According to legend, motocross is the invention of eccentric Englishmen who competed in cross-country races after World War I. 

The first motocross world championship wasn’t held until 1957, almost forty years later. Sten Lundin, Rolf Tibblin and Jeff Smith, the stars of those early years, competed for points and places on heavy, half-litre four-strokes. The 250cc class was added five years later. Light and manageable two-strokes from Sweden or Czechoslovakia initally dominated this category, then in the late 1960s it caught the interest of Japanese manufacturers.

The technology – air-cooled two-strokes, drum brakes and two shock absorbers –

was fairly conventional at the time. The Europeans were able to hold their own against the increasingly powerful Japanese producers in the 1970s. By the end of decade, it was 6:4 for the European manufacturers in the quarter-litre class, with Austria’s motorcycle builder KTM having the most success, winning three World Championship titles with the aid the Russian rider, Guennady Moisseev.

In the quest for ever-greater power output and longer suspension travel, a technical upgrading process began for motocross bikes in the early 1980s: cooling fins were traded in for water-cooled cylinders and bike builders

would quickly be at a disadvantage without factory riders and continuously improved technology. There had certainly been enough examples of that in the past. So, utilising its great enthusiasm for the sport, Mattighofen stayed within striking distance of the competition. Three third places in the 250cc World Championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983 for the Dutch rider Kees van der Ven made that very clear.

Then KTM managed to get the best Austrian motocross rider to sign on for the 1983 season: Heinz Kinigadner. Originally a baker and confectioner by trade, the new rider from Uderns in Tyrol was already a double state champion in the 125 and 250cc classes at age 19, and was the runner-up in the half-litre class. In addition to two more national titles, he earned his first

started experimenting with various intake and exhaust controls. Originally given an extremely slanted configuration to give the rear axle the greatest possible travel, the shock absorbers were replaced by monoshock systems with a progressive linkage. KTM named its company’s creation »Pro Lever«.

The times weren’t easy for most of the European manufacturers. Many of the brands that had been successful in offroad competition withdrew from the sport or had to go out of business. In the early 1980s, motocross seemed to be firmly in the hands of the Oriental brands. But KTM hung in there – the folks in Mattighofen put their motocross machines on the market for all three classes, from 125cc bikes to 500cc monsters.

KTM soon realised that the company

By mid-season, Kini had already left his opponents behind. In the end, he was able to fend off his toughest opponent, France’s Jacky Vimond, and became the first German-speaking quarter-litre world champion; for good measure, he won as an Austrian on an Austrian machine. From then on, everybody knew »Kini«.

A big white “1” adorned his green starting number panel in the 1985 season – the Tyrolean defended his 250cc title, but wins were long in coming. Unlike the previous year, when Kinigadner especially dominated the mud races, he now had to battle Vimond point for point. With a flimsy two-point lead, Kini was crowned 250cc World Champion a second time at the final event in Goldbach, Germany, before he subsequently switched to the half-litre class.

World Championship points in the quarter-litre category in 1980. A year later, Kini competed in his first full world championship season, which he ended in fifth place. In 1982, he stood at the very top of the podium for the first time at the Italian GP.

Handicapped by injuries, Kinigadner’s debut year with KTM seemed jinxed, so the towering Tyrolean felt only restrained optimism at the start of the 1984 season. His stated goal was to attain a spot among the top five in the quarter-litre ´World Championships. But Kinigadner quickly became the crowd favourite when he tallied a win at the first GP in France and arrived for the Austrian event in Schwanenstadt as the World Championship leader.

hallmarks of a motocross machine for 30 years. KTM has won many titles over the years, but few of these have influenced the KTM image more than Kini’s motocross world champion titles in 1984 and ’85.

Today Heinz Kinigadner works for KTM as a motor sports manager. After his son Hannes had a tragic accident six years ago, Kini founded “Wings for Life” with Dietrich Mateschitz, the Red Bull founder. The foundation supports medical research seeking a cure for spinal cord injuries. Kini hasn’t ridden a motorcycle since then, because he promised his son that he won’t ride until Hannes can too. And he is completely certain that his son’s wish will be fulfilled.

The technical advancements and collective experience from Kinigadner’s GP races were obviously advantageous for Mattighofen’s commercially available machines, too. Weighing just 97 kg, the KTM 250 MX DCI, the »production racer« for the 1986 season, was given an extremely advanced, electronic ignition (Digital Control Ignition), for example. The 38-mm Dell’Orto carburettor, the rear disc brake and newly tuned wheel guide and suspension elements were the same as on the World Champ’s machine.

In 1989, Kini switched to desert rallies, rode to spectacular victories and played a major role in the development of the winning KTM Rally bikes, whose success story continues to this day. Upside down forks, water-cooled engines and a monoshock suspension for the rear wheel have been the