AJS Stormer - Jeff Smith
Posted: Sat May 25, 2019 7:12 pm
During his first 500cc Motocross World Championship-winning campaign in 1964, Smith rode his BSA B40 (what started in production form as a 350cc punched out to 420cc) to six victories in 13 rounds and never once finished off the podium.
He won the title that year by a narrow margin over Swede Rolf Tibblin, who'd won the previous two world titles. The championship wasn't decided until the final race.
https://ajsstormer.wordpress.com/2017/0 ... blog-post/
“By then I was 30, and I have to say that I thought I was never going to win the world championship,†Smith said. “Obviously, experience and an excellent machine came together at just the right moment and I managed to win the championship.â€
In 1965, Smith was so dominant that by halfway through the season he'd already clinched his second world championship. Smith's 1965 title proved to be the last hurrah for the thundering four-stroke motocross machines of the era.
The next year, 1966, saw East German ace Paul Friedrichs score the first of three consecutive 500cc world titles on his CZ two-stroke.
In all, Jeff Smith earned nine British Championships in addition to his two motocross world titles. Smith also went to America in 1970 and won the first two Trans-AM races ever held, the first in La Rue, Ohio and the next in New Berlin, New York (Unadilla).
His career in racing earned him a visit to Buckingham Palace in 1970, where he was bestowed a MBE for his services to motorcycling.
He won the title that year by a narrow margin over Swede Rolf Tibblin, who'd won the previous two world titles. The championship wasn't decided until the final race.
https://ajsstormer.wordpress.com/2017/0 ... blog-post/
“By then I was 30, and I have to say that I thought I was never going to win the world championship,†Smith said. “Obviously, experience and an excellent machine came together at just the right moment and I managed to win the championship.â€
In 1965, Smith was so dominant that by halfway through the season he'd already clinched his second world championship. Smith's 1965 title proved to be the last hurrah for the thundering four-stroke motocross machines of the era.
The next year, 1966, saw East German ace Paul Friedrichs score the first of three consecutive 500cc world titles on his CZ two-stroke.
In all, Jeff Smith earned nine British Championships in addition to his two motocross world titles. Smith also went to America in 1970 and won the first two Trans-AM races ever held, the first in La Rue, Ohio and the next in New Berlin, New York (Unadilla).
His career in racing earned him a visit to Buckingham Palace in 1970, where he was bestowed a MBE for his services to motorcycling.