Back in the 1970s and 1980s, Australian promoters did their best to improve the motocross calendar with a bunch of really exciting imports. My first ever motocross race was in 1971 when Roger De Coster, Joel Robert, Bengt Aberg and many other Grand Prix riders were invited to Australia for a series of races.

Not long after three time World motocross champion Gaston Rahier was also invited to do a similar tour, from memory with Rahier winning three Australian motocross championship in his visit and the flood gates open for World talent visiting down under.

Our friends from amxhistory.com.au wrote this very cool article on when in the early 1980s, Swedish legend Hakan Carlqvist visited down under, along with several GP riders, including current HRC man, Roger Harvey. I still remember Rog telling me a story of Carlqvist getting his teeth knocked out in a crash at one of the supercross events they raced and just laughing about it.

It is just over seven years ago the great Swede passed away and with the Swedish Grand Prix around the corner and obviously the 2025 Australian Grand Prix set for Darwin, we thought it might be nice to look back in time, when the Aussies were growing their sport.

Carlqvist Down Under - AMXHistory.com.au Story

Fresh from winning the 1983 World 500cc Motocross Championship, Swedish rider Hakan Carlqvist raced in Australia. In similar fashion to World 125cc Motocross Champion Gaston Rahier – who toured Australia in 1975 after clinching Suzuki’s first World title to promote the new Japanese lightweight motocross machines – the late Carlqvist did the same for Yamaha in 1983.

And like Rahier’s 1975 tour, a group of other international riders joined Carlqvist for several International motocross and supercross events, including other World Champions – Yamaha Team member Danny LaPorte (US) and Graham Noyce (UK).

The US contingent also included US Legend Ric Johnson and two-time Los Angeles Coliseum Supercross winner Jimmy Ellis and Marty Moates, who both had already been competing down under, but decided to stay.

Two other Englishmen on the tour included Roger Harvey and Paul Hunt, both who competed several times in Australia, including the Manjimup 15,000. Carlqvist’s first motocross event in Australia was on 23 October 1983 at Broadford, with newly crowned Australian Mr Motocross Ray Vandenberg competing on his local track in Victoria, where he clinched his Mr Motocross title at just weeks earlier.

The event was run by Starlift Productions, owned by Trevor Flood and Corrie Spruit.Trevor Flood also prepared the Yamaha 500 bike for Carlqvist, that’s why he is wearing a Gasit Fox jersey.Surprisingly, the Yamaha Motor Company allowed him to do this given he’d only just clinched the World Championship aboard a Yamaha.

The other top Australian riders competing in the International events were Jeff Leisk (WA), Stephen Gall (NSW), Vaughan Style (NSW), Glen Bell and Beatle Bailey (NSW). Another Swedish rider, Pelle Granqvist, was also competing having moved to Australia in 1978 to promote the new Husqvarna motocross bikes.

Carlqvist was the outright winner on his 500cc Yamaha at Broadford, running away with wins in all races contested on the day. Then, over the following weekends, Carlqvist contested two International Supercross events in Penrith (NSW) on 29 October 1983, then Fremantle (WA).

Carlqvist’s 1983 World Motocross Championship was his second world title, having won his first in 1979 in the 250cc class riding a Husqvarna.He contested the World Motocross Championships through to 1988, when he bowed out in sensational style at the final Grand Prix of the season in Namur, Belgium, finishing on a high.

Not only did he win his final Grand Prix with a 1-1 finish, but he became a folk hero for a different reason – becoming the first rider to stop mid-moto to skull a beer (See separate story coming soon). Sadly, Hakan Carlqvist passed away on 6 July 2017 at 63 years of age.

Hakan Carlqvist - Profile

Hakan Carlqvist was the third of four children. As a teenager, he was interested in many sports, playing soccer, ice hockey – which was the national Swedish sport in the 1960s – as well downhill skiing, which gave him a taste of high-speed racing.

He loved the outdoor life and, at age 15, quit school to work in the construction industry and earn some money, later becoming a glass-trader. The following year he started riding a 125cc road bike and developed an interest in motorcycles.

In 1971, Carlqvist bought a Penton-KTM enduro competition machine, which he rode in a local motocross event and won it. This was the beginning of his motocross story and for those close to him, he was very fast and consistent, but very stubborn.

In his first seasons he raced Ossa and Maico machines in the National Championships, contesting his first World 250cc Championship in 1974 as a privateer, where he finished 25th. He finished two placings higher in 1975, then 14th in 1976 – switching to the popular Swedish Husqvarna machine for the 1977 season.

That first year aboard Husqvarna was a disaster, with Carlqvist breaking his leg at the Belgium Grand Prix. But despite losing six months due to the injury, he still managed to finish 17th overall in the World 250cc Championship and ended the year on a good note – finishing second in the Swedish Trophy of Nations team, which he accomplished the next three years in a row.

After finishing seventh in the 1978 World 250cc Championship, Carlqvist receive a production bike, extra support from the Husqvarna factory, along with a mechanic to take care of his new bike for the coming season.

That year Carlqvist became the 1979 F.I.M. 250cc World Motocross Champion for the Husqvarna factory racing team, joining other Swedish World Champions – Bill Nilsson, Sven Lundin, Bengt Aberg, Torsten Hallman and Heikki Mikkola. It was his best ever season, winning six Grand Prix’s against the likes of Hudson, Moisseev, Kavinov, Jobe and Van Der Ven.

At this stage, the 500cc class was the “real” Championship, so Carlqvist switched to this class in 1980. With the great Heikki Mikkola retiring, Carlqvist won his spot on the Yamaha Factory team and finished third that year, third in 1981 and eighth in 1982.He finished 3rd in 1981 and 7th in 1982. In 1983, he battled against Honda teammates André Malherbe and Graham Noyce to claim the 500cc world championship, on a Yamaha.

During these year Carlqvist was outspoken and continually pushed the Yamaha Factory engineers to use better materials to improve his machine, which paid off. In 1983, he battled against Honda teammates André Malherbe and Graham Noyce to claim the 500cc World Championship on a Yamaha to claim his second World Motocross Championship and his first in the prestigious 500cc class.This year, alongside his motocross racing, he also started to try out three wheeled racing, winning this championship as well.

1983 was a big year Carlqvist! As well as touring Australia in October and November after clinching his second world championship, he received the “Svenska Dagbladet Gold Medal” which is the most prestigious sports award you can get in Sweden.

In 1984, Carlqvist finished tenth after injury. He raced for Yamaha until end of 1986, finishing 8th in the 500cc World Motocross Championship that year. He continued the 500 GPs in 1987 and 1988 as a privateer aboard a Kawasaki KX500.

Carlqvist’s last Grand Prix victory was the Belgian Grand Prix at Namur in 1988. It was a season to remember for all his fans, especially when 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.

Hakan Carlqvist was one of the toughest men ever to sit on a bike. Moulded from hardened steel, he had a warrior’s instinct on the track. Sadly, he died on 6 July 2017 from the effects of a brain hemorrhage he suffered the previous day.