1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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

1975 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Previous: 1974 Next: 1976
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

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.[1] This would also mark the first time a two-stroke machine had won the premier division.[1]

Angel Nieto claimed his fourth world title for Kreidler in the 50cc class.[1] In the 125cc division, the Morbidellis of Pileri and Bianchi dominated, finishing first and second in six of the ten events.[1] 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.[1] 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.[2] He went on to claim the 350cc title, becoming the youngest-ever FIM World Champion at the time.[1]

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.[1] 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.[1]

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: [3]
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
  1. Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
  2. "Rider Statistics - Johnny Cecotto". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  3. "500cc Grand Prix entry lists for 1972 to 1975". Motorcycle Racing Online.
  • 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.
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