SidecarCross: World Champion Emil Bollhalder has died at the age of 77

Five decades ago, sidecar motocross machines were still considerably heavier, had less power and featured chassis with rather limited durability. Just as today, it took courage, stamina and talent to push these machines to their limits and regularly finish on the podium. Emil Bollhalder is undoubtedly one of the heroes of that era. The Swiss rider first made a name for himself in 1974 by finishing tenth in the FIM Cup – the highest honour at the time. From 1975 onwards, the Cup was upgraded to the European Championship, and Bollhalder, alongside his brother Roland, consistently finished in the top ten. The brothers celebrated their first major success in 1979 when they won the European Championship title.

Schnelle Brüder - Emil u. Roland Bollhalder 1978

Foto: Archiv Rolf Vaubel

In 1980, however, the first year of the World Championship, he was unable to build on this success. With his new co-driver, Ruedi Manser, he competed only in the Grands Prix in Switzerland and Italy. But then he managed to secure Karl Büsser as his new partner, and things took a sharp turn for the better. In 1982 and 1983, ‘Migg’ – as he was nicknamed – and Büsser went on to become world champions against strong competition and also won the Swiss Championship, which was fiercely contested at the time. With this track record, Bollhalder, like his co-driver Büsser, brought his career to a close.

Following in the footsteps of four-time champions Hansi Bächtold and Andreas Fuhrer, Migg Bollhalder goes down in the history of sidecar motocross as Switzerland’s most successful rider.

Achievements

Veteranentreffen 2015

Foto: Koenigsbeck