1956 Motocross European Championship

Les Archer during the Dutch GP, held in Schijndel on 4 May 1956.

The 1956 Motocross European Championship was the 5th edition of the Motocross European Championship organized by the FIM and reserved for 500cc motorcycles.[1]

Since 1957 this championship has then become the current Motocross World Championship.[2]

It should not be confused with the European Motocross Championship, now organized by the FIM Europe, whose first edition was held in 1988.[3]

Grands Prix

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Winner	Team	Report
1	May 6	Swiss Grand Prix	Geneva	Geoff Ward	BSA	Report
2	May 13	Dutch Grand Prix	Schijndel	Jan Clynk	BSA	Report
3	June 3	Italian Grand Prix	Imola	Bill Nilsson	BSA	Report
4	June 10	French Grand Prix	Rouen	Les Archer Jr.	Norton	Report
5	July 8	British Grand Prix	Hawkstone Park	Les Archer Jr.	Norton	Report
6	August 5	Belgian Grand Prix	Balen	Les Archer Jr.	Norton	Report
7	August 12	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Ettelbruck	John Draper	BSA	Report
8	August 19	Swedish Grand Prix	Saxtorp	Bill Nilsson	BSA	Report
9	September 2	Danish Grand Prix	Randers	Les Archer Jr.	Norton	Report
Sources:[4][5]

Final standings

500cc

Points are awarded to the top 6 classified finishers.[1]

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

Pos	Rider	Machine	CH	NED	ITA	FRA	GBR	BEL	LUX	SWE	DEN	Pts
1	Les Archer Jr.	Norton				1	1	1	2	4	1	32
2	John Draper	BSA		2		5	2		1	3		26
3	Nic Jansen	Matchless			2	2	3			6	4	19
4	Sten Lundin	BSA	4		3	6		2	4		3	17
5	Bill Nilsson	BSA			1					1		16
6	Geoff Ward	BSA	1			3		3				16
7	Auguste Mingels	FN	2		5			4	5			13
8	René Baeten	FN		5	4						2	11
9	Brian Stonebridge	BSA	3				6		3			9
10	Jan Clijnk	BSA		1								8
11	Jeff Smith	BSA						6		2		7
12	Piet Vanden Oever	BSA		3								4
13	Lars Gustavsson	BSA					5			5		4
14	Broer Dirkx	Matchless		4								3
	David Curtis	Matchless				4						3
	Terry Cheshire	BSA					4					3
17	Jean Somja	FN	5									2
	Pol Breesselers	Matchless						5				2
	Ejvind Hansen	BSA									5	2
20	Raymond Sigvardsson	AJS	6									1
	Hendrik Rietman	BSA		6								1
	Jean Rombauts	BSA			6							1
	Hubert Scaillet	FN							6			1
	Frans Baudouin	Matchless									6	1
Source:[5]

References

1. "Championnat de Europe 500cc" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
2. "MXoN History". mxgp.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
3. "FIM Europe - 2021 Yearbook" (PDF). fim-europe.com. p. 100. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
4. "1956 500cc European motocross championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
5. "1956 500cc motocross world championship results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 22 December 2022.