OCTOBER
The 1974 250cc Motocross World Championship was an Eastern Bloc battle between Czechoslovakia and Russia that involved brutal, cold-war tactics on track, and political intrigue at that October’s FIM conference
The 1974 250cc Word Motocross Championship should have been settled at the final round in Switzerland on August 25. Instead, a cloud of cold-war conflict and controversy meant the champion wouldn’t be confirmed until protests were heard at the FIM Congress in October.
The two main contenders both hailed from behind the Iron Curtain that divided the West from the Soviet-controlled states of the East – but their allegiances and personalities couldn’t have been more different.
While rugged hard man Gennady Moiseev was a 26-year-old soldier from communist Russia, his rival Jaroslav Falta was a mild-mannered and popular 23-year-old from Czechoslovakia – a country Russia had ruthlessly invaded in 1968. With sporting success a prized source of propaganda for Moiseev’s bosses in the Kremlin, the scene was set for a tense finale at which losing face wasn’t an option.
The Russians had one big advantage. That year, they’d secured a deal to move from ageing Czech CZ machinery to the emerging Austrian KTMs, while Falta and his friends were tied to the increasingly agricultural CZ brand.
Following an early-season injury to reigning champion Hakan Andersson, a humdinger of a championship had seen a plethora of Grand Prix winners spread across 11 rounds. They included first-ever off-road victories for newcomers Kawasaki, in the hands of the burly, ebullient Swede Torleif Hansen. But inconsistent results left Hansen languishing fourth in the championship table behind Moiseev, Falta and Belgian Harry Everts.
Moiseev and Falta reached Switzerland having won five motos a piece, with each enjoying double triumphs along the way – Moiseev in Poland, Falta in
