On The Pegs December 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 12 | Page 121

On The Pegs
VOL. 4 ISSUE 12 - DECEMBER 2019
121
Green grass was the order of the day in Vannes, France. This track in Brittany
was the scene of yet another clash between Hallman and Robert. The Belgian was
faster here, so the overall standings were almost level after three rounds. A week
later Robert was unbeatable on his home turf in Hechtel and Hallman crossed the
line in second. Three weeks later Torsten had his revenge in Bielstein, Germany
while Robert broke down on his Czech CZ. Olle Pettersson was second, which
meant that Husqvarna scored a double victory here. Sand and Holland are often
compatible. In Norg, Joel showed top form and won while Hallman had to retire.
Then the trip went south towards Italy where Cuneo lies close to Torino. Here,
1967 is remembered for another double Husky trophy victory. Torsten won while
Olle P hit second, well ahead of monsieur Robert.
In Halstead, north of London, the order was once again reversed when Joel
R took an early command of the race. Olle P was third while Hallman retired. If
Belgium was good for Robert, Motala in Sweden was favoured by the Swedish
riders. The podium was fully occupied by Husqvarna men: 1. Hallman, 2. Petters-
son, 3. Hakan Andersson. A giant triumph on home turf. A week later, everybody
took the ferry to the east, as it was time for the Finnish GP in sandy Hyvinkää. Olle
Pettersson had always been strong on this dusty circuit and in 1967, it was no
exception. “Since Hallman had the chance of winning the championship, I waited
for him in the first run”, said Olle P, “but Hallman did not want to hear of such a
thing and therefore had to be content with the second spot as I won this Grand
Prix overall”.
The trips to Russia in the Soviet Union have been mentioned in other Husqvarna
blogs. This time the riders went to Belgorod in the southwestern part of the vast
country in the East. A record crowd of 100,000 spectators came to watch Torsten
Hallman secure his fourth world championship title. Since Robert broke down,
nobody could threaten the brilliant Swede, who now won Husqvarna’s seventh
motocross title overall. The 12th and last round of the season in mid-August was
held in Szczecin, Poland. Olle P had a theoretical chance of finishing second in the
final standings, but Robert made no mistake. Pettersson had to be content with
the last overall podium position in the final world championship ranking.
All in all, Husqvarna scored five double wins in 1967 with Hallman and Pet-
tersson. Hakan Andersson was sixth while a Finnish rookie rider by the name of
Heikki Mikkola took his very first world championship point, finishing 25th in the
chart. 10 years later he would also be a Husqvarna world champion.
What an iconic season! n