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)

Giacomo Agostini became the 1975 500cc world champion

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

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. 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	Czechoslovakian 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

Participants

500cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds MV Agusta MV Agusta ??? 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 Heron 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

500cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	4	Italy	Yamaha	84	4
2	Phil Read	1	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	76	2
3	Hideo Kanaya		Japan	Yamaha	45	1
4	Teuvo Länsivuori	3	Finland	Suzuki	40	0
5	John Williams		United Kingdom	Yamaha	32	0
6	Barry Sheene	7	United Kingdom	Suzuki	30	2
7	Alex George		United Kingdom	Yamaha	30	0
8	John Newbold		United Kingdom	Suzuki	24	0
9	Armando Toracca		Italy	MV Agusta	24	0
10	Jack Findlay	5	Australia	Suzuki	23	0
11	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	23	0
12	Karl Auer		Austria	Yamaha	17	0
13	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	16	0
14	Mick Grant		United Kingdom	Kawasaki	15	1
15	Gianfranco Bonera				13
16	Stan Woods				12
17	Horst Lahfeld				11
18	Christian Leon				9
19	Billie Guthrie				8
20	Olivier Chevallier				6
21	Patrick Pons				6
22	Steve Tonkin				6
23	Steve Ellis				6
24	Tierry Tchernine				6
25	Pentti Korhonen				5
26	Pete McKinley				5
27	Geoff Barry				5
28	Thierry Van Der Veken				4
29	Charlie Williams				4
30	Michel Rougerie				4
31	Gerard Choukroun				4
32	Marcel Ankone				4
33	Alan North				4
34	Edmar Ferreira				3
35	Tom Herron				3
36	Tony Rutter				3
37	Francis Holleberg				3
38	Hans Stadelmann				3
39	Johnny Bengtsson				3
40	Hans Braumandl				3
41	Bjorn Hasli				2
42	Helmut Kassner				2
43	Borge W.Nielsen				2
44	Bernard Fau				2
45	Adu Celso				2
46	Seppo Kangasniemi				1
47	Pekka Nurmi				1
48	Kjell Solberg				1
49	Jean-François Baldé				1
50	Anssi Resko				1
51	Peter Van Der Wal				1
52	Rudolph Keller				1
53	Les Kenny				1

350cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Johnny Cecotto	20	Venezuela	Yamaha	78	4
2	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	Yamaha	59	1
3	Pentti Korhonen	7	Finland	Yamaha	48	1
4	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	47	1
5	Patrick Pons		France	Yamaha	32	0
6	Chas Mortimer	5	United Kingdom	Yamaha	31	0
7	Gerard Choukroun		France	Yamaha	28	0
8	Otello Buscherini		Italy	Yamaha	27	1
9	Tom Herron		United Kingdom	Yamaha	26	0
10	Hideo Kanaya		Japan	Yamaha	25	1
11	Víctor Palomo				22
12	Alex George				20
13	Philippe Coulon				16
14	Charlie Williams				15
15	Hans Stadelmann				14
16	Jon Ekerold				13
17	Olivier Chevallier				12
18	Adu Celso				12
19	Karl Auer				12
20	Jean-Louis Guignabodet				8
21	Bruno Kneubühler				8
22	Steve Tonkin				8
23	Christian Huguet				6
24	Rudolf Kunz				6
25	Derek Chatterton				6
26	Billie Guthrie				5
27	Anton Mang				5
28	Jean-François Baldé				5
29	Wil Hartog				5
30	Bill Henderson				5
31	Giovanni Proni				5
32	Marco Lucchinelli				4
33	Mario Lega				4
34	Gerry Mateer				4
35	Max Wiener				4
36	Tony Rutter				3
37	Walter Villa				3
38	Boet van Dulmen				3
39	Tapio Virtanen				3
40	Geoff Barry				3
41	Pete McKinley				3
42	Les Kenny				2
43	Noel Clegg				2
44	Guido Mandracci				2
45	Janos Reisz				2
46	Titer Balaz				1
47	John Dodds				1
48	Martin Sharpe				1
49	John Williams				1
50	Kjell Solberg				1

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

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

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

References

• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
• "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.