Torsten Hallman

Torsten Hallman (born 17 October 1939) is a Swedish former professional motocross racer and business entrepreneur. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1959 to 1971.^[1][2][3] A four-time world champion, Hallman led a contingent of Swedish riders that dominated the motocross world championships in the early 1960s.^[2] His battles with Belgium's Joël Robert were considered some of the best in the history of the championships.^[1] Between 1964 and 1968, the pair finished first or second to one another in the world championship four times.

Torsten Hallman
Torsten Hallman, 1967
Nationality	Swedish
Born	17 October 1939 (1939-10-17) (age 84) Uppsala, Sweden
Motocross career
Years active	1959 - 1971
Teams	Husqvarna, Yamaha
Championships	250cc - 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967
Wins	37

Hallman played an integral role in the introduction of the sport of motocross in the United States.^[1] After his racing career, He established a successful off-road racing apparel company.^[1] Hallman was recognized for his influential role in the development of American motocross in 2000 when, he was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame.^[1] In 2012, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycling achievements.^[4]

Motorcycling career

Born in Uppsala, Sweden, Hallman was part of a group of Swedish riders such as Bill Nilsson, Rolf Tibblin and Sten Lundin who dominated the sport of motocross in the early 1960s.^[2] Perhaps one of the best Swedish riders, Hallman competed in the 250cc motocross Grand Prix world championships.^[2] His battles with Belgium's Joël Robert were considered some of the best in the history of the championships.^[1][5] Hallman ended his riding career with 37 Grand Prix victories and four 250cc motocross world title for the Swedish Husqvarna factory.^[6]

In 1971, Hallman was hired by the Yamaha factory to help them develop new motocross bikes.^[7] He was instrumental in Yamaha's decision to purchase the patent for an innovative single shock rear suspension that would eventually be called the monoshock suspension.^[7] The suspension design helped Håkan Andersson win the 1973 250cc motocross world championship for Yamaha and would go on to revolutionize the sport.^[7]

After his racing career, he began to sell motocross pants and gloves at the races to help supplement his income. Innovative Hallman racing products were available in the mid-1970s via catalogue, and were very popular throughout the United States. This eventually led to the formation of THOR Motocross (Torsten Hallman Original Racewear).^[1] THOR grew to become one of the leading off-road racing apparel companies in the world.

In 2000, Hallman was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame along with Joël Robert.^[1]

Motocross Grand Prix Results

Points system from 1952 to 1968:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1969 to 1980:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

	Denotes European motocross championship only.

Year	Class	Team	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13		14		15		Pos	Pts
			R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1959	250cc	Husqvarna	AUT -	AUT -	CH -	CH -	BEL -	BEL -	GDR -	GDR -	CZE -	CZE -	POL -	POL -	GER -	GER -	ITA -	ITA -	FRA -	FRA -	NED 3	NED 7	UK -	UK -	LUX -	LUX -	SWE 2	SWE 2					9th	9
1960	250cc	Husqvarna	CH 1	CH -	BEL 10	BEL -	FRA 2	FRA 4	CZE -	CZE -	POL -	POL -	ITA 3	ITA 2	GDR 3	GDR 1	FIN 4	FIN 2	LUX 3	LUX 3	UK -	UK -	SWE -	SWE -	GER -	GER -							7th	24
1961	250cc	Husqvarna	BEL 6	BEL 4	FRA 2	FRA 3	NED 3	NED 3	CZE -	CZE 4	POL -	POL -	LUX 4	LUX 2	FIN 2	FIN 3	ITA -	ITA -	GER 5	GER 1	UK 3	UK 4	CH 2	CH 6	SWE 3	SWE -	GDR -	GDR -					4th	33
1962	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP -	ESP -	CH 3	CH 5	BEL 1	BEL 3	FRA 1	FRA 2	CZE 2	CZE -	POL -	POL -	NED -	NED -	LUX 1	LUX 1	FIN 7	FIN 9	USR 1	USR 1	GER 1	GER 1	ITA 1	ITA 1	UK 2	UK 2	SWE 1	SWE 1	GDR 1	GDR 1	1st	56
1963	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 1	ESP 2	ITA 1	ITA 1	FRA 1	FRA 1	CH 1	CH 1	GER 1	GER 1	LUX 1	LUX 1	NED 7	NED 1	UK 1	UK 1	SWE 1	SWE 1	FIN 1	FIN 1	USR -	USR 1	POL -	POL -	CZE 2	CZE 2	GDR -	GDR -			1st	56
1964	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 1	ESP 1	BEL 3	BEL 2	CH 10	CH 5	CZE 9	CZE 2	GER 2	GER 4	LUX 3	LUX 5	ITA 4	ITA 1	UK 3	UK -	SWE 2	SWE 2	FIN 4	FIN 4	USR -	USR -	POL 2	POL 1	GDR -	GDR -	FRA 2	FRA 1			2nd	50
1965	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 1	ESP 8	ITA -	ITA -	FRA 5	FRA 6	BEL 4	BEL 2	CZE 3	CZE 3	GER -	GER -	NED -	NED -	LUX 9	LUX 7	POL -	POL -	USR -	USR -	GDR -	GDR -	UK -	UK -	SWE 2	SWE 1	FIN 1	FIN 1	AUT -	AUT -	4th	35
1966	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 3	ESP 2	FRA 2	FRA 1	BEL 1	BEL 3	CH 3	CH 3	CZE 2	CZE 2	GER 3	GER 1	NED 1	NED -	LUX -	LUX -	ITA 1	ITA 1	POL 2	POL 2	GDR 4	GDR 8	SWE 2	SWE 2	FIN 3	FIN 3	USR -	USR -	AUT 2	AUT 4	1st	58
1967	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP -	ESP 2	CH 1	CH 2	FRA 2	FRA 2	BEL 3	BEL 3	GER 2	GER 1	NED 1	NED -	ITA 2	ITA 1	UK -	UK 3	SWE 1	SWE 1	FIN 1	FIN 2	USR 1	USR 1	POL -	POL -							1st	52
1968	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 2	ESP 1	BEL -	BEL -	CZE -	CZE -	FRA 2	FRA -	NED 8	NED 3	GER 3	GER 1	LUX 1	LUX 2	POL 7	POL 1	USR 2	USR 1	YUG 1	YUG 1	FIN 3	FIN -	SWE 4	SWE 2	UK 2	UK 2	AUT 2	AUT -			2nd	52
1969	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 4	ESP 7	CH 8	CH 6	YUG 5	YUG 2	CZE -	CZE -	POL 2	POL 5	GER -	GER -	NED -	NED -	FRA -	FRA -	UK -	UK -	SWE 4	SWE -	FIN -	FIN -	USR -	USR -							6th	32
1970	250cc	Husqvarna	ESP 6	ESP 2	FRA 5	FRA -	BEL -	BEL -	YUG 10	YUG -	ITA -	ITA 9	USR -	USR -	POL -	POL -	UK 9	UK 5	FIN -	FIN -	GDR -	GDR -	CH 7	CH -	AUT -	AUT -							11th	17
1971	250cc	Yamaha	ESP -	ESP -	CH -	CH -	POL -	POL -	GER -	GER -	YUG -	YUG -	ITA -	ITA -	NED 8	NED 10	GDR -	GDR -	FIN -	FIN -	SWE -	SWE -	UK -	UK -	AUT -	AUT -							22nd	4
Sources:^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20]

References

1. "Torsten Hallman at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
2. "The History of the Swedes". mxgp.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
3. Stealey, Bryan (2008). The Powerhouse MX Nations. ISBN 9780778739906. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
4. "FIM Legends". fim-live.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
5. "Hallman's Fight For The fifth Title". husqvarna-motorcycles.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
6. "Torsten Hallman career profile". bestsports.com. Retrieved 2015-12-16.
7. "Torsten Hallman 2005". mxworksbike.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
8. "1959 250cc European motocross championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
9. "1960 250cc European motocross championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
10. "1961 250cc European motocross championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
11. "1962 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
12. "1963 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
13. "1964 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
14. "1965 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
15. "1966 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
16. "1967 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
17. "1968 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
18. "1969 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
19. "1970 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
20. "1971 250cc motocross world championship race classifications" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

External links

• Torsten Hallman at the AMA Hall of Fame
• Swedish web page profiling Torsten Hallman's motocross racing career (in Swedish)