1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

1975 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1975 World Champions
500cc – Giacomo Agostini (Yamaha)
350cc - Johnny Cecotto (Yamaha)
250cc – Walter Villa (Aermacchi Harley-Davidson)
125cc – Paolo Pileri (Morbidelli)
50cc – Ángel Nieto (Kreidler)

The 1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 27th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Giacomo Agostini became the 1975 500cc world champion

Season summary

1975 represented a changing of the guard in Grand Prix motorcycle racing, both for riders as well as machines. Giacomo Agostini would claim his final 500cc World Championship aboard a Yamaha two-stroke machine. This would also mark the first time a two-stroke machine had won the premier division.

Angel Nieto claimed his fourth world title for Kreidler in the 50cc class. In the 125cc division, the Morbidellis of Pileri and Bianchi dominated, finishing first and second in six of the ten events. Despite Michel Rougerie scoring more points, his Harley-Davidson teammate Walter Villa would take the 250cc title because of the "best of six finishes" rule. Nineteen-year-old newcomer Johnny Cecotto made an impressive debut at the season opening French Grand Prix where, he won the 250cc and 350cc races. He went on to claim the 350cc title, becoming the youngest-ever FIM World Champion at the time.

In the premier division, MV Agusta with Phil Read aboard, refused to go down easily. The Championship was not resolved until the tenth and final round in Czechoslovakia, when Agostini emerged triumphant to claim his fifteenth world title and the first in the premier 500cc class for a two-stroke motorcycle. Read actually scored more points than Agostini during the season but fell victim to FIM scoring rules at the time which only recognized the top six results. Barry Sheene would also serve notice that he was an up and comer with victories at Assen and Sweden. The writing was on the wall for four-stroke machinery as eight of the top ten riders in the points standings were aboard two-stroke machines.

1975 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Report
1	March 30	French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard		Kent Andersson	Johnny Cecotto	Johnny Cecotto	Giacomo Agostini	Report
2	April 20	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Angel Nieto	Paolo Pileri	Walter Villa	Giacomo Agostini		Report
3	May 4	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		Paolo Pileri		Hideo Kanaya	Hideo Kanaya	Report
4	May 11	German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Angel Nieto	Paolo Pileri	Walter Villa	Johnny Cecotto	Giacomo Agostini	Report
5	May 18	Nations Grand Prix	Imola	Angel Nieto	Paolo Pileri	Walter Villa	Johnny Cecotto	Giacomo Agostini	Report
6	June 6	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain			Chas Mortimer	Charlie Williams	Mick Grant	Report
7	June 28	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Paolo Pileri	Walter Villa	Dieter Braun	Barry Sheene	Report
8	July 6	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Julien van Zeebroeck	Paolo Pileri	Johnny Cecotto		Phil Read	Report
9	July 20	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Eugenio Lazzarini	Paolo Pileri	Walter Villa		Barry Sheene	Report
10	July 27	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Angel Nieto		Michel Rougerie	Johnny Cecotto	Giacomo Agostini	Report
11	August 24	Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno		Leif Gustafsson	Michel Rougerie	Otello Buscherini	Phil Read	Report
12	September 21	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Dieter Braun	Pentti Korhonen		Report
Sources:

Participants

500cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds MV Agusta MV Agusta MV Agusta 4C 0 1 2 Phil Read 1–4, 6–8, 10 2 4 Gianfranco Bonera 6, 8–9 41 18 20 Armando Toracca 1–2 Suzuki Suzuki 1 3 6 5 8 Teuvo Länsivuori 1–3, 6, 9–10 Suzuki GB Suzuki Suzuki RG 500 7 6 9 12 Barry Sheene 6–8 ??? 90 14 27 John Newbold 4, 6–7 Yamaha Yamaha 2 4 8 Giacomo Agostini 1–4, 6–10 3 22 11 Hideo Kanaya 1–4 Arwidson 5 22 7 Pentti Korhonen 8 ??? 5 10 52 Jack Findlay 2–4, 6–9 6 Charlie Williams 5 Suzuki 9 75 Stan Woods 3–4 Yamaha 10 12 7 26 9 10 Karl Auer 1–2, 6, 10 Gerald Brown 10 28 8 John Williams 5–8 Kawasaki/GB Kawasaki 10 29 88 11 Mick Grant 5 ??? Suzuki 18 Armando Toracca 4 Yamaha 19 24 11 Chas Mortimer 5, 9–10 Hermetite Ltd 20 63 12 46 14 15 Alex George 1–4, 7, 10 ??? Harley-Davidson 21 Michel Rougerie 1 Yamaha 23 Peter McKinley 1 26 Christian Léon 3 König 38 10 28 36 Horst Lahfeld 2, 9 Yamaha 44 12 27 Steve Ellis 9 Gauloises 46 38 Olivier Chevallier 10 64 51 10 Patrick Pons 1 ??? 48 14 6 Dieter Braun 2–3, 8 König König 69 Christian Léon 7 ??? Yamaha 93 Thierry Tchernine 2, 4, 7 ??? Billie Guthrie 5 ??? Steve Tonkin 5 Source:

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Final standings

Scoring system

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

(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	HOL	BEL	SWE	FIN	CZE	Pts
1	Giacomo Agostini	Yamaha Motor NV	YZR500	1	Ret	1	1		2	Ret	Ret	1	2	84
2	Phil Read	MV Agusta	MV500	3	3	2	2		3	1	2	Ret	1	76 (96)
3	Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha Motor NV	YZR500	2	1	4	3							45
4	Teuvo Länsivuori	Suzuki	RG500	Ret	2	3			5			2	Ret	40
5	John Williams	Gerald Brown	YZR500	Ret	Ret			2	7	5	3	Ret	Ret	36
6	Barry Sheene	Suzuki GB	RG500			Ret	Ret		1	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	30
Alex George	Hermetite Racing International	YZR500	9	9	8	6	Ret	Ret	4	11	Ret	3	30
8	John Newbold	Suzuki GB	RG500		Ret	12	7		4	2	Ret			24
Armando Toracca	MV Agusta	MV500	4	4	Ret	4							24
10	Jack Findlay	Suzuki	RG500	Ret	Ret	10	Ret		Ret	3	9	3	Ret	23
Chas Mortimer	Sarome Racing	YZR500		Ret		DNS	3		Ret	Ret	4	6	23
12	Karl Auer	Racing Team NO	YZR500	8	7	Ret			9		Ret		4	17
13	Dieter Braun	Mitsui Maschinen	YZR500	Ret	6	6				Ret	5			16
14	Mick Grant	Boyer-Kawasaki GB	H1R-RW					1						15
15	Gianfranco Bonera	MV Agusta	MV500						6	Ret	4	Ret		13
16	Stan Woods		RG500		Ret	5	5							12
17	Horst Lahfeld	König Motorenbau	König 500	Ret	5	Ret			Ret			6	Ret	11
18	Christian Léon	König Motorenbau	König 500			7	Ret		Ret	6				9
19	Billie Guthrie		YZR500					4						8
20	Patrick Pons	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	5	Ret	16				Ret	Ret			6
Steve Tonkin		YZR500					5						6
Steve Ellis		YZR500	14	Ret	Ret			16			5		6
Olivier Chevallier	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500							Ret	14		5	6
Tierry Tchernine		YZR500		10		8		Ret	9				6
25	Pentti Korhonen	Arwidson Yamaha	YZR500	Ret			Ret			Ret	6		Ret	5
Pete McKinley		YZR500	6										5
Geoff Barry	EC Oakley	Yamsel			Ret		6						5
28	Charlie Williams		YZR500		11	Ret		7	18		Ret	Ret		4
Michel Rougerie	Aermacchi-Harley Davidson	RR500	7		Ret	Ret							4
Alan North	Aermacchi-Harley Davidson	RR500					Ret	Ret	7				4
Gerard Choukroun		YZR500								7			4
Thierry Van Der Veken		YZR500									7		4
Marcel Ankoné	Ankoné Racing	RG500	11		11							7	4
34	Tom Herron		YZR500		8			21		Ret	14			3
Tony Rutter		YZR500					8	14					3
Hans Stadelmann		YZR500		Ret				8					3
Francis Holleberg		YZR500							8				3
Edmar Ferreira	Carvalho Racing	YZR500								8	Ret		3
Johnny Bengtsson		YZR500									8		3
Hans Braumandl		YZR500		15								8	3
41	Helmut Kassner		YZR500	13	13	13		9	11	Ret			Ret	2
Adu Celso	Carvalho Racing	YZR500	12	Ret	9								2
Bernard Fau		YZR500			Ret	9			Ret				2
Bjorn Hasli		YZR500								17	9		2
Børge Nielsen		YZR500								Ret		9	2
46	Kjell Solberg		YZR500	10										1
Rudolph Keller		YZR500	DNS			10							1
Les Kenny		YZR500	17		Ret		10						1
Peter Van Der Wal		YZR500						10					1
Jean-François Baldé		YZR500							10				1
Pekka Nurmi	Silja Line Racing	YZR500			20					10			1
Seppo Kangasniemi		YZR500									10		1
Anssi Resko		YZR500										10	1
Place	Rider	Team	Machine	FRA	AUT	GER	NAC	MAN	HOL	BEL	SWE	FIN	CZE	Pts
Sources:

350cc standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	FRA	SPA	AUT	GER	NAC	MAN	HOL	FIN	CZE	YUG	Pts
1	Johnny Cecotto	Yamaha	1	2	Ret	1	1		5	1	Ret		78
2	Giacomo Agostini	Yamaha	2	1	Ret	Ret	2		4	2	Ret		59
3	Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha	7	6	9	3	Ret		2	Ret	10	1	48
4	Dieter Braun	Yamaha		5	Ret	2	4		1	5	Ret	Ret	47
5	Patrick Pons	Yamaha	Ret	Ret	5		3		Ret	3	5		32
6	Chas Mortimer	Yamaha	Ret	Ret		7	8	2	9	Ret		3	31
7	Gerard Choukroun	Yamaha	3	7	7	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	28
8	Otello Buscherini	Yamaha									1	2	27
9	Tom Herron	Yamaha		11	Ret	Ret		3		Ret	4	4	26
10	Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha	Ret	3	1	Ret	Ret						25
11	Víctor Palomo	Yamaha		4	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	7	3	Ret	22
12	Alex George	Yamaha		Ret		8	Ret	Ret	3	9	6	Ret	20
13	Philippe Coulon	Yamaha	17		4	4	Ret			Ret	Ret	Ret	16
14	Charlie Williams	Yamaha		Ret				1		Ret			15
15	Hans Stadelmann	Yamaha	14		8	5	10		7				14
16	Jon Ekerold	Yamaha			2				10				13
17	Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha			Ret		Ret			Ret	2	Ret	12
18	Adu Celso	Yamaha		9	3								12
19	Karl Auer	Yamaha	Ret			6			Ret	6	9	Ret	12
20	Jean-Louis Guignabodet	Yamaha	4			17			Ret				8
21	Bruno Kneubühler	Yamaha			Ret					4		Ret	8
22	Steve Tonkin	Yamaha						4					8
23	Christian Huguet	Yamaha	5										6
24	Rudolf Kunz	Yamaha											6
25	Derek Chatterton	Yamaha						5					6
26	Billie Guthrie	Yamaha						6					5
27	Anton Mang	Schloegl Mang Zender			6								5
28	Jean-François Baldé	Yamaha	6			Ret			17	13			5
29	Wil Hartog	Yamaha							6				5
30	Bill Henderson	Yamaha						14				6	5
31	Giovanni Proni	Yamaha					6						5
32	Marco Lucchinelli	Yamaha					7						4
33	Mario Lega	Yamaha										7	4
34	Gerry Mateer	Yamaha						7					4
35	Max Wiener	Yamaha			10							8	4
36	Tony Rutter	Yamaha							8				3
37	Walter Villa	Harley Davidson		8									3
38	Boet van Dulmen	Yamaha								8			3
39	Tapio Virtanen	Yamaha									8		3
40	Geoff Barry	Yamaha						8					3
41	Pete McKinley	Yamaha	9			10							3
42	Les Kenny	Yamaha				9							2
43	Noel Clegg	Yamaha						9					2
44	Guido Mandracci	Yamaha					9						2
45	Janos Reisz	Yamaha										9	2
46	Titer Balaz	Yamaha										10	1
47	John Dodds	Yamaha								10			1
48	Martin Sharpe	Yamaha						10					1
49	John Williams	Dugdale		10									1
50	Kjell Solberg	Yamaha	10										1
Sources:

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Walter Villa	1	Italy	Aermacchi Harley-Davidson	85	5
2	Michel Rougerie	9	France	Harley-Davidson	76	2
3	Dieter Braun	2	West Germany	Yamaha	56	1
4	Johnny Cecotto	19	Venezuela	Yamaha	54	2
5	Patrick Pons	3	France	Yamaha	48	0
6	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	0
7	Otello Buscherini		Italy	Yamaha	40	0
8	Leif Gustafsson		Sweden	Yamaha	33	0
9	Bruno Kneubühler	5	Switzerland	Yamaha	22	0
10	Tapio Virtanen		Finland	Yamaha	20	0
11	Víctor Palomo				18
12	Harald Bartol				18
13	Tom Herron				16
14	John Williams				15
15	Derek Chatterton				12
16	Ikujiro Takai				12
17	Benjamin Grau				10
18	Alex George				9
19	John Dodds				9
20	Pentti Korhonen				9
21	Tony Rutter				8
22	Rolf Minhoff				8
23	Edmar Ferreira				8
24	Paolo Pileri				6
25	Yvon Duhamel				6
26	Mario Lega				5
27	Gerard Choukroun				5
28	Bill Henderson				5
29	Neil Tuxworth				4
30	Olivier Chevallier				3
31	Duilio Agostini				3
32	Helmut Kassner				3
33	Nico Van Der Zanden				3
34	Pete McKinley				3
35	Jean Louis Guignabodet				2
36	Eddie Roberts				2
37	Horst Lahfeld				2
38	Vincenzo Cascino				1
39	Philippe Bouzanne				1
40	Clive Horton				1
41	Jean-François Baldé				1
Sources:

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Paolo Pileri		Italy	Morbidelli	90	7
2	Pier Paolo Bianchi		Italy	Morbidelli	72	0
3	Kent Andersson	1	Sweden	Yamaha	67	1
4	Leif Gustafsson	8	Sweden	Yamaha	57	1
5	Eugenio Lazzarini		Italy	Piovaticci	47	0
6	Bruno Kneubühler	2	Switzerland	Yamaha	43	0
7	Henk van Kessel		Netherlands	Condor	38	0
8	Harald Bartol	7	Austria	Suzuki	21	0
9	Johan Zemzauer		Austria	Rotax	21	0
10	Pierluigi Conforti		Italy	Morbidelli	18	0
11	Dieter Braun				15
12	Hans Müller				14
13	Cees van Dongen				9
14	Peter Frohnmeyer				8
15	Jos Schurgers				6
16	Horst Seel				6
17	Maurice Maingret				5
18	Otello Buscherini				5
19	Matti Kinnunen				5
20	Oriol Fernandez				4
21	Gert Bender				4
22	Hans Hallberg				4
23	Matti Salonen				4
24	V.Novella				2
25	R.Cornelis				2
26	Alberto Ieva				2
27	J.Lazo				2
28	J.Svensson				2
29	Tierry Tchernine				2
30	R.Thiele				2
31	Xaver Tschannen				1
32	P.Van Niel				1
33	Ulrich Graf				1
34	Ivan Carlsson				1
35	Zbynek Havrda				1
36	Hans Hummel				1
37	M.Arias				1
Sources:

50cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto		Spain	Kreidler	75	6
2	Eugenio Lazzarini		Italy	Piovaticci	61	1
3	Julien van Zeebroeck		Belgium	Kreidler	43	1
4	Rudolf Kunz	5	West Germany	Kreidler	37	0
5	Herbert Rittberger	2	West Germany	Kreidler	31	0
6	Stefan Dörflinger	9	Switzerland	Kreidler	31	0
7	Nico Polane		Netherlands	Kreidler	28	0
8	Gerhard Thurow	4	West Germany	Kreidler	21	0
9	Hans Hummel		Austria	Kreidler	20	0
10	Claudio Lusuardi		Italy	Derbi	16	0
11	Theo Timmer				13
12	Henk Van Kessel				12
13	Aldo Pero				10
14	Ulrich Graf				10
15	Gerrit Strikker				8
16	Cees Van Dongen				8
17	Jan Huberts				5
18	Rolf Blatter				4
19	Ramon Gali				4
20	W.Werner				4
21	J.Alguersari				4
22	Theo Van Geffen				3
23	K.Gotesson				3
24	Jan Bruins				3
25	Robert Laver				3
26	C.Guerrini				2
27	Ingo Emmerich				2
28	Joaquim Gali				1
29	Pierre Audry				1
30	Germano Zanetti				1
31	Günter Schirnhofer				1
Sources:

References

• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5

External links

• "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.