1980 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1980 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 24th F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season.

Summary 500 class André Malherbe (Honda) won the first 500cc World Championship of his career after a season-long battle with Brad Lackey (Kawasaki) that was not decided until the final race of the year. As well as battling with Lackey, Malherbe also faced a strong field of competitors in the 1980 season including the defending champion Graham Noyce (Honda), five-time World Champion Roger De Coster (Honda), and the 1979 250cc World Champion Håkan Carlqvist (Yamaha) as well as talented newcomer André Vromans (Yamaha).

The season was dominated by Malherbe and Lackey as the two racers traded the top two positions in the points standing five times during a season-long battle for the 500cc World Championship. Defending champion Noyce won the Finnish Grand Prix but then suffered a broken leg and missed the remainder of the season recovering from his injury. Carlqvist remained in contention after winning his home Grand Prix in Sweden but then faded during the second half of the season. Entering the final race of the year in Luxembourg, Malherbe held a slim one-point lead over Lackey in the championship points standings. Lackey suffered two crashes in Luxembourg which allowed Malherbe to win the world championship with Lackey finishing in second place. Malherbe claimed the world title by winning 9 individual heat races and 4 Grand Prix overall victories. Vromans won two Grand Prix races and challenged his Yamaha teammate for third place before Carlqvist outscored him in the final two races.

Privateer racer Marty Moates (Yamaha) scored an upset victory at the 500cc United States Grand Prix held at the Carlsbad Raceway. His unexpected victory against a field of top-rated competitors came at a time when European racers dominated the sport and marked the first time that an American had won his home Grand Prix since the event's inception in 1973. Five-time World Champion Roger De Coster announced his retirement after scoring an impressive victory at the season-ending 500cc Luxembourg Grand Prix. The retirements of Heikki Mikkola and De Coster who had dominated the 1970s, marked the beginning of a new era in the Motocross World Championships.

250 class The 1980 250cc World Championship lacked any one clearly dominant competitor as eleven different riders won heat races during the season. Despite only winning only three Grand Prix victories, Georges Jobé (Suzuki) won the championship through sheer consistency as he was able to score points at a rate that none of his competitors were able to match. Runnerup Kees van der Ven (Maico) also had three Grand Prix victories but failed to score any points in 10 races. 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.

125 class After dominating the 1979 season, Harry Everts faced stronger opposition in the 1980 125cc Motocross World Championship from a trio of young riders. Marc Velkeneers (Yamaha) won two of the first three rounds to take the championship points lead. Everts then suffered a broken wrist in France forcing him to miss three rounds while points leader Velkeneers suffered a broken leg in West Germany. Their absence allowed Michèle Rinaldi (TGM) and Eric Geboers (Suzuki) to narrow the points gap before Everts was able to return and win the Finnish and Spanish Grand Prix events to clinch the title at the last race of the season by 5 points over Rinaldi. Everts' Suzuki teammate Akira Watanabe was expected to be one of his strongest rival for the title but he suffered an injury in the opening round and never returned. The dominant Suzuki factory racing team narrowly avoided defeat by the tiny Italian manufacturer TGM with Rinaldi finishing in second place just 5 points behind Everts.

Grands Prix 500cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 April 13 Swiss Grand Prix Payerne André Malherbe André Malherbe André Malherbe Report 2 April 20 Austrian Grand Prix Sittendorf Brad Lackey Brad Lackey Brad Lackey Report 3 May 4 French Grand Prix Gaillefontaine André Malherbe André Malherbe André Malherbe Report 4 May 11 Swedish Grand Prix Vissefjarda Brad Lackey Håkan Carlqvist Håkan Carlqvist Report 5 May 18 Finnish Grand Prix Ruskeasanta Graham Noyce André Malherbe Graham Noyce Report 6 June 8 Italian Grand Prix Fermo Roger De Coster André Malherbe André Malherbe Report 7 June 15 Dutch Grand Prix Valkenswaard André Vromans André Vromans André Vromans Report 8 June 22 United States Grand Prix Carlsbad Marty Moates Marty Moates Marty Moates Report 9 July 13 Canadian Grand Prix Saint-Gabriel Brad Lackey André Malherbe Håkan Carlqvist Report 10 July 20 West German Grand Prix Gaildorf André Vromans Håkan Carlqvist André Vromans Report 11 August 5 Belgian Grand Prix Namur André Malherbe André Malherbe André Malherbe Report 12 August 12 Luxembourg Grand Prix Ettelbruck Roger De Coster Roger De Coster Roger De Coster ReportSources:

250cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 April 13 Spanish Grand Prix Sabadell Rolf Dieffenbach Jaroslav Falta Rolf Dieffenbach Report 2 May 11 Czechoslovak Grand Prix Holice Jaroslav Falta Dimitar Rangelov Raymond Boven Report 3 May 18 West German Grand Prix Beuren Neil Hudson Raymond Boven Fritz Kobele Report 4 June 1 Belgian Grand Prix Marche-en-Famenne Georges Jobé Georges Jobé Georges Jobé Report 5 June 8 Polish Grand Prix Szczecin Kees van der Ven Rolf Dieffenbach Kees van der Ven Report 6 June 15 Russian Grand Prix Chișinău Dimitar Rangelov Vladimir Kavinov Vladimir Kavinov Report 7 June 22 British Grand Prix Hawkstone Park Kees van der Ven Georges Jobé Georges Jobé Report 8 June 29 French Grand Prix Brou Jean-Claude Laquaye Dimitar Rangelov Georges Jobé Report 9 July 13 Dutch Grand Prix Hengelo Kees van der Ven Kees van der Ven Kees van der Ven Report 10 July 20 United States Grand Prix Unadilla Kent Howerton Kent Howerton Kent Howerton Report 11 August 17 Finnish Grand Prix Hyvinkää Kees van der Ven Jean-Claude Laquaye Kees van der Ven Report 12 August 24 Swedish Grand Prix Bra Jean-Paul Mingels Rolf Dieffenbach Jean-Paul Mingels ReportSources:

125cc RoundDateGrand PrixLocationRace 1 WinnerRace 2 WinnerOverall WinnerReport 1 March 30 Dutch Grand Prix Norg Harry Everts Marc Velkeneers Harry Everts Report 2 April 13 Austrian Grand Prix Launsdorf Harry Everts Marc Velkeneers Harry Everts Report 3 April 20 Belgian Grand Prix Hechtel Harry Everts Marc Velkeneers Marc Velkeneers Report 4 April 27 French Grand Prix Verdun Marc Velkeneers Eric Geboers Eric Geboers Report 5 May 18 Yugoslavian Grand Prix Tržič Michele Rinaldi Gaston Rahier Gaston Rahier Report 6 June 8 West German Grand Prix Sankt Wendel Eric Geboers Tetsumi Mitsuyasu Eric Geboers Report 7 June 15 Italian Grand Prix Montevarchi Michele Rinaldi Michele Rinaldi Michele Rinaldi Report 8 June 22 Czechoslovak Grand Prix Dalečín Tetsumi Mitsuyasu Eric Geboers Eric Geboers Report 9 July 6 Finnish Grand Prix Salo Matti Autio Harry Everts Harry Everts Report 10 July 27 United States Grand Prix Lexington Johnny O'Mara Ron Sun Johnny O'Mara Report 11 August 17 Spanish Grand Prix Montgai Harry Everts Harry Everts Harry Everts ReportSources:

Final standings

Points are awarded based on the results of each individual heat race. The top 10 classified finishers in each heat race score points according to the following scale;

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

500cc (Results in italics indicate overall winner) Pos Rider Machine CH AUT FRA SWE FIN ITA NED USA CAN GER BEL LUX Points 1 André Malherbe Honda 1 1 8 5 1 1 3 2 4 1 2 1 2 7 3 1 8 1 1 3 3 235 2 Brad Lackey Kawasaki 2 2 1 1 5 2 1 3 3 3 5 6 2 6 1 4 2 2 3 2 5 10 221 3 Håkan Carlqvist Yamaha 3 3 2 2 4 2 1 10 8 4 2 2 2 4 1 4 3 4 2 188 4 André Vromans Yamaha 4 5 3 10 7 4 5 6 5 3 2 1 1 4 6 3 1 3 2 166 5 Roger De Coster Honda 5 6 4 5 2 1 3 4 9 3 4 2 8 1 1 135 6 Gérard Rond Suzuki 6 4 7 4 7 2 6 4 3 3 2 5 5 8 4 8 112 7 Jean-Jacques Bruno Suzuki 5 6 2 3 5 6 9 5 4 5 9 68 8 Graham Noyce Honda 3 4 5 1 4 4 55 9 Yvan van den Broeck Maico 7 4 8 8 9 7 10 7 10 5 6 4 49 10 Jaak van Velthoven KTM 6 8 8 7 8 5 9 6 8 10 9 5 43 11 Tapani Pikkarainen KTM 8 10 10 9 6 10 6 6 8 6 6 36 12 Herbert Schmitz Maico 7 8 8 8 7 5 7 6 32 13 Marty Moates Yamaha 1 1 30 14 Gerrit Wolsink Maico 9 10 3 7 5 10 24 15 Danny LaPorte Suzuki 3 3 20 16 Arne Lindfors Yamaha 6 6 10 9 7 17 Conny Carlsson Husqvarna 9 8 8 9 8 7 17 18 Laurence Spence Yamaha 9 10 9 7 6 9 16 19 Ludwig Reinbold KTM 9 6 10 5 14 Geoff Mayes Maico 7 6 9 8 14 20 Peter Herlings Maico 9 9 7 10 8 12 22 Chuck Sun Honda 7 5 10 23 Marty Smith Suzuki 4 8 24 Bertil Ovgard Husqvarna 10 10 9 9 10 7 25 Goat Breker Kawasaki 5 6 Walter Gruhler Suzuki 7 10 10 6 27 André Massant Maico 6 5 Morizio Dolce Maico 7 10 5 Jim Gibson Honda 10 7 5 30 Uno Palm Suzuki 7 4 Arne Lodal Husqvarna 7 4 Raymond Heeren Yamaha 7 4 33 Rex Staten Yamaha 8 3 Gary Semics Yamaha 8 3 35 Fritz Graf Yamaha 9 2 Herbert Salzmann Husqvarna 9 2 Gaylon Mosier Kawasaki 9 2 Georg Reiter KTM 9 2 39 Jim Pomeroy Beta 10 1 Pelle Grandqvist Husqvarna 10 1Sources:

250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos Rider Machine ESP CZE GER BEL POL USR UK FRA NED USA FIN SWE Points 1 Georges Jobé Suzuki 4 4 4 3 2 1 1 4 3 4 2 2 1 3 3 3 4 2 2 8 2 218 2 Kees van der Ven Maico 8 8 10 1 4 1 2 1 1 5 4 1 2 7 132 3 Dimitar Rangelov Husqvarna 8 6 1 5 4 3 3 5 1 3 8 5 1 7 116 4 Rolf Dieffenbach Honda 1 3 8 8 1 5 10 4 10 5 8 3 1 96 5 Raymond Boven Husqvarna 2 2 1 4 4 8 7 6 6 7 6 7 3 95 6 Jean-Claude Laquaye SWM 7 9 3 6 5 2 7 5 1 8 5 1 88 7 Jaroslav Falta ČZ 1 1 4 6 7 2 10 8 5 10 3 80 8 Erkki Sundstrom Husqvarna 6 7 8 7 6 8 2 9 4 2 9 9 4 70 9 Jean-Paul Mingels Yamaha 7 4 7 9 2 9 5 1 3 63 10 Matti Tarkkonen Yamaha 10 10 7 6 6 9 8 8 5 10 10 2 7 6 9 55 11 Fritz Kobele Honda 2 2 2 3 10 7 51 12 Vladimir Kavinov ČZ 5 5 5 2 1 45 Benny Wilken KTM 3 6 2 6 5 9 6 45 14 Jan Kristofferson Yamaha 6 5 5 8 4 10 7 8 5 42 15 Patrick Fura Husqvarna 3 9 3 10 3 4 41 16 Gennady Moiseyev ČZ 6 2 9 3 4 37 Magnus Nyberg KTM 6 6 10 10 6 4 2 37 18 Neil Hudson Maico 3 5 1 9 33 19 Søren Mortensen Kramer-Rotax 8 10 5 9 4 9 10 10 4 32 20 Kent Howerton Suzuki 1 1 30 21 Darrell Schultz Suzuki 3 3 20 22 Henk Van Mierlo Suzuki 6 3 15 23 Patrick Boniface KTM 9 2 14 Rolf Wisksell Husqvarna 7 4 9 14 25 Leif Nicklasson Husqvarna 10 7 9 8 8 13 26 Mike Guerra Husqvarna 4 7 12 Sven Berggren Husqvarna 5 5 12 28 Johny Wasilewski Honda 5 8 9 Hans Maisch Maico 7 10 7 9 Jiří Churavý ČZ 7 10 9 9 9 31 Jukka Sintonen Suzuki 8 7 7 Michele Magarotto Montesa 10 9 7 7 33 Billy Aldbridge Suzuki 6 5 Dave Watson Suzuki 6 5 JoJo Keller Honda 6 5 David Bailey Kawasaki 6 5 Heinz Kinigadner KTM 9 8 5 38 Taimi Simo Husqvarna 8 3 39 Tony Arcarons Montesa 9 2 Stanislas Jacenek ČZ 9 2 Rob Hooper Maico 9 2 42 Willy Wallinger KTM 10 1 Jimmy Ellis Yamaha 10 1 Ove Karlsson Suzuki 10 1Sources:

125cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)