Having originated as a sport among motorcycling enthusiasts in the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century, motocross grew to become a raging phenomenon in other countries in Europe as the decades progressed. It was the 1970s that marked the rising popularity of the sport at a global level. The sport that started out as a fun racing event called 'Scrambles' had steadily gained international stature.
The 1970s witnessed further changes in the way motocross emerged as the popular sport among all motorcycling enthusiasts across various countries of the world. This included rules in the game undergoing changes. Minimum weights for motorcycles were introduced, as were two heats counting points towards the Motocross World Championship, as opposed to only one previously.
The trend as far as the motocross champions themselves were concerned also underwent a drastic change in the 1970s. In the 500cc category, Belgium's Robert De Coster won the championship in 1971, marking the first of a series of five consecutive wins, broken only by Finland's Heikki Mikkola in 1974. The former half of the decade also witnessed Belgian dominance in the 250cc category, prominent names among whom were Joel Roberts, Sylvain Geboers, Roger De Coster and Harry Everts. Everts went on to win the championship in 1975, which till 1972 had been triumphed over by Roberts for five consecutive years.
1972 was also the year in which the first motocross event was held in a stadium. The venue happened to be the Los Angeles Coliseum. It was also in this era that the MX3 category of motocross racing or the 125cc category was introduced. This was in the year 1975. Belgium seemed to dominate the first few championships in this category. In fact, except for 1978, when Japan's Akira Watanabe won the championship, it was Belgium that dominated this category throughout the 1970s. Gaston Rahier and Harry Everts were two names that rocked the motocross 125cc circuit in this era.
The case was similar in the 250cc and 500cc categories, where Belgium dominated in the former half of the decade. Roger De Coster, Joel Roberts and Harry Everts remained some of the prominent winners of motocross racing championships. This decade also marked the end of Roberts' motocross world racing career, which was the result of a severe knee injury during the 500cc Belgian Grand Prix in Namur.
This decade marked the gradual dominance of Japanese manufacturer Suzuki in the motocross racing fraternity. In fact, in all the racing categories of the Motocross World Championship, Suzuki's machines were at some or the other winning position. Amid the European motorcycle makers, this brand was not only gaining recognition, but also delivering machines that had in them the winning streak.
The latter half of the 70s marked the advent of motorcycling enthusiasts from the United States into serious motocross at the championship level. This slowly developed into the American presence in the winner position as well. As far as motocross was concerned, America had finally arrived!
Formed in 1972, the American Motorcyclist Association held the first race in its motocross series, the AMA Motocross Championship. The 500cc and the 250cc categories were introduced in this championship. The 125cc category got added two years later. In the first motocross championship held by the AMA, Brad Lackey won in the 500cc category, while Gary Jones was the winner of the 250cc category.
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