The 1965 Motocross World Championship was the 9th edition of the

Motocross World Championship FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps per ...

organized by the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

and reserved for 500cc and 250cc motorcycles.

Summary

Jeff Smith won his second consecutive 500cc motocross world championship for the BSA factory racing team with six Grand Prix victories.

Paul Friedrichs Paul Friedrichs (21 March 1940; Buchholz – 30 August 2012; Erfurt) was an East German professional motocross racer. He won three consecutive FIM 500cc motocross world championships from 1966 to 1968. Biography Friedrichs grew up in Mecklen ...

took three victories to claim second place for the ČZ factory ahead of former world champion

Rolf Tibblin Rolf Tibblin (born 7 May 1937) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1957 to 1967. Tibblin was a three-time motocross world champion known for his exceptional physical fitness. Mot ...

. Smith's win riding a

BSA Victor The BSA B44 was a series of unit construction single-cylinder OHV four-stroke motorcycles made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company between 1966 and 1970. The machines were developed from the BSA World Championship Motocross machines, which wer ...

would mark the last time that a

four-stroke engine A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

powered motorcycle would win the 500cc motocross world championship for the next several decades as,

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of t ...

technology began to dominate off-road motorcycle racing until 2003 when, mounting government environmental regulations caused the FIM implemented new rules favoring environmentally friendlier four-stroke engines. In the 250cc division, Russian ČZ rider

Victor Arbekov Victor Arbekov (8 March 1942 – 18 February 2017) was a Russian Grand Prix motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1963 to 1969. Arbekov is notable for being the first Russian competitor to win an FIM motocross worl ...

won five Grand Prix races to claim the world championship ahead of the defending champion,

Joël Robert Joël Robert (26 November 1943 – 13 January 2021) was a Belgian professional motocross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1960 to 1976 when the sport experienced a surge in popularity worldwide. A six-time world cham ...

Summary

Grands Prix

500cc

250cc

Final standings

500cc

250cc

Notes

References