Arne Kring (born November 17, 1942)[1] is a Swedish former professional motocross racer.[2] He was a top contender in the F.I.M. 500cc Motocross World Championship from 1963 to 1975.[2]
| Arne Kring | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Swedish |
| Born | November 17, 1942 (age 82) Knåda, Sweden |
| Motocross career | |
| Years active | 1963 - 1975 |
| Teams | Husqvarna |
| Wins | 7 |
Motocross career
editKring was born in the town of Knåda in the province of Hälsingland.[2] Like many Swedes of his time, Kring rode Husqvarna motorcycles. Although he raced motocross professionally, his true profession was as a bicycle shop owner.[2] At the age of 20, he entered the 1963 250cc Swedish motocross Grand Prix and scored an impressive second place finish behind the defending world champion, Torsten Hallman.[2] After placing fourth in the 1967 250cc Swedish motocross Grand Prix, the Husqvarna factory gave Kring a motorcycle to compete with in the world championships.[2]
In 1967 Kring joined his Husqvarna teammates, Torsten Hallman and Åke Jonsson, along with ČZ factory teammates Joël Robert, Roger De Coster and Dave Bickers in a series of exhibition races in the United States that had been organized by Edison Dye, the American importer for Husqvarna motorcycles.[3] The exhibition races served as a means to introduce the sport of motocross to an American audience, and eventually led to the formation of the Inter-AM and Trans-AMA motocross series that helped to popularize the sport of motocross in the United States.[2][4][5][6][7]
Kring moved up to the premier 500cc class in 1969 riding Husqvarna's best machinery.[2] He won his first world championship race at the 500cc Swedish Grand Prix and, followed with another victory one week later at the Dutch Grand Prix to give him the early lead in the 1969 500cc world championships.[8] However, he failed to win again until the final race of the year at the East German Grand Prix and finished the season ranked fourth in the world as his Husqvarna teammate, Bengt Åberg won the world championship.[9] After the World Championship season had ended, Kring returned to the United States and won the 1969 Inter-AM Series.[10]
Kring was having the most successful season of his career in 1970 when, he led in the 500cc world championship points standings with four overall victories in the first nine rounds before he broke his back while competing in a non-championship race.[2][11] His injury ended his season however, he had accumulated enough points to claim second place in the world championship behind teammate Bengt Åberg.[12]
Kring also was a member of the winning Swedish team of the Motocross des Nations in 1970 and in 1974. He retired after the 1975 season. Kring won a total of seven Grand Prix victories during his professional motocross racing career.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Arne Kring at the Swedish Film Database". svenskfilmdatabas.se. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "When Swedes Ruled Motocross". motocrossactionmag.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "Edison Dye: The Father of American Motocross". earlyyearsofmx.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
- ^ "Motocross goes International 1947 through 1965". pigtailpals.com. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "Motocross goes to the USA". husqvarna-motorcycles.com. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
- ^ Assoc, American Motorcyclist (1983). "Inter-AMA Motocross records". American Motorcyclist. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ Glavitza, Erich (1995). Moto-Cross: Härte ohne Grenzen (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-85368-805-2.
- ^ "1969 500cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "1969 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "1969 Inter-AM Series results". akejonsson.com. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "1970 500cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "1970 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 6 March 2019.