37 Facts About Heikki Mikkola

Heikki Antero Mikkola was born on 6 July 1945 and is a Finnish former professional motocross racer and motocross team manager.

Heikki Mikkola competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Husqvarna factory racing team where he became the first competitor to win both the 250cc and 500cc world championships.

In 2006, Heikki Mikkola was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame and, in 2015, he was named an FIM Legend for his motorcycle racing achievements.

Heikki Mikkola considered pursuing a competitive ski jumping career however, there were few ski jumping facilities near his home so, he focused on motorcycle racing instead.

Heikki Mikkola held a summer job loading tree stumps onto trailers which greatly improved his physical conditioning.

Heikki Mikkola first became involved in motorcycling through his childhood friend Martti Pesonen, who later competed internationally in Grand Prix road racing.

Heikki Mikkola began racing motocross in 1964 and won the Finnish Junior Championship in the first year riding a Husqvarna.

Heikki Mikkola competed in motorcycle ice racing alongside Pesonen as well as Jarno Saarinen and Teuvo Lansivuori.

Heikki Mikkola entered the Finnish army in 1965 and served for ten months as a tank mechanic.

Heikki Mikkola competed in the Senior class in 1965 but suffered a broken wrist.

Heikki Mikkola finished the 1966 Senior motocross championship in third place and won the Finnish junior enduro championship.

Heikki Mikkola entered his first world championship race in the 1966 250cc Finnish Grand Prix where he finished the first moto in 13th place.

In 1967, Heikki Mikkola finished second in the Finnish Senior championship and won the 1967 Finnish ice racing championship.

At the 1967 250cc Finnish Grand Prix, Heikki Mikkola finished in an impressive sixth place against a field of top rated competitors.

Heikki Mikkola repeated his sixth-place result in the 1968 250cc Finnish Grand Prix and, then scored a second place in the 250cc Swedish Grand Prix, defeating the reigning world champion, Torsten Hallman in the second moto.

When his fellow Finnish motocross racer Kalevi Vehkonen decided to compete in the 1969 250cc Motocross World Championships, Heikki Mikkola decided to join him.

Heikki Mikkola finished the season ranked 14th in the world as a privateer rider.

That winter Heikki Mikkola showed his versatility by winning the 1970 Finnish 350cc snowmobile championship.

Heikki Mikkola surged to prominence in the 1970 FIM Motocross World Championship when he won three of the last four Grand Prix races to finish fourth in the 250cc world championship behind Joel Robert, Sylvain Geboers and Roger De Coster.

Heikki Mikkola took two victories and finished the series in sixth place.

Heikki Mikkola moved up to the premier 500cc class in 1972 as Bengt Aberg's teammate and won the Swiss and Czechoslovakian Grand Prix races.

Heikki Mikkola finished the championship in third place behind Roger De Coster and Paul Friedrichs despite Aberg receiving preferential treatment from the Husqvarna team.

Heikki Mikkola returned to the United States after the world championship season and won the 1973 Inter-AMA Motocross series title.

Heikki Mikkola battled De Coster for the entire season as the two competitors won 17 out of 22 motos that season.

Heikki Mikkola won the first four Grand Prix races of the season before, De Coster was able to win the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix.

Heikki Mikkola credited much of his success to his Husqvarna factory mechanic, Per-Olaf Persson, whose meticulous preparation and maintenance greatly improved the reliability of his motorcycle.

Heikki Mikkola missed the German Grand Prix due to injuries suffered in practice, allowing De Coster to narrow his lead in the championship to 10 points going into the final two events of the season, meaning that De Coster would have to win three of the last four motos to secure his fourth consecutive 500cc world championship.

When Wolsink's engine seized, the two series points leaders found themselves first and second with Heikki Mikkola holding on to the lead to the end of the race.

De Coster declared that Heikki Mikkola deserved to win the world championship.

Heikki Mikkola was injured in a pre-season accident and then, his Husqvarna suffered suspension problems during the season, allowing De Coster to reclaim the world championship with 12 moto victories.

Heikki Mikkola finished second in the championship with 5 moto victories.

Heikki Mikkola visited the Puch factory to test ride their motorcycles but, he ultimately decided to sign a contract with the Yamaha factory racing team to help them challenge Suzuki's domination of the 500cc class.

Heikki Mikkola claimed the 1977 500cc world championship with 12 moto victories, relegating De Coster to second place.

Heikki Mikkola was even more dominant in the 1978 season, winning the championship over second place Brad Lackey with a record 299 points.

At the 1978 Motocross des Nations in Gaildorf, West Germany, Heikki Mikkola had the rare opportunity to compete against American rider, Bob Hannah, who was then near the peak of his racing career.

Heikki Mikkola repeated the performance in the second race, passing Hannah en route to his second victory of the day.

Heikki Mikkola suffered torn ligaments in his leg during pre-season practice and, the injury continued to affect his results during the 1979 season.