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1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season

The 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 24th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 30 April, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 23 September.

Season summary

Another year, another championship for Giacomo Agostini, claiming a record 11 victories to take his seventh consecutive 500cc crown for MV Agusta. Things were tighter in the 350cc class with Jarno Saarinen giving Agostini a strong challenge by winning three races, including a victory at the German Grand Prix held at the daunting Nürburgring race track, where Saarinen defeated Agostini for the first time in a head-to-head race. Saarinen also scored a double victory at the Czechoslovak Grand Prix with victories in both the 250cc and 350cc classes. The threat from Saarinen's two stroke Yamaha was so strong that the previously dominant MV Agusta factory was forced to produce a new 350cc motorcycle for Agostini.

In the 250cc division, Saarinen would win a tight race in a season-long battle with Renzo Pasolini and Rod Gould. Angel Nieto claimed a double, winning the 125cc and 50cc championships for Derbi before the Spanish factory announced its pull out from Grand Prix racing. The Yamaha factory won its first-ever 500cc Grand Prix race at the season ending Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama when Chas Mortimer won the race after Agostini sat out the event after already winning the championship,

This would be the final season for the East German Grand Prix as a championship race, as SED officials, troubled by fans singing Das Lied der Deutschen (the West German national anthem) after Dieter Braun's victory the previous season, limited entries to only Eastern Bloc nations beginning in 1973.

1972 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner
30 April	FRG German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	NLD Jan de Vries	ITA Gilberto Parlotti	JPN Hideo Kanaya	FIN Jarno Saarinen	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Schauzu / Kalauch	Report
7 May	FRA French Grand Prix	Charade		ITA Gilberto Parlotti	GBR Phil Read	FIN Jarno Saarinen	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Luthringshauser / Cusnik	Report
14 May	AUT Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		ESP Angel Nieto	SWE Börje Jansson	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Enders / Engelhardt	Report
21 May	ITA Nations Grand Prix	Imola	NLD Jan de Vries	ESP Angel Nieto	ITA Renzo Pasolini	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini		Report
9 June	IOM Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		GBR Chas Mortimer	GBR Phil Read	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Schauzu / Kalauch	Report
18 June	Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	NLD Jan Bruins	SWE Kent Andersson	ITA Renzo Pasolini	HUN János Drapál	ITA Alberto Pagani		Report
24 June	NLD Dutch TT	Assen	ESP Angel Nieto	ESP Angel Nieto	GBR Rodney Gould	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Enders / Engelhardt	Report
2 July	BEL Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	ESP Angel Nieto	ESP Angel Nieto	FIN Jarno Saarinen		ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Enders / Engelhardt	Report
9 July	DDR Grand Prix of the DRG	Sachsenring	NLD Theo Timmer	SWE Börje Jansson	FIN Jarno Saarinen	GBR Phil Read	ITA Giacomo Agostini		Report
16 July	CSK Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno		SWE Börje Jansson	FIN Jarno Saarinen	FIN Jarno Saarinen	ITA Giacomo Agostini	DEU Enders / Engelhardt	Report
23 July	SWE Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	NLD Jan de Vries	ESP Angel Nieto	GBR Rodney Gould	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini		Report
30 July	FIN Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		SWE Kent Andersson	FIN Jarno Saarinen	ITA Giacomo Agostini	ITA Giacomo Agostini	GBR Vincent / Casey	Report
23 September	ESP Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	ESP Angel Nieto	SWE Kent Andersson	ITA Renzo Pasolini	CHE Bruno Kneubühler	GBR Chas Mortimer		Report

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. Only the best of five races were counted on 50cc and Sidecars championships, while in the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, the best of seven races were counted.

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

Pos	Rider	Machine	GER
DEU	FRA
FRA	AUT
AUT	NAC
ITA	MAN
IOM	YUG
YUG	HOL
NLD	BEL
BEL	DDR
DDR	TCH
TCH	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	ESP
ESP	Pts	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	=	19	20	21	=	=	24	25	26	=	28	29	30	31	32	=	34	35	36	37	38	39	=	41	42	43	44	45	=	47	48	49	50	=	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	=	60	61	62	63	=	=	66	67	68	69	=	71	72	73	=	75	=	=	=	79	=	81	82	83	=	=	=	87	88	89	90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	=	100	101	102	=	104	105	106	=	108	109	110	111	112	113	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	Pos	Rider	Bike	GER
DEU	FRA
FRA	AUT
AUT	NAC
ITA	MAN
IOM	YUG
YUG	HOL
NLD	BEL
BEL	DDR
DDR	CZE
TCH	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	ESP
ESP	Pts
ITA Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	Ret	1	1	1	1	1	1		105 (165)
ITA Alberto Pagani	MV Agusta	2			2	2	1	2	2				2		87
CHE Bruno Kneubühler	Yamaha	11	4	8	5		Ret	3		4	3	7	Ret	4	54 (57)
GBR Rodney Gould	Yamaha								3	2	4	2	3		52
SWE Bo Granath	Husqvarna	6	6	3	Ret		5	Ret	5	6	7	3	12	Ret	47 (51)
GBR Chas Mortimer	Yamaha						2	5	Ret	5	Ret	8	Ret	1	42
GBR Dave Simmonds	Kawasaki	4	Ret					4	Ret			4	5	2	42
GBR Billie Nelson	Honda / Yamaha / Paton	8	7		Ret		Ret	9	8		5	9	4	6	31 (33)
AUS Jack Findlay	Jada-Suzuki	7	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	3	31
NZL Kim Newcombe	König	3	10					12	Ret	3	Ret	5	Ret		27
ITA Guido Mandracci	Suzuki		8	2	Ret		4	10	Ret						24
FRA Christian Bourgeois	Yamaha	Ret	2	5				Ret	9						20
NLD Rob Bron	Suzuki	Ret	3	4			Ret								18
SWE Sven-Olof Gunnarsson	Kawasaki	12	Ret				Ret			Ret	6	6	Ret	5	16
GBR Jerry Lancaster	Yamaha / Suzuki	15	Ret		Ret		9	7	7			11	7		14
DEU Paul Eickleberg	König	30					3	8				Ret	Ret		13
GBR Mick Grant	Kawasaki					3									10
ITA Bruno Spaggiari	Ducati				3										10
ITA Gianpiero Zubani	Kawasaki			6	Ret		7								9
ITA Sergio Baroncini	Ducati			9	7		8				14				9
GBR Kevin Cowley	Seeley-Matchless					4									8
JPN Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha								4						8
GBR Paul Smart	Ducati				4										8
DEU Lothar John	Yamaha / Suzuki	10			8			11	10		8	18	10		8
NLD Piet Van der Wal	Kawasaki							Ret	13	8				7	7
DEU Ernst Hiller	König / Kawasaki	5						Ret	Ret						6
FRA André Pogolotti	Suzuki		5		Ret									Ret	6
GBR Derek Chatterton	Yamaha					5									6
FRA Eric Offenstadt	Kawasaki / Yamaha	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret				5
SCO Charlie Dobson	Kawasaki	Ret					6					Ret	Ret		5
DEU Klaus Huber	Kawasaki	Ret			6										5
FIN Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha												6		5
GBR Charlie Williams	Yamaha					6									5
SWE Kurt-Ivan Carlsson	Yamaha	14	9	Ret				13	12	Ret	10		Ret	9	5
AUT Alois Maxwald	Rotax			Ret						7	11				4
ITA Silvano Bertarelli	Kawasaki / Paton			7	Ret										4
Wales Selwyn Griffiths	Matchless					7									4
GBR Derek Lee	Suzuki	Ret			Ret								8	Ret	3
GBR Clive Brown	Suzuki					8									3
ITA Getulio Marcaccini	Aermacchi													8	3
ITA Carlo Marelli	Paton / Kawasaki			10	9										3
HUN Arpád Juhos	Metisse-Matchless / Aermacchi									9	15				2
JPN Ken Araoka	Kawasaki	9	Ret	Ret	Ret										2
SWE Johnny Bengtsson	Husqvarna-Proto											Ret	9		2
GBR Paul Cott	Seeley					9									2
FIN Seppo Kangasniemi	Yamaha										9				2
ITA Roberto Gallina	Paton			Ret	Ret		10							Ret	1
GBR Maurice Hawthorne	Kawasaki	Ret					Ret							10	1
AUT Josef Özelt	Matchless									10	Ret				1
SWE Ulf Nilsson	Suzuki											10			1
GBR Charlie Sanby	Suzuki					10									1
GBR Ron Chandler	Kawasaki		13					Ret	11						0
FIN Kai Kuparinen	Suzuki / Kawasaki						Ret	Ret		Ret		19	11		0
DEU Ted Janssen	Suzuki	27										Ret		11	0
AUT Michael Schmid	Yamaha	28								11	Ret				0
AUS Terry Dennehy	Honda			Ret			11					Ret			0
ITA Giordano Mongardi	Ducati			11	Ret										0
FRA Christian Leon	Kawasaki		11												0
NIR Billy McCosh	Suzuki					11									0
CHE Gyula Marsovszky	Linto	Ret	Ret		Ret			Ret		Ret	12			Ret	0
GBR Steve Ellis	Yamaha	Ret	12					Ret	Ret			Ret	Ret		0
SWE Morgan Radberg	Monark										Ret	12			0
URY Gustavo Cerdeña	Suzuki						12								0
GBR John Hughes	Matchless			12											0
GBR Stan Woods	Suzuki					12									0
CHE Heinz Schmid	Suzuki	18		Ret		Ret					13				0
NZL Keith Turner	Suzuki	13	Ret		Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		0
CHE Jean Campiche	Linto	Ret					13		Ret						0
SWE Agne Carlsson	Husqvarna											13			0
GBR Jeff Wade	Yamaha					13									0
FIN Kaarlo Koivuniemi	Kawasaki	20	14								16	16	Ret		0
SWE Börge Andersson	Honda	23										14			0
BEL Guy Cooremans	Kawasaki								14						0
GBR Roger Nichols	Suzuki					14									0
GBR George Fogarty	Cunningham-Suzuki					15									0
FRA Jean-Paul Passet	Kawasaki		15												0
BEL Jerôme van Haeltert	Kawasaki								15						0
SWE Sture Wass	Kawasaki											15			0
DEU Hans-Otto Butenuth	BMW	Ret	16												0
CHE Walter Rüngg	Aermacchi	16		Ret											0
NIR Garry Mateer	Norton					16									0
AUT Werner Bergold	Kawasaki			Ret							17				0
GBR Pete Elmore	Petty-Norton					17									0
FRA Jacques Roca	Suzuki		17												0
DEU Hans-Jürgen Rothbrust	Yamaha	17													0
DNK Claus Tarum	Honda											17			0
FIN Anssi Resko	Kawasaki										18		Ret		0
GBR Tom Dickie	Cowles-Matchless					18									0
DEU Horst Dzierzawa	Yamaha	19												Ret	0
GBR Brian Lee	Aermacchi					19									0
SWE Arne Andersson	Suzuki											20			0
GBR Ken Tilley	Norton					20									0
DEU Kurt-Harald Florin	König	21	Ret					Ret				Ret	Ret		0
GBR Roger Bowler	Mularny					21									0
CHE Werner Giger	Kawasaki	22	Ret												0
GBR Raymond Ashcroft	Yamaha					22									0
GBR Hugh Evans	Kawasaki					23									0
DEU Udo Kochanski	BMW	24													0
GBR Grahan Penny	Honda					24									0
DEU Willi Bertsch	Kawasaki	25						Ret							0
GBR Ken Kay	Seeley					25									0
SWE Sten-Gunnar Jansson	Kawasaki	26													0
IOM Fred Walton	Velocette-Metisse					26									0
GBR Ron Baylie	Triumph					27									0
GBR Walter Dawson	Yamaha					28									0
DEU Otto Labitzke	Honda	29													0
GBR Chris Neve	Seeley					29									0
GBR Tom Loughridge	Crooks-Suzuki					30									0
NIR Abe Alexander	Seeley					31									0
GBR Jim Ashton	Seeley					32									0
GBR Tom Waterer	Norton					33									0
GBR Ernie Johnson	Suzuki					34									0
GBR Geoff Barry	Oakley-Seeley					35									0
AUT Karl Auer	Kawasaki	Ret		Ret	Ret					Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		0
USA Cliff Carr	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret		Ret										0
FRA André-Luc Appietto	Kawasaki		Ret	Ret					Ret						0
GBR Godfrey Nash	Honda	Ret		Ret				Ret							0
CZE Bohumil Stasa	ČZ			Ret	Ret						Ret				0
FRA Gérard Debrock	Kawasaki		Ret						Ret						0
NLD Wil Hartog	Riemanoc / Yamaha	Ret						Ret							0
FIN Kari Lahtinen	Yamaha											Ret	Ret		0
GBR Bob Biscardine	Norton					Ret									0
GBR Jeff Boniface	Kettle-Norton					Ret									0
AUT Hans Braumandl	Rotax									Ret					0
AUS Peter Breingan	Honda	Ret													0
NIR Robert Browne	Norton					Ret									0
ITA Paolo Campanelli	Kawasaki				Ret										0
GBR Doug Cash	Norton					Ret									0
FRA Gérard Chamard	Kawasaki		Ret												0
FRA Gérard Chaperon	Seeley			Ret											0
GBR Eric Clark	Seeley											Ret			0
AUS John Dodds	Yamaha								Ret						0
GBR Derek Filler	Seeley					Ret									0
GBR Dave Foulkes	Norton					Ret									0
DEU Rudolf Fröhling	Honda	Ret													0
GBR Bill Fulton	Stafford-Matchless					Ret									0
GBR Roger Fursman	Seeley					Ret									0
SCO Alex George	Kawasaki													Ret	0
CAN Andreas Georgeades	Honda / ASG	Ret													0
GBR Roger Graham	Cowles-Matchless					Ret									0
GBR Don Grant	Norton					Ret									0
GBR Terry Grotefeld	Yamaha					Ret									0
FRA René Guilli	Kawasaki												Ret		0
NIR Billie Guthrie	Dugdale-Yamaha					Ret									0
GBR David Harris	Yamaha		Ret												0
GBR Don Harris	Yamaha					Ret									0
GBR Keith Heckles	Norton					Ret									0
FIN Ari Heikkilä	AMC-Sachs												Ret		0
GBR Bill Henderson	Seeley-Yamaha					Ret									0
DEU Gerhard Heukerott	Benelli	Ret													0
GBR Ivan Hodgkinson	Granby-Suzuki					Ret									0
DEU Ewald Hüttlin	Kawasaki	Ret													0
GBR Tony Jefferies	Suzuki					Ret									0
DEU Walter Kaletsch	Yamaha	Ret													0
GBR Brian Kemp	Suzuki		Ret												0
GBR Ray Knight	Hughes-Triumph					Ret									0
GBR David Knowles	Matchless-Metisse					Ret									0
CZE Jiri Kral	ČZ										Ret				0
GBR Alan Lawton	Norton					Ret									0
ITA Mario Lega	Ducati										Ret				0
FIN Pentti Lehtelä	Yamaha												Ret		0
ITA Giuseppe Mandolini	Aermacchi													Ret	0
DEU Hans-Josef Martinek	ČZ	Ret													0
GBR Malcom Moffatt	Seeley					Ret									0
GBR Brian Moses	Norton					Ret									0
GBR Steve Moynihan	Norton					Ret									0
ZAF Garth Neveling	Norton					Ret									0
SWE Lars Pahlsson	Suzuki											Ret			0
ITA Giovanni Perrone	Kawasaki				Ret										0
GBR Norman Price	Mularny-Norton					Ret									0
CZE Eman Quirenz	Jawa										Ret				0
NIR Robert Ramsey	Matchless					Ret									0
GBR Phil Read	Yamaha		Ret												0
NIR Dudley Robinson	Padgett-Kawasaki					Ret									0
GBR Nigel Rollason	Yamaha					Ret									0
FRA Roger Ruiz	Honda		Ret												0
SWE Claes-Göran Samuelsson	Suzuki											Ret			0
GBR Barry Smith	Kawasaki					Ret									0
GBR John Stanley	Seeley					Ret									0
DEU Wolfgang Stephan	Honda	Ret													0
DEU Peter Stocksiefen	Honda	Ret													0
SWE Anders Sundberg	Kawasaki											Ret			0
GBR Roger Sutcliffe	Suzuki					Ret									0
NIR Brian Taggart	Norton					Ret									0
FRA Thierry Tchernine	Yamaha								Ret						0
DEU Jupp Tröblinger	König	Ret													0
GBR Dennis Trollope	Yamaha					Ret									0
NLD Mike van Aken	König											Ret			0
GBR Brian Warburton	Yamaha					Ret									0
GBR Peter Williams	Arter Matchless					Ret									0
GBR John Williams	Arter Matchless					Ret									0
ITA Benedetto Zambotti	Kawasaki				Ret										0

Bold – Pole

Italics – Fastest Lap |}

1972 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	ITA Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	102	6
2	FIN Jarno Saarinen	2	Finland	Yamaha	89	3
3	ITA Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Aermacchi	78	0
4	FRG Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	54	0
5	GBR Phil Read	16	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	51	1
6	CHE Bruno Kneubühler		Switzerland	Yamaha	45	1
7	FIN Teuvo Lansivuori	10	Finland	Yamaha	42	0
7	HUN János Drapál		Hungary	Yamaha	42	1
9	JPN Hideo Kanaya		Japan	Yamaha	41	0
10	AUS Jack Findlay	32	Australia	Yamaha	41	0

1972 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	FIN Jarno Saarinen	3	Finland	Yamaha	94	4
2	ITA Renzo Pasolini	28	Italy	Aermacchi	93	3
3	GBR Rodney Gould	2	United Kingdom	Yamaha	88	2
4	GBR Phil Read	1	United Kingdom	Yamaha	58	2
5	FIN Teuvo Lansivuori	22	Finland	Yamaha	46	0
6	AUS John Dodds	4	Australia	Yamaha	42	0
7	SWE Kent Andersson	14	Sweden	Yamaha	39	0
8	SWE Börje Jansson		Sweden	Maico	36	1
9	ITA Silvio Grassetti	7	Italy	MZ	30	0
10	CHE Werner Pfirter	20	Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0

1972 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	ESP Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	97	5
2	SWE Kent Andersson	9	Sweden	Yamaha	87	3
3	GBR Chas Mortimer	5	United Kingdom	Yamaha	87	1
4	SWE Börje Jansson	3	Sweden	Maico	78	1
5	ITA Gilberto Parlotti	8	Italy	Morbidelli	52	2
6	GBR Dave Simmonds	6	United Kingdom	Kawasaki	44	0
7	AUT Harald Bartol		Austria	Suzuki	37	0
8	FRG Dieter Braun	4	West Germany	Maico	25	0
9	NLD Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Bridgestone	23	0
10	DDR Bernd Köhlar	23	East Germany	MZ	23	0

1972 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	ESP Angel Nieto	2	Spain	Derbi	69	3
2	NLD Jan de Vries	1	Netherlands	Kreidler	69	3
3	NLD Theo Timmer		Netherlands	Jamathi	50	1
4	NLD Jan Bruins	10	Netherlands	Kreidler	39	1
5	ITA Otello Buscherini		Italy	Malanca	32	0
6	AUT Hans Hummel		Austria	Kreidler	26	0
7	AUT Harald Bartol		Austria	Kreidler	26	0
8	NLD Jan Huberts		Netherlands	Kreidler	25	0
9	FRG Rudolf Kunz	4	West Germany	Kreidler	17	0
10	ESP Benjamin Grau		Spain	Derbi	12	0

References

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A.

References

(1999). "Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix". Hazleton Publishing Ltd.
(2013). "Continental Circus: The Races and the Places, the People and the Faces : Pictures and Stories from the Early Seventies". Mastix Press.
"Rider Statistics - Jarno Saarinen". MotoGP.com.
Oxley, Mat. (February 2012). "All I ever wanted to do was race". Classic Bike.

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