1973 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1973 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 25th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Season summary

The 250cc race accident in Monza, where Pasolini and Saarinen died

MV Agusta teammates Phil Read and Giacomo Agostini battled it out for supremacy of the 500cc class but the season was overshadowed by the deaths of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini at the Italian round at Monza.^[1] The 500cc title runner-up, Kim Newcombe, also died at a non-championship race at Silverstone late in the year.^[1] Agostini claimed his 13th championship in the 350cc class.^[1] 1973 marked the first year that most of the top competitors joined Agostini in boycotting the Isle of Man TT event over safety concerns.^[2]

In the 250cc class, West German Dieter Braun won the crown for Yamaha. Kent Andersson gave Yamaha another title in the 125cc class while Kreidler dominated the 50cc class after the Derbi factory pulled out of racing with Dutchman Jan de Vries taking the crown.^[1]

1973 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Report
1	22 April	French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard		Kent Andersson	Jarno Saarinen	Giacomo Agostini	Jarno Saarinen	Report
2	6 May	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		Kent Andersson	Jarno Saarinen	János Drapál	Jarno Saarinen	Report
3	13 May	West German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Theo Timmer	Kent Andersson	Jarno Saarinen	Teuvo Länsivuori	Phil Read	Report
4	20 May	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Jan de Vries	Kent Andersson	Race cancelled^{[N 1]}	Giacomo Agostini	Race cancelled^{[N 1]}	Report
5	8 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		Tommy Robb	Charlie Williams	Tony Rutter	Jack Findlay	Report
6	17 June	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Jan de Vries	Kent Andersson	Dieter Braun	János Drapál	Kim Newcombe	Report
7	23 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Bruno Kneubühler	Eugenio Lazzarini	Dieter Braun	Giacomo Agostini	Phil Read	Report
8	1 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Jan de Vries	Jos Schurgers	Teuvo Länsivuori		Giacomo Agostini	Report
9	15 July	Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno		Otello Buscherini	Dieter Braun	Teuvo Länsivuori	Giacomo Agostini	Report
10	21 July	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Jan de Vries	Börje Jansson	Dieter Braun	Teuvo Länsivuori	Phil Read	Report
11	29 July	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		Otello Buscherini	Teuvo Länsivuori	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Report
12	23 September	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Jan de Vries	Chas Mortimer	John Dodds	Adu Celso	Phil Read	Report
Sources:^[1]^[3]^[4]

Footnotes

1 2 The 250cc race was stopped, following an accident on the first lap that resulted in the deaths of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini. The race meeting was ultimately cancelled.

Final standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. Only the best of five results were counted in the Sidecars championship, while only the best of four results were counted in the 50cc championship. The best of seven results were counted in the 125cc championship while only the top six results were counted in the 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships.^[1]

(key)

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Place	Rider	Team	Machine	FRA	AUT	GER	NAC	MAN	YUG	HOL	BEL	CZE	SWE	FIN	ESP	Pts
1	Phil Read	MV Agusta	MV500	2	Ret	1			DNS	1	2	2	1	2	1	84
2	Kim Newcombe	König	König 500	5	3	Ret			1	2	4	Ret	3	4	Ret	63
3	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	MV500	Ret	Ret	Ret			DNS	Ret	1	1	2	1	Ret	57
4	Werner Giger		YZ634A	Ret	6	2			5	6	Ret	Ret	5	7	3	44
5	Jack Findlay	Suzuki	TR500	10	Ret	Ret		1	Ret	5	3	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	38
6	Bruno Kneubühler		YZ634A	Ret	9	Ret					Ret	3	Ret	3	2	34
7	Jarno Saarinen	Yamaha NV	YZR500	1	1	Ret										30
8	Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha NV	YZR500	3	2	Ret										22
9	Ernst Hiller	König	König 500	19	Ret	3				Ret	7			6		19
Alex George	Hermetite Ltd	YZ634A	Ret		9		4	6		11	14	Ret	Ret	7	19
Billie Nelson		YZ634A	9	8	5			Ret	8	10	Ret	7	10	Ret	19
12	Christian Bourgeois		YZ634A	Ret						3	Ret	Ret	6	9	Ret	17
Eric Offenstadt	Kawasaki-France	H1R-RW	7		Ret				9	Ret	4	Ret	8	Ret	17
14	Guido Mandracci		TR500	6	4	Ret						Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	15
15	Peter Williams	Tom Arter	Matchless G50					2								15
Steve Ellis		YZ634A						2		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	14
Bo Granath		Husqvarna	12	7				Ret	Ret	14	8	Ret	13	6	13
18	Paul Eickelberg	König	König 500	Ret	Ret	Ret			14	Ret	6	Ret		5	Ret	10
19	Gianfranco Bonera		YZ634A						3				Ret		Ret	10
Seppo Kangasniemi		YZ634A	22					4	13			9	12		10
21	Børge Nielsen		YZ634A		Ret				Ret		Ret		4		10	9
Georg Pohlmann		YZ634A			4				10						9
23	Christian Léon	Kawasaki-France	H1R-RW	4												8
Wil Hartog		YZ634A							4						8
Chas Mortimer		YZ634A	Ret								15	Ret	11	4	8
Marcel Ankoné		YZ634A								9				5	8
27	Roberto Gallina		YZ634A	Ret	5				Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret			6
Michel Rougerie	Aermacchi-Harley Davidson	RR500	Ret						Ret	5					6
Roger Nichols	TWS-Suzuki	TR500					5								6
30	Reinhard Hiller	König	König 500	Ret	Ret	6				Ret	Ret					5
Dave Hughes	Tom Arter	Matchless G50					6								5
Bohumil Staša		YZ634A									6			Ret	5
33	Mario Lega		YZ634A									7			Ret	4
Gyula Marsovszky		YZ634A	Ret	Ret				7	Ret	13			Ret	Ret	4
Donnie Robinson	Crooks-Suzuki	TR500					7								4
Peter Stocksiefen		TR500			7										4
Derek Chatterton		YZ634A					Ret		7						4
Peter van der Wal		YZ634A								8	10			Ret	4
Sven Gunnarsson		H1R-RW	15	11	10			Ret		15	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	4
40	Jean-François Baldé		YZ634A	8												3
Derek Lee		TR500	18		13			8		16					3
Ivan Carlsson		YZ634A						Ret	Ret			Ret		8	3
Udo Kochansk	König	König 500			8										3
John Taylor		Seeley TR500					8								3
45	Ted Jansen	König	König 500						9					Ret		2
Selwyn Griffiths	Ray Cowles Motorcycles	Matchless G50					9								2
Jean Paul Boinet		H1R-RW												9	2
Lothar John		TR500			Ret				15	12	9			Ret	2
49	Graham Bailey		H1R-RW					10								1
Bo Brolin		TR500										10			1
Hans Maxwald		Rotax	11	10	Ret						Ret			Ret	1
Jerome Van Halter		TR500						10		18					1
-	Charlie Sanby		TR500					3								-
Place	Rider	Team	Machine	FRA	AUT	GER	NAC	MAN	YUG	HOL	BEL	CZE	SWE	FIN	ESP	Pts
Sources:^[1]^[3]^[4]^[5] Notes: The 1973 500cc Nations Grand Prix was cancelled after the deaths of Saarinen and Pasolini in the 350 race.^[1] The major factory teams refused to participate in the Yugoslavian Grand Prix in a dispute over safety conditions at the Opatija Circuit.^[1] Charlie Sanby scored a third-place result at the 1973 Isle of Man Senior TT but is not classified in the FIM championship final standings.^[2]

1973 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	84	4
2	Teuvo Länsivuori	7	Finland	Yamaha	77	3
3	Phil Read	5	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	56	0
4	John Dodds		Australia	Yamaha	49	0
5	Billie Nelson		United Kingdom	Yamaha	38	0
6	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	38	0
7	Adu Celso-Santos		Brazil	Yamaha	33	1
8	Dieter Braun	8	West Germany	Yamaha	33	0
9	János Drapál		Hungary	Yamaha	30	2
10	Pentti Korhonen		Finland	Yamaha	25	0

1973 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	80	4
2	Teuvo Länsivuori	5	Finland	Yamaha	64	2
3	John Dodds	6	Australia	Yamaha	58	1
4	Jarno Saarinen	1	Finland	Yamaha	45	3
5	Michel Rougerie		France	Harley-Davidson	45	0
6	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	40	0
7	Hideo Kanaya	11	Japan	Yamaha	36	0
8	Roberto Gallina		Italy	Yamaha	32	0
9	Bruno Kneubühler		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
10	Silvio Grassetti	4	Italy	Yamaha	21	0

1973 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Kent Andersson	2	Sweden	Yamaha	99	5
2	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	75	1
3	Jos Schurgers	9	Netherlands	Bridgestone	70	1
4	Börje Jansson	4	Sweden	Maico	64	1
5	Eugenio Lazzarini		Italy	Maico	59	1
6	Otello Buscherini		Italy	Malanca	51	2
7	Angel Nieto		Spain	Morbidelli	46	0
8	Rolf Minhoff	4	West Germany	Maico	42	0
9	Matti Salonen		Finland	Yamaha	32	0
10	Pentti Salonen		Finland	Yamaha	28	0

1973 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jan de Vries	2	Netherlands	Kreidler	60	5
2	Bruno Kneubühler		Switzerland	Kreidler	51	1
3	Theo Timmer	3	Netherlands	Jamathi	47	1
4	Gerhard Thurow		West Germany	Kreidler	36	0
5	Henk van Kessel		Netherlands	Kreidler	27	0
6	Herbert Rittberger		West Germany	Kreidler	22	0
7	Ulrich Graf		Switzerland	Kreidler	21	0
8	Jan Huberts	8	Netherlands	Kreidler	21	0
9	Rudolf Kunz	9	West Germany	Kreidler	14	0
10	Wolfgang Gedlich		West Germany	Kreidler	13	0

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
1 2 "1973 Isle of Man TT summary". iomtt.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
1 2 "1973 500cc World Championship race results". motogp.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
1 2 "1973 500cc World Championship race results". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
↑ "500cc Grand Prix entry lists for 1972 to 1975". f1network.net. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
"The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2010-07-06.

[monza-3] 1 2 The 250cc race was stopped, following an accident on the first lap that resulted in the deaths of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini. The race meeting was ultimately cancelled.

[Motocourse:_50_Years_Of_Moto_Grand_Prix-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7

[1973_Isle_of_Man_TT_summary-2] 1 2 "1973 Isle of Man TT summary". iomtt.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

[MotoGP-4] 1 2 "1973 500cc World Championship race results". motogp.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

[Motorsport_Magazine-5] 1 2 "1973 500cc World Championship race results". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

[6] "500cc Grand Prix entry lists for 1972 to 1975". f1network.net. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

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