September 2020 - Volume 4 - Issue 9 On The Pegs September 2020 | Page 110
On The Pegs 110
from the previous year. It was unstable so I exchanged it for Norton front forks,
which worked a lot better. A further Achilles-heel on my bike was the rear brakes,
causing me repeated trouble, locking up when I used them hard. The solution
turned up as we developed a floating rear-anchor point, which would later be used
by all MX-Husqvarnas.”
The season consisted of 13 rounds, beginning at the end of April in Aywaille,
Belgium and ending with the final in Apolda, East Germany in mid-September. Four
and a half months of fighting was ahead of Hallman and Husqvarna. The national
championship was also held within this time. It only made up for three rounds, all
in the region of the Stockholm area. So, the opening round was held in Belgium
where fans were plentiful. Motocross has always attracted big crowds and is still as
popular as eating pommes frites here. It turned out that Bickers had preserved his
top form and he won this event without having to show his cards. He was an effective
rider, easy to underestimate, but always a kind guy with whom you could
have trusted stealing horses. Hallman crossed the finish line in fourth and had to
be happy with three EC-points from the beginning. Well, even icons have their off
days.
Two weeks later the circus moved on to Thomer-la-Sogne in France, where equally
there was a great MX interest. Bickers took his second victory on the grassy circuit
as Hallman came home third, picking up new valuable points. The coming week
it was time for Markelo, Holland and much sand. Briton Jeff Smith prevailed in the
dust clouds while Hallman repeated his previous show, now earning another four
points. At this time, he was second in the EC rankings. The month of May’s third EC
race came near Prague in Czechoslovakia. Close to 100,000 people saw Bickers win
again while Torsten failed to pick up points. The fifth event of the month was held
in Katowice, Poland. Despite that, less than half the season was over, Bickers gained
his fifth win and was already on a good way to the new title. Hallman did not enter
as there were currency-restrictions at hand, which made his start impossible.
In Schifflange, Luxemburg, Dave Bickers won once more, increasing his chances of
taking the title.
“All riders have the dream of winning a Grand Prix,” Torsten Hallman remembers.
“At least once before they set their sights on the title. Together with three other
riders, we had borrowed a DKW pick-up, which was loaded with our equipment
to its breaking point. All four of us sat in the front while the bikes were in the back.
We took the ferry to Abo in Finland and had another 250 kilometres to drive. The
vehicle did not make more than 40-50 km/h and we stopped every 50 kilometres
to rest our sore bodies. The track at Ruskeasanta consisted of red sand, which is