1969 – The rapid technological progress that characterized the 19th century had accelerated in the 50s and 60s, reaching its climax at the end of that period, during which progress spread with such speed as to accomplish, in just two decades, the most important developments of the entire history.
The year of note was indeed 1969, during which man conquered the moon, the Internet was invented (Larry Roberts ARPAnet) and the Woodstock concert took place, which finally broke the cycle of abundance and opened the doors to the process of change that loudly arose during that famous Parisian spring, just a year earlier.
Not coincidentally, everything happened in the USA, the most notable country of all in that century.
Unknowingly protagonists of those epic years, while they were lived through it was difficult to understand the revolutionary nature of these enterprises, since television was still black and white and in offices the pinnacle of automation was represented by a mechanical typewriter.
But science fiction was just around the corner and arriving there would be faster than anyone could imagine.
For the sport of off-roading these were important years too and harbingers of great changes, one for all, the transition from extreme sport, reserved for an elite group of riders, to a sport of mass appeal and distribution, almost a capillary of the younger generations.
A clear sign of the change taking place was already perceptible at the ISDT of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, now in its 44th edition, September 15th to 20th saw 325 riders involving 17 different nations. It was an unprecedented success, anticipating the next globalization adventure.
After a feeble attempt by Seraut Claud Thomas and Marcel, who had participated the year before the Six-Days of San Pellegrino in private, for the first time France was also present with a team of six riders, riding as many Ossa 250s, under the auspices of the French Federation FFM, but not yet eligible to compete for the Trophy, having no domestic production of motorcycles.
Young and inexperienced, the six French riders: Jean Louis Figureau, Bernard. Chauvière, Mario Liva, Chaligne Alain, Marcel Seurat and Claude Thomas, ran into many misadventures, but in the end Thomas won a bronze medal, a title that was missing in the French medal list since 1930.

Eight teams were competing for the Trophy, but the clash was restricted to the top four contenders from the start, the hosts, the West Germans, their cousins ​​of East Germany and Czechoslovakia.
After two days in a draw, everything came down to the third day, when Heinz Brinkmann broke the gearbox of his Zündapp 50, and Jaroslav Briza’s motor broke on his Jawa 422.
No longer capable of undermining their rivals, the MZs of Peter Uhlig, Salevsky Werner, Karlheinz Wagner, Teuchert Klaus, Klaus and Fred Halser Williamowski found themselves with a smooth path until the finish line, winning the coveted title once again.
And again we have the peremptory supremacy of the GDR, dedicated to the memory of Hans Weber who died tragically during the trial championship, which ran on 24th and 25th May in Jilemnice in Czechoslovakia.
Rich and qualified, the Italian team was represented by an official Italy-Morini composed of Edoardo Dossena, Pierluigi Rottigni, Joseph Signorelli and Fausto Vergani, in the 100 class, Giovanni Collina, Demetrio Bonini, Egidio Calligola, Carlo Paganessi and Eugenio Saini on 125s, Aldo Passerini, Carlo Moscheni, Daniel Perere, Romualdo Consonni, Franco Dall'Ara, Francesco Foresti and Alessandro gritti deployed on 175s.
In addition to the above, there were seven other individual riders: Sandro Dall'Ara (Morini 125), Giorgio Gabrieli (Gilera 175), Tullio Masserini (Lambretta Li 175), Gianfranco Saini (Hercules 125), Gigi Caroli (Morini 125), Tiziano Cattaneo (Gilera 125) and Roberto Picozzi (Hercules 125). All together won 17 gold medals and 2 silver, but there were no team results.
The Trophy team composed of Bonini, Collina, F. Dall'Ara, Dossena, Moscheni and Vergani, due to engine failure of the latter, did not go beyond fifth position, and so did the two teams involved in the Silver Vase, Italy A (Foresti, Gritti, Rottigni, Signorelli) and Italy B (Consonni, Paganessi, Passerini, E. Saini), 5th and 6th respectively.
Out of 25 teams competing for the Silver Vase, all the West German riders won through - Helmuth Beranek - Zündapp 125, Norbert Gabler - Puch 175, Hans Trinkner - Zündapp 75 and Rolf Witthöft of Puch 125.