Georges Jobé

Georges Jobé (6 January 1961 – 19 December 2012) was a Belgian professional motocross racer. He competed in the FIM Motocross World Championships from 1979 to 1994. Jobé is notable for being a five-time FIM Motocross World Champion. He was named Belgian Sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1992.

Motocross career Early career Jobé was born in Retinne, Belgium on 6 January 1961. His older brother Claude Jobé competed in the motocross world championships for the Montesa factory racing team in the early 1970s. Jobé entered his first motocross race when he was 10-years-old. Jobé won the 1980 250cc Motocross World Championship through sheer consistency. Eight different competitors won Grand Prix events during the season, however none of them were able to score points consistently to challenge Jobé. At 19 years, 6 months and 14 days, Jobé dethroned Joël Robert for the honorary title of youngest Motocross World Champion in history at the time. Jobé was the top individual points scorer at the 1980 Trophée des Nations as he led the Belgian team to victory in the team event. One week later at the 1980 Motocross des Nations event, he finished second to his Belgian teammate André Malherbe, helping the Belgian team to the overall victory.

Jobé led the 1981 250cc Motocross World Championship by 53 points over his closest rival, Neil Hudson (Yamaha) with four rounds remaining and appeared to be heading towards a second consecutive World Championship when he was injured while competing in a Belgian National Championship race. He attempted to compete in the penultimate round in Russia but was injured again, allowing Hudson to overtake him and win the World Championship by only two points in the final standings.

Jobé once again led the 250cc Motocross World Championship in 1982 when he suffered an elbow fracture at mid-season during the 250cc French Grand Prix. Danny LaPorte (Yamaha) then won three consecutive Grand Prix races to take the championship points lead from Jobé. The championship would not be decided until the last race of the season in Sweden where LaPorte finished ahead of Jobé by 13 points. Jobé began the 1983 250cc Motocross World Championship by winning 5 of the first 6 heat races to build a commanding 60-point lead. He then posted consistent results to maintain his points lead and clinch the title over LaPorte with two rounds remaining.

500cc class Suzuki's decision to withdraw from the Motocross World Championships at the end of the 1983 season due to a worldwide economic recession led Jobé to sign a contract to race for the Kawasaki factory racing team in the premier 500cc motocross world championship. The 1984 500cc Motocross World Championship featured one of the most talented field of competitors of the 1980s including all three of the previous year's world champions – Håkan Carlqvist (500cc), Jobé (250cc) and Eric Geboers (125cc). Jobé was challenged by the powerful Honda HRC team of Malherbe, David Thorpe and Geboers as well as Yamaha's defending 500cc World Champion Carlqvist.

Jobé accomplished one of the most audacious passes in motocross history during the 1984 500cc British Motocross Grand Prix, held at Hawkstone Park, Shropshire, England. In 1984, the Hawkstone Park circuit included a large "double jump" (before they were customary on top motocross circuits). Few riders had the courage to attempt to clear the jump during practice, let alone during the actual race.

Jobé represented Belgium at the 1984 International Six Days Trial (ISDT) in Holland. The International Six Days Trial, now known as the International Six Days Enduro, is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics which is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM dating back to 1913.

Jobé dropped to fourth in the 1985 500cc Motocross World Championship as the powerful factory Honda team of Thorpe, Malherbe and Geboers swept the top three positions in the points standings. The 1986 500cc World Championship was a repeat of the previous season with Jobé facing off against the factory Honda trio in a season-long battle that wasn't decided until the final round. Jobé was the strongest competitor in the second half of the season, winning 6 of the last 8 heat races. Entering the last race in Luxembourg, the four competitors were separated by only 20 points with Thorpe in first place holding a three-point lead over Malherbe with Geboers and Jobé close behind. Jobé won the final race however, Thorpe was able to score a second-place finish to clinch his second consecutive World Championship. Jobé's 1987 500cc championship was notable as he won riding a privateer Honda CR500. Most of his rivals were on the official works teams of Honda, Kawasaki or KTM.

Having won 250 and 500cc titles, Jobé competed in the 1988 125cc World Championship in an attempt to become the first competitor in history to win the "Triple Crown" (FIM 125, 250 and 500cc world titles). He was unsuccessful, as countryman Eric Geboers became the first to achieve the feat by winning the 500cc World championship in that same year (Geboers having previously won world 125 and 250cc titles). Jobé rode a Honda in a selected few races during the 1992 and 1993 500cc World Championships. He competed in his final World Championship race at the 1993 500cc French Grand Prix at the age of 33. Jobé died from his illness in Brussels on 19 December 2012 at the age of 51.

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos Pts R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 R1 R2 R3 1992 500cc Honda USA4 USA5 USA2 CZE3 CZE3 CZE3 AUT4 AUT1 AUT4 FIN3 FIN1 FIN2 SM4 SM8 SM5 GER3 GER1 GER1 UK2 UK3 UK3 FRA1 FRA2 FRA2 NED7 NED2 NED1 BEL- BEL2 BEL2 LUX3 LUX3 LUX2 CH2 CH2 CH2 1st 550 1993 500cc Honda UK- UK- UK- AUT- AUT- AUT- SWE- SWE- SWE- FIN- FIN- FIN- ITA- ITA- ITA- GER- GER- GER- POR- POR- POR- NED- NED- NED- BEL- BEL- BEL- LUX- LUX- LUX- SLO- SLO- SLO- CH7 CH- CH6 31st 19Sources: Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Pos 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 1994 500cc Honda CH10 CH7 AUT- AUT- IRL- IRL- UK- UK- ITA- ITA- SLO11 SLO6 NED- NED- FRA10 FRA3 POR- POR- LUX- LUX- BEL- BEL- GER- GER- 21st 51Sources: