WHEN VIKINGS PLUNDERED the CATHEDRAL
Sixty years ago, Swedish invaders laid waste to the 500cc World Motocross Championship. We unearthed these pictures from the 1960 Namur Grand Prix, where Bill Nilsson clinched his second world title and Husqvarna’s first in the sport’s blue riband class
Namur sits at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers in Belgium and is the capital of the Wallonia region. Its citadel dates to as early as 937 AD, but was reworked to roughly its current form in the 1600s and is classified as the region’s major heritage site. But for motorcycle fans, the Namur Citadel meant much more – as the setting for one of the greatest tracks in motocross history.
It’s not seen action since 2007, but in its heyday Namur was a wonderfully traditional, totally gnarly race course located on the hills overlooked by the Citadel.
It was a track like no other in the world – deep sand in places, slippery grass on the hills. It threaded through dense woods, over roots, rocks and even cobbles – plus, there was a narrow tarmac section with a pub on the side of the course (where, in the 1981 Belgian GP, Hakan Carlqvist famously stopped off mid-race while he was leading to sup a pint, before carrying on to victory). And the entire course was always lined with fanatical race fans who dubbed it the ‘Cathedral of Motocross’. But this was no place for silent worship – the noise was utterly deafening. And the atmosphere? It was just bonkers. So when we came across a set of pics taken by ace snapper Gordon Francis of the 1960 Belgian GP, tucked away in the Bauer archive, we just had to share them with you. OK, maybe the 1960 race wasn’t as raucous as those in the 1980s, but the racing was just as fierce and there was something special about the characters who manhandled their four-stroke behemoth bangers around such a challenging course.
The 1960 season – fought over nine rounds with the best five scores to count – saw three Swedish riders locked in a battle for the title: Husqvarna’s 1957 world champion Bill Nilsson and Rolf Tibblin, plus defending champion Sten Lundin on a Monark. For the first seven rounds, the overall championship scoring classification had been determined by points from two motos. But in the penultimate round at Namur, it was a single, 18-lap, 39-mile race. In the early August sunshine, the race was plagued by dust, but Lundin came from sixth to second and was closing on Nilsson when the chequered flag came out. Nilsson, though, in beating his arch-rival Lundin to the flag by 30 seconds, clinched the world title.
Special thanks to Fabrice Bazire for information supplied. Other sources: MCN, Motocross – the Golden Era by Paul Stephens (excellent book!); MC Nytt online archive; Journey Back in Time by Youthsteam; Classic British Scramblers by Don Morley; Built for Speed by John Griffith; The Metisse Story by David Gittins (another excellent book!); Wiki.
BILL NILSSON
Bill Nilsson won the first ever 500cc World Motocross championship in 1957, riding his home-built Crescent, powered by a 1956 350cc AJS 7R road racing engine. For 1960, Nilsson switched to Husqvarna and gave them their first 500 world title when he clinched the championship by winning the penultimate round at Namur. Nilsson, just 5ft 7in in his socks, was one of the toughest racers in the sport. He claimed he lost his BSA works ride because he had such uncompromising tactics – which earned him dubious nicknames like ‘Wild Bill’ and ‘Buffalo Bill’ – and yet in the formative years of world motocross he was the man to beat.
STEN LUNDIN
Sten Lundin won the 1959 500cc title riding a Monark, and would win the title again in 1961 riding a hybrid Lito, based on his previous season’s Monark – but with the engine fettled by Swedish engineer Nils Hedlund. He looked set to claim the 1960 world championship, too, until his title bid came off the rails at Hawkstone, his bogey track where he always seemed to struggle.
‘NILSSON SWITCHED TO HUSQVARNA AND GAVE THEM THEIR FIRST 500 WORLD TITLE’
STEN LUNDIN’S MONARK
Swedish manufacturer Monark came to prominence in off-road racing in 1954, with all eight of their riders winning gold medals in the ISDT. In 1959, Lundin won the 500cc world motocross title riding their works bike featuring an Albin engine that had been tweaked by former road racer Nils Olov Hedlund and mated to a BSA Gold Star gearbox and clutch.
HUSQVARNA’S TITLE-WINNING BIKE
Husqvarna’s four-stroke single ‘crosser was designed by Ruben Helmin and was based around an Albin 112 TV engine (like the Monark, aka Lito) which was based on a unit originally for the military and designed by Folke Mannerstedt. It was reworked by Hedlund, who built 10 engines with German-made alloy barrels for the works team. The gearbox was British. Frames were hand-welded chrome-moly, with Norton Roadholder forks. Wheel hubs were Prenafa (though Nilsson used BSA rear hubs, too), featuring Dunlop steel rims and fitted with Trelleborg tyres.
THE FRONT RUNNERS
The leading group of riders in the early stages of the Namur GP include: Roger Vanderbecken (Triumph, 34); Bill Nilsson (Husqvarna, 16); Gunnar Johansson (40); Ove Lundell (56); Walter Baeten (42); John Draper (44); Les Archer (6). Vanderbecken retired early on. Archer’s Norton was based on a long-stroke Manx engine with an Inter head, tuned by Ray Petty in a Ray Hankins-built frame, with Norton ES2 forks and Manx-type hubs. Archer had won the European Motocross title in 1956 – the final year before the series was granted world status.
WALTER BAETEN
Belgian Walter Baeten (42) made his GP debut in this race and became one of the mainstays of the 500cc World Motocross Championship in the early 1960s. His brother René won the world title in 1958 riding a Belgian FN. René started the season strongly with two wins in the opening rounds of the 1960 season, but crashed heavily in his home round at Hyllinge. Rolf Tibblin (28) was Nilsson’s Husqvarna team-mate and would go on to become 500cc world champion in 1962 and ’63, riding for Husqvarna.
JOHN DRAPER
John Draper (BSA) was a Scottish Six Days Trial winner as well as being a top class motocrosser. He led the British team to victory in the Motocross des Nations in Sweden in 1950 and won the European Motocross 500cc title in 1955 by a single point from Bill Nilsson, his works BSA team-mate. Draper finished runner-up to Norton rider Les Archer in the 1956 series and fourth in the 1958 championship, which by then had ‘world’ status. By the time of this race at Namur in 1960, Draper would be in his final season of motocross GPS.
MONARK BECOMES LITO
After Monark team manger Lennart Varborn died during 1960, ex-racer Kaj Bornebusch took over the works bikes, renamed them Lito (after the Lithograph company he owned) and signed Sten Lundin, who won the 1961 world championship on the same bike with which he’d won the 1959 title! Lito was in existence from 1958-65 and would win the 500 world title with Sten Lundin in 1961. They built some 35 bikes in total, featuring BSA frames, Norton forks and front wheels, and an Albin engine modified by Hedlund, with modified Gold Star cylinders and cylinder heads. From 1960-63, Monark produced frames, fuel tanks and other small components for them.
‘BELGIAN WALTER BAETEN MADE HIS GP DEBUT AT NAMUR’