Håkan Carlqvist (15 January 1954 – 6 July 2017) was a Swedish professional

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

racer. He competed in the

Motocross World Championship The 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 ...

s from 1974 to 1988. Carlqvist was a two-time world champion who was known for his fierce competitiveness.

Biography

Born in the

Järfälla Municipality Järfälla Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east central Sweden, and is considered a suburb of Stockholm. Its seat is located in Jakobsberg, part of the Stockholm urban area. Järfälla has not been amalgamated with othe ...

near

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Carlqvist began competing in the world championships as a

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

riding an Ossa. He won the F.I.M. 250cc

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

as a member of the Husqvarna factory racing team. He also won the 1979

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (, Picard language, Picard: ''Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache''), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a Communes of France, commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, northern France. ...

beach race. In 1980, he switched to Yamaha to contest the 500cc motocross world championship. He finished 3rd in 1981 and 7th in 1982. In 1983, he battled against

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

teammates André Malherbe and Graham Noyce to claim the 500cc world championship, on a Yamaha. In 1984, an injury stopped Carlqvist from contesting the title again. He raced for Yamaha until end of 1986. He continued the 500 GPs in 1987 and 1988 with a

Kawasaki KX500. His last Grand Prix victory was the Belgian Grand Prix at Namur in 1988. During this race, he stunned the spectators by stopping before the end of the 2nd moto to drink a beer, while leading the race by somewhat 50 seconds, and going back into the race to win it. In 1983, alongside his motocross racing he also started to try out three wheeled racing. He was first with Yamaha but in 1986 he rode for Honda and he won the national three wheeled championship in Sweden. He had plans to come to the United States in 1987 to race for Honda and several Honda ATCs were built specially for him. However, under political pressures ATCs and three wheelers were banned in the United States following many reported injuries and pressure from consumer groups. He never made it to America to race for Honda. Carlqvist died on 6 July 2017 from the effects of a brain hemorrhage he suffered the previous day.

References

External links

Swedish web page profiling Håkan Carlqvist's motocross racing career
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlqvist, Hakan 1954 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Swedish sportsmen Motorcycle racers from Stockholm People from Järfälla Municipality Swedish motocross riders Place of birth missing