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 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 regimen.

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 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. As a youth, he participated in the sports of ice hockey and football. Although he lacked natural riding talent, he persevered and by 1956 he won a local Swedish championship riding a BSA motorcycle.

His impressive performance got the attention of the Husqvarna factory who offered him support for the 1958 season.

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 clinched the European Championship at the 250cc Luxembourg Grand Prix by lapping the entire field with the exception of second placed Brian Stonebridge (Greeves}. The Albin engine had originally been designed for military motorcycles during the Second World War. The Husqvarna factory built two motorcycles for the 1960 500cc Motocross World Championship and hired Tibblin along with his compatriot and 1957 500cc World Champion, Bill Nilsson, as their team riders.

The early 1960s marked a period of Swedish domination in the Motocross World Championships as five of the top six competitors in the 1960 500cc World Championship were from Sweden with only fourth-placed British rider Don Rickman (Triumph) breaking up the Swedish monopoly. Tibblin 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. Tibblin also competed in other enduro events during this period, including five consecutive victories in the grueling Novemberkåsan Enduro from 1960 to 1964. However, he returned in late August when he was the top individual points scorer at the 1961 Motocross des Nations event, leading the Swedish team to victory. Rolf Tibblin (41) leads Gunnar Johansson (43) at the 500cc Dutch Grand Prix on 29 July 1962. 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 his compatriot Gunnar Johansson in second place. 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. 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. 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. However, a significant moment in motocross history occurred during the 1963 season when ČZ factory rider Vlastimil Válek rode a 263cc two-stroke motorcycle to defeat Tibblin in the first moto of the 500cc Czechoslovak Grand Prix. 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. He teamed up with a Swedish master engine builder named Nisse Hedlund who was the man responsible for the development of the Albin engine used to power Monark and Husqvarna motorcycles.

Tibblin's 1965 season started with an accident before the first race of the season. Tibblin and Nilsson were test riding motorcycles in their hotel parking lot when they collided in a blind corner. Upon his return from his injuries, Tibblin was forced to join the Czechoslovak ČZ team in order to remain competitive.

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. 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. He won two 500cc motocross world titles (1963, 1964}, a 250cc European Motocross Championship (1959), four 500cc Swedish Motocross Championships (1962-1965) and one 250cc Swedish national motocross championship (1959). 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, and in 1976 with teammate Jack Johnson. In 1982, Tibblin won the Mint 400 Class-2 division for unlimited four wheel two-seat vehicles with co-driver Jim Temple.

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

Motocross Grand Prix Results

Points system from 1952 to 1968: Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

Denotes European motocross championship only.

Year Class Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 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 R1 R2 R1 R2 1957 500cc BSA CH- CH- FRA- FRA- SWE5 SWE4 ITA- ITA- UK15 UK12 NED- NED- BEL- BEL- LUX- LUX- DEN- DEN- 12th 3 1958 250cc Husqvarna AUT- AUT- CH- CH- FRA- FRA- TCH- TCH- UK- UK- GER1 GER1 ITA5 ITA3 NED1 NED2 BEL- BEL2 LUX- LUX4 SWE- SWE- POL- POL- 2nd 27 1959 250cc Husqvarna AUT1 AUT- CH- CH- BEL- BEL- GDR- GDR- TCH3 TCH3 POL1 POL17 GER1 GER1 ITA- ITA- FRA2 FRA1 NED1 NED1 UK1 UK1 LUX- LUX1 SWE1 SWE1 1st 51 500cc Husqvarna AUT6 AUT- CH6 CH5 DEN- DEN- FRA13 FRA5 ITA12 ITA5 GER- GER- UK10 UK4 NED7 NED9 BEL- BEL5 LUX- LUX- SWE- SWE- 13th 4 1960 500cc Husqvarna AUT1 AUT1 FRA1 FRA2 SWE- SWE- ITA22 ITA- GER- GER- UK6 UK6 NED3 NED1 BEL- BEL4 LUX- LUX8 3rd 26 1961 500cc Husqvarna CH- CH- AUT- AUT- FRANC FRA- TCH5 TCH4 ITA5 ITA4 UK- UK6 NED- NED- BEL- BEL- LUX2 LUX10 SWE6 SWE7 GER3 GER2 5th 15 1962 500cc Husqvarna AUT1 AUT2 FRA1 FRA1 CH3 CH1 ITA2 ITA2 TCH- TCH- UK1 UK1 NED2 NED1 BEL2 BEL2 LUX6 LUX- SWE3 SWE- 1st 56 1963 500cc Husqvarna AUT1 AUT4 CH2 CH7 DEN2 DEN2 NED2 NED1 FRA1 FRA1 ITA1 ITA1 TCH2 TCH1 USR3 USR2 UK2 UK- BEL1 BEL1 LUX4 LUX- GDR- GDR- 1st 52 1964 500cc Hedlund CH1 CH2 AUT1 AUT1 DEN1 DEN2 SWE1 SWE1 NED3 NED2 FRA1 FRA1 ITA- ITA1 URS- URS2 TCH1 TCH1 BEL9 BEL- LUX- LUX- GER5 GER2 GDR1 GDR2 ESP- ESP1 2nd 541965500cc Hedlund AUT- AUT- CH5 CH12 FRA- FRA- FIN- FIN- 3rd 32 ČZ SWE9 SWE8 GDR3 GDR- TCH- TCH7 URS4 URS3 UK3 UK1 ITA2 ITA1 GER1 GER1 NED3 NED2 LUX1 LUX- 1966 500cc ČZ CH2 CH3 AUT1 AUT2 ITA5 ITA4 DEN1 DEN2 SWE4 SWE- FIN5 FIN5 GDR3 GDR4 TCH5 TCH2 URS6 URS8 UK8 UK8 NED1 NED1 BEL3 BEL4 LUX8 LUX7 GER- GER- 2nd 40 1967 500cc ČZ AUT- AUT- ITA- ITA- SWE8 SWE5 TCH- TCH- USR- USR- FRA- FRA- GER- GER- UK- UK- BEL- BEL- LUX7 LUX5 CH- CH- 15th 4Sources: