Malcolm Rathmell

Malcolm Rathmell

Nationality	British
Born	(1949-06-18) 18 June 1949 Otley, West Yorkshire, England
Current team	Retired
Website	http://www.mrsltd.co.uk

Malcolm Rathmell (born 18 June 1949), is an English former international motorcycle trials rider. He won the Scottish Six Days Trial in 1973 and 1979, and clinched the FIM European Trials Championship in 1974 (The series was to become FIM Trial World Championship in 1975). Rathmell is a six time winner of the British Trials Championship between 1971 and 1981 and six time winner of the Scott Trial between 1971 and 1980.

Biography

Born in Otley, West Yorkshire, England, Rathmell first contested the FIM European Championship in 1970 before finishing runner up to Mick Andrews in the 1971 championship,^[1] a year in which he also won the Scott Trial for the first time. Though rarely off the podium in 1972 the championship was a repeat to the previous season, followed by a 3rd-place finish on the factory supported Bultaco for 1973. In 1974 Rathmell almost switched camps from Bultaco to Ossa but found himself facing legal action from Bultaco for breach of contract.^[2] Sticking with Bultaco for 1974 worked out for Rathmell as he won the European Championship. He did however switch to Montesa for the 1975 season for the first year of the FIM Trial World Championship and added world round wins in Belgium, Poland and the United States and finish 3rd in the championship. A Runner up position to Bultaco rider Yrjo Vestarinen in 1976 and a 3rd place in 1977 were to be Rathmell's best attempts at recapturing the title on the Montesa.^[3] For 1978 a Suzuki ride could only yield a 16th-place finish after which Rathmell rounded out his international career back with Montesa through the 1982 season.^[4] Malcolm Rathmell Sports Limited opened in the UK in 1991 as an Aprilia importer and is currently the sole UK distributor for Sherco Motorcycles.^[5]

European Trials Championship career

^[6]

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank
1970	Greeves / Bultaco	GER -	FRA -	GBR 2	BEL -	IRL 2	SPA 6	FIN -	SWE -	POL -					29	5th
1971	Bultaco	GER -	GBR 4	BEL 2	IRL 2	FRA 3	SPA 3	SUI -	FIN 1	SWE 6					59	2nd
1972	Bultaco	BEL 2	IRL 2	FRA 1	SPA 5	GBR -	GER 2	ITA 3	FIN 2	SWE 3	SUI -				73	2nd
1973	Bultaco	IRL 6	BEL 1	SPA 6	FRA 8	POL 2	ITA 10	FIN 1	SWE 10	SUI 10	GER 5				58	3rd
1974	Bultaco	USA 2	IRL 7	BEL 2	SPA 2	GBR 1	FRA 10	ITA 1	POL 2	GER 2	FIN 2	SWE 3	CZE 7	SUI 1	93	1st

World Trials Championship career

^[6]

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Points	Rank
1975	Montesa	IRL 8	BEL 1	SPA 3	GBR 2	FRA 2	POL 1	ITA 3	CAN 4	USA 1	FIN 5	SWE 8	SUI 3	GER 6	CZE 3	99	3rd
1976	Montesa	IRL 5	BEL 1	SPA 4	GBR 1	FRA 1	GER -	ITA 4	USA 3	SWE 6	FIN 2	SUI 5	CZE 2			87	2nd
1977	Montesa	IRL 1	GBR 1	BEL 1	SPA 7	FRA -	GER 4	USA 9	CAN 2	SWE 2	FIN 8	CZE 5	SUI 2			100	3rd
1978	Suzuki	IRL 10	GBR 10	BEL 8	FRA 9	SPA -	GER -	USA 7	ITA -	AUT -	SWE -	FIN -	CZE -			11	14th
1979	Montesa	IRL 4	GBR 1	BEL 3	NED 7	SPA -	FRA 7	CAN 1	USA 4	ITA 8	SWE 9	FIN 4	CZE -			77	5th
1980	Montesa	IRL 6	GBR 3	BEL 8	SPA 7	AUT 5	FRA -	SUI 5	GER 5	ITA -	FIN -	SWE -	CZE -			40	8th
1981	Montesa	SPA -	BEL 6	IRL 4	GBR 3	FRA -	ITA 9	AUT 8	USA -	FIN -	SWE -	CZE -	GER -			28	11th
1982	Montesa	SPA -	BEL -	GBR 9	ITA -	FRA -	GER -	AUT -	CAN -	USA -	FIN -	SWE -	POL -			2	23rd

Honors

British Trials Champion 1979
European Trials Champion 1974

References

↑ McManus, Peter, ed. (2013). Derbyshire Motorcycle Maestros. MEP Publishers. pp. 167–177. ISBN 978-0-9542912-7-3.
↑ Whyte, Norrie, ed. (1974). MCN Annual 1975. Patrick Stephens Limited. pp. 13–19. ISBN 0-85059-182-1.
↑ Ward, Frank, ed. (1977). MCN Yearbook 1976/77. Patrick Stephens Limited. pp. 45–48. ISBN 0-85059-244-5.
↑ Morrison, Ian, ed. (1991). Guinness Motorcycle Fact Book. Guinness Publishing. pp. 161–164. ISBN 0-85112-953-6.
↑ "Rathmell Motorsports". malcolmrathmellsports.com. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
1 2 "FIM World Championship". trialonline.org. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

External links

www.malcolmrathmellsports.com

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