	5	22	4	4	4	25	3	3	3	28	2	2	2	31	1	1	1	1	1	1	Sources:
BEL Joël Robert	Suzuki	1	-	1	1	1	2	1	5	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	30
SWE Håkan Andersson	Yamaha	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	8	7	-	4	6	3	5	6	4	4	3	2	1	5	1	3	2
BEL Sylvain Geboers	Suzuki	2	1	-	-	2	3	-	-	2	3	8	3	2	-	3	-	1	1	-	-	3	-	-	-
FIN Kalevi Vehkonen	Montesa	6	-	8	10	8	4	10	9	4	2	10	-	-	-	4	-	3	2	5	5	6	3	5	5
SWE Uno Palm	Husqvarna	12	2	7	7	6	6	4	3	5	8	-	-	4	6	5	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
CZE Miroslav Halm	ČZ	-	-	9	3	10	10	5	6	-	-	14	2	5	3	8	-	5	7	3	9	2	4	-	-
USSR Alexei Kibirine	ČZ	5	3	3	8	11	11	6	4	9	10	-	-	9	-	7	2	10	6	-	13	-	-	11	10
SWE Arne Kring	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	4	-	7	2	-	4	7	-	-	-	10	-	2	9	1	2	-	-	4	3
CZE Jaroslav Falta	ČZ	-	-	2	26	-	9	-	-	-	9	3	-	6	4	9	5	6	5	9	8	1	2	-	-
USSR Pavel Rulev	ČZ	-	-	4	5	-	-	-	-	3	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
KTM	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	5	-	-	1	-	7	4	4	3	-	-	2	-
USSR Gennady Moiseyev	ČZ	3	-	5	4	5	1	9	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	19	9
KTM	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-			6	1
USSR Vladimir Kavinov	ČZ	7	-	-	2	3	-	2	1	-	-	2	4	8	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
BEL Gaston Rahier	Husqvarna	4	4	10	9	15	8	-	7	8	6	6	-	10	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Olle Pettersson	Kawasaki	9	-	6	6	-	7	-	-	-	-	11	-	7	7	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	5	7	7
RFA Herbert Schmitz	Maico	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	-	-	5	7	-	-	-	-	8	8	-	6	-	-	9	6
BEL Marcel Wiertz	Bultaco	-	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	8	12	10	-	-	-	-	-	10	14	-	16	8
CZE Jiří Churavý	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	6	8	4
SWE Torleif Hansen	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	4	8	13	-	-
NED Jo Lammers	Maico	-	-	15	14	7	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	16	-	-
DEN Erling Klinke	ČZ	-	7	22	23	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	20	15	-	-
UK Jim Aird	AJS	10	-	14	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	-	9	7	-	-
DEN Ole Ottoson	Husqvarna	-	8	23	24	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	-	-	-
USSR Anatoly Mandritchenko	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
UK Vic Allan	Bultaco	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	8	-	-
UK Rob Taylor	Maico	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	10	-	-
GDR Helmut Schadenberg	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	-	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Kjell Thorne	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-	-	-	-
BEL Harry Everts	Puch	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	9	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
BUL Velicko Manilov	ČZ	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Bjorn Casseborg	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	-	-	-	-
FRA Jean-Claude Nowak	Montesa	-	-	13	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
AUT Walter Leitgeb	KTM	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
RFA Werner Schutz	Maico	-	-	16	12	-	-	-	-	10	-	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-
NOR Roger Smestad	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	10	-	-	-	-	-	-
SWE Orjan Eklund	Husqvarna	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	-	-	-	-	-
ESP Domingo Gris	Bultaco	-	-	12	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	-

Notes

References

"1972 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr.
"1972 500cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr.
"1972 250cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr.
"1972 250cc motocross world championship race winners". memotocross.fr.
"1972 500cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr.
"1972 500cc motocross world championship complete results". memotocross.fr.
"1972 250cc motocross world championship results". memotocross.fr.
"1972 250cc motocross world championship complete results". memotocross.fr.

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