Torsten Hallman

Torsten Hallman (born 17 October 1939) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer and business entrepreneur. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1959 to 1971, most prominently as a member of the Husqvarna factory racing team where he won four 250cc Motocross World Championships.

Hallman was part of a contingent of Swedish motorcyclists including; Bill Nilsson, Rolf Tibblin and Sten Lundin who dominated the sport of motocross in the early 1960s. His battles with Belgium's Joël Robert were considered some of the best in the history of the championships.

Motorcycling career Hallman was born in Viksta, just outside of Uppsala, Sweden. His father and older brother were both motorcycle racers, and they had built a practice motocross track on their farm where Hallman first learned to ride at the age of 13. After the DKW was worn down from constant riding, he next acquired a 175cc Royal Enfield motorcycle. He then won the 1958 200cc Swedish Enduro National Championship. He placed seventh in the second heat race. Five-time World Champion, Roger De Coster, cited Hallman's riding style as having influenced his own riding habits. He won another heat race in East Germany ahead of Stig Rickardsson (Husqvarna) and Arthur Lampkin (BSA), but then broke his collarbone at 1960 250cc British Grand Prix which forced him to miss the remainder of the season. He improved to fourth in the 1961 250cc European Motocross Championship, with Bickers repeating as champion.

The Husqvarna company had been making motorcycles since 1903, but in the early 1960s, the company almost stopped motorcycle production as demand had decreased. Husqvarna had informed Hallman that their motorcycle development would stop and that he should seek employment elsewhere. Husqvarna was one of the first motorcycle manufacturers to adopt two-stroke engine technology for motocross racing.

During the 1950s, motocross competitors used motorcycles with heavy, pre-war, four-stroke engines, however the advances in two-stroke technology after the Second World War made apparent the importance of lightness and agility in motocross racing. Hallman was asked to stay on and help development of the new motorcycle while competing in the World Championships.

Hallman successfully defended his crown in 1963, dominating the 1963 250cc World Championship by winning eight of the fourteen rounds to take the title over three ČZ factory team riders. At the 1963 Trophée des Nations, Hallman won both heat races to help the Swedish team defeat the British and Czechoslovak teams.

22-year-old newcomer, Åke Jonsson, who had defeated Hallman in the 1964 250cc Swedish Motocross Championship, would join Hallman on the Husqvarna factory racing team to help with development of the new race bike, and to help fend off the threat from the ČZ factory racing team in the 1964 250cc World Championship. ČZ had developed a new twin-port, two-stroke engine that considerably increased its horsepower. However, Hallman rejected their offer preferring to remain with the Husqvarna team. Hallman was once again the top scoring rider at the 1964 Trophée des Nations, as the Swedish team took top honors for the second consecutive year.

In 1965, Hallman was completing his senior year in college and the heavy workload meant he had to reduce his racing schedule, yet he still managed a fourth place in the 1965 250cc World Championship. Russian ČZ rider Victor Arbekov won five Grand Prix races to claim the world championship ahead of the defending champion Joël Robert.

The following three seasons were marked by the intense rivalry between Hallman and his great rival, Joël Robert. Husqvarna produced a new race bike for 1966 with a new, rigid frame that placed the engine lower so that handling was improved. The new front forks were also developed and produced in-house. Defending champion Arbekov began the 1966 season with a victory at the Spanish Grand Prix, however he was injured in a serious crash at the second round in France and did not return to form until the 14th round. Despite Arbekov's absence, Hallman still had to fend off ČZ riders Robert and Petr Dobry.

Hallman was once again a member of the victorious Swedish team at the 1966 Trophée des Nations, helping the Swedish team take top honors for the third time in four years (the 1965 Trophée des Nations event was canceled due to bad weather). During his free time, Hallman also participated in Swedish auto rally racing competitions, driving a Saab 96 with his older brother, Hans, serving as his co-driver. Hallman impressed American spectators who had never witnessed the kind of acrobatic off-road riding performed by Hallman. Motorcycle Hall of Fame member, Dick Mann, who rode against Hallman in 1966, declared after Hallman's visit to the United States, “Nothing affected the sport so much in my lifetime as the Europeans coming to America!” Hallman and Robert were once again the main protagonists in the battle for the 1967 250cc motocross World Championship. The two rivals dominated the championship with five Grand Prix victories apiece. He also helped the Swedish team score a second place in 1967 500cc Motocross des Nations behind Great Britain.

The two competitors continued their rivalry into the 1968 season. The ČZ factory switched Dave Bickers from the 500cc class to the 250cc class and hired 23-year-old Sylvain Geboers to support Robert while Husqvarna retained Håkan Andersson in support of Hallman.

Hallman took the lead in the first heat race and had built a 23 second lead over Robert, when his motorcycle's rear tire was punctured allowing Robert to pass Hallman for the victory. He also helped the Swedish team score a second place in 1969 500cc Motocross des Nations behind Belgium. After he was slowed by a back injury, his results suffered and he was released by the Husqvarna factory team after the 1969 season. Hallman scored Yamaha's first motocross world championship points with a 7th place at the 1971 250cc Dutch Grand Prix. At the age of 32, he retired from competition at the end of the 1971 season, but continued to work on motorcycle development for Yamaha.

Hallman was instrumental in Yamaha's decision to purchase the patent for an innovative single shock absorber rear suspension designed by Lucien Tilkens, a professor at the Liege Engineering College in Belgium. When Tilkens had his new suspension system rejected by the Suzuki factory, he approached Hallman who then tested a motorcycle fitted with the new suspension. Having seen the benefits of the suspension for himself, Hallman convinced Yamaha team manager, Mr. Kuratomo, that the new invention was worth developing. Åberg rode the bike to a victory in the first moto of the 1977 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix and ended the season ranked 9th in the final world championship standings.

Hallman won 68 individual heat races and 37 Grand Prix victories during his world championship racing career. He won four 250cc motocross world titles (1962, 1963, 1966, 1967} and four 250cc Swedish national motocross championships (1961, 1962, 1963, 1965). He was a member of five victorious Swedish teams at the Trophée des Nations (1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968), and he was the top individual points scorer at four Trophée des Nations events, (1961, 1963, 1964, 1967).

Motocross Grand Prix Results

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

Points system from 1969 to 1980:

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

Denotes European motocross championship only.

Year Class Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 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 R1 R2 1959 250cc Husqvarna AUT- AUT- CH- CH- BEL- BEL- GDR- GDR- TCH- TCH- POL- POL- GER- GER- ITA- ITA- FRA- FRA- NED3 NED7 UK- UK- LUX- LUX- SWE2 SWE2 9th 9 1960 250cc Husqvarna CH1 CH- BEL10 BEL- FRA2 FRA4 TCH- TCH- POL- POL- ITA3 ITA2 GDR3 GDR1 FIN4 FIN2 LUX3 LUX3 UK- UK- SWE- SWE- GER- GER- 7th 24 1961 250cc Husqvarna BEL6 BEL4 FRA2 FRA3 NED3 NED3 TCH- TCH4 POL- POL- LUX4 LUX2 FIN2 FIN3 ITA- ITA- GER5 GER1 UK3 UK4 CH2 CH6 SWE3 SWE- GDR- GDR- 4th 33 1962 250cc Husqvarna ESP- ESP- CH3 CH5 BEL1 BEL3 FRA1 FRA2 TCH2 TCH- POL- POL- NED- NED- LUX1 LUX1 FIN7 FIN9 USR1 USR1 GER1 GER1 ITA1 ITA1 UK2 UK2 SWE1 SWE1 GDR1 GDR1 1st 56 1963 250cc Husqvarna ESP2 ESP1 ITA1 ITA1 FRA1 FRA1 CH1 CH1 GER1 GER1 LUX1 LUX1 NED7 NED1 UK1 UK1 SWE1 SWE1 FIN1 FIN1 USR- USR1 POL- POL- TCH2 TCH2 GDR- GDR- 1st 56 1964 250cc Husqvarna ESP1 ESP1 BEL3 BEL2 CH10 CH5 TCH9 TCH2 GER2 GER4 LUX3 LUX5 ITA4 ITA1 UK3 UK- SWE2 SWE2 FIN4 FIN4 USR- USR- POL2 POL1 GDR- GDR- FRA2 FRA1 2nd 50 1965 250cc Husqvarna ESP1 ESP8 ITA- ITA- FRA5 FRA6 BEL4 BEL2 TCH3 TCH3 GER- GER- NED- NED- LUX9 LUX7 POL- POL- USR- USR- GDR- GDR- UK- UK- SWE2 SWE1 FIN1 FIN1 AUT- AUT- 4th 35 1966 250cc Husqvarna ESP3 ESP2 FRA2 FRA1 BEL1 BEL3 CH3 CH3 TCH2 TCH2 GER3 GER1 NED1 NED- LUX- LUX- ITA1 ITA1 POL2 POL2 GDR4 GDR8 SWE2 SWE2 FIN3 FIN3 USR- USR- AUT2 AUT4 1st 58 1967 250cc Husqvarna ESP- ESP2 CH1 CH2 FRA2 FRA2 BEL3 BEL3 GER2 GER1 NED1 NED- ITA2 ITA1 UK- UK3 SWE1 SWE1 FIN1 FIN2 USR1 USR1 POL- POL- 1st 52 1968 250cc Husqvarna ESP2 ESP1 BEL- BEL- TCH- TCH- FRA2 FRA- NED8 NED3 GER3 GER1 LUX1 LUX2 POL7 POL1 USR2 USR1 YUG1 YUG1 FIN3 FIN- SWE4 SWE2 UK2 UK2 AUT2 AUT- 2nd 52 1969 250cc Husqvarna ESP4 ESP7 CH8 CH6 YUG5 YUG2 TCH- TCH- POL2 POL5 GER- GER- NED- NED- FRA- FRA- UK- UK- SWE4 SWE- FIN- FIN- USR- USR- 6th 32 1970 250cc Husqvarna ESP6 ESP2 FRA5 FRA- BEL- BEL- YUG10 YUG- ITA- ITA9 USR- USR- POL- POL- UK9 UK5 FIN- FIN- GDR- GDR- CH7 CH- AUT- AUT- 11th 17 1971 250cc Yamaha ESP- ESP- CH- CH- POL- POL- GER- GER- YUG- YUG- ITA- ITA- NED8 NED10 GDR- GDR- FIN- FIN- SWE- SWE- UK- UK- AUT- AUT- 22nd 4Sources: