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1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season

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.

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	France French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard		nowrap	Sweden Kent Andersson	nowrap	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	nowrap	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	nowrap	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Report
2	April 20	Spain Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Paolo Pileri	Italy Walter Villa	nowrap	Italy Giacomo Agostini		Report
3	May 4	Austria Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		Italy Paolo Pileri		Japan Hideo Kanaya	Japan Hideo Kanaya	Report
4	May 11	West Germany German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Paolo Pileri	Italy Walter Villa	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Report
5	May 18	Italy Nations Grand Prix	Imola	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Paolo Pileri	Italy Walter Villa	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Report
6	June 6	UK Isle of Man TT	nowrap	Snaefell Mountain			UK Chas Mortimer	UK Charlie Williams	UK Mick Grant	Report
7	June 28	Netherlands Dutch TT	Assen	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Paolo Pileri	Italy Walter Villa	West Germany Dieter Braun	UK Barry Sheene	Report
8	July 6	Belgium Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	nowrap	Belgium Julien van Zeebroeck	Italy Paolo Pileri	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto		UK Phil Read	Report
9	July 20	Sweden Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	Italy Paolo Pileri	Italy Walter Villa		UK Barry Sheene	Report
10	July 27	Finland Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Spain Angel Nieto		nowrap	France Michel Rougerie	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Report
11	August 24	nowrap	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno		Sweden Leif Gustafsson	France Michel Rougerie	Italy Otello Buscherini	UK Phil Read	Report
12	nowrap	September 21	Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Spain Angel Nieto	West Germany Dieter Braun	West Germany Dieter Braun	Finland Pentti Korhonen		Report

Participants

500cc participants

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

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 five races were counted on 50cc and Sidecars championships, while in the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, the best of six 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 standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	FRA
FRA	AUT
AUT	GER
GER	NAC
ITA	MAN
GBR	HOL
NED	BEL
BEL	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	CZE
CZE	Pts	Pos	Rider	Bike	FRA
FRA	AUT
AUT	GER
GER	NAC
ITA	MAN
GBR	HOL
NED	BEL
BEL	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	CZE
CZE	Pts
1	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Yamaha	1	Ret	1	1		2	Ret	Ret	1	2	84
2	UK Phil Read	nowrap	MV Agusta	3	3	2	2		3	1	2	Ret	1	76 (96)
3	Japan Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha	2	1	4	3							45
4	Finland Teuvo Länsivuori	Suzuki	Ret	2	3			5			2	Ret	40
5	UK John Williams	Yamaha	Ret	Ret			2	7	5	3	Ret	Ret	36
6	UK Barry Sheene	Suzuki			Ret	Ret		1	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	30
7	UK Alex George	Yamaha	9	9	8	6	Ret	Ret	4	11	Ret	3	30
8	UK John Newbold	Suzuki		Ret	12	7		4	2	Ret			24
9	Italy Armando Toracca	MV Agusta	4	4	Ret	4							24
10	Australia Jack Findlay	Suzuki	Ret	Ret	10	Ret		Ret	3	9	3	Ret	23
11	UK Chas Mortimer	Yamaha		Ret		DNS	3		Ret	Ret	4	6	23
12	Austria Karl Auer	Yamaha	8	7	Ret			9		Ret		4	17
13	Germany Dieter Braun	Yamaha	Ret	6	6				Ret	5			16
14	UK Mick Grant	Kawasaki					1						15
15	ITA Gianfranco Bonera	MV Agusta						6	Ret	4	Ret		13
16	GBR Stan Woods	Suzuki		Ret	5	5							12
17	GER Horst Lahfeld	König	Ret	5	Ret			Ret			6	Ret	11
18	FRA Christian Leon	König			7	Ret		Ret	5				9
19	IRE Billie Guthrie	Yamaha					4						8
20	FRA Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha							Ret	14		5	6
21	FRA Patrick Pons	Yamaha	5	Ret	16				Ret	Ret			6
22	GBR Steve Tonkin	Yamaha					5						6
23	GBR Steve Ellis	Yamaha	14	Ret	Ret			16			5		6
24	BEL Tierry Tchernine	Yamaha		10		8		Ret	9				6
25	FIN Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha	Ret			Ret			Ret	6		Ret	5
26	GBR Pete McKinley	Yamaha	6										5
27	GBR Geoff Barry	Yamsel			Ret		6						5
28	nowrap	BEL Thierry Van Der Veken	Yamaha									7		4
29	GBR Charlie Williams	Yamaha		11	Ret		7	18		Ret	Ret		4
30	FRA Michel Rougerie	nowrap	Harley Davidson	7		Ret	Ret							4
31	FRA Gerard Choukroun	Yamaha								7			4
32	NED Marcel Ankone	Suzuki	11		11							7	4
33	RSA Alan North	Harley Davidson					Ret	Ret	7				4
34	BRA Edmar Ferreira	Yamaha								8	Ret		3
35	GBR Tom Herron	Yamaha		8			21		Ret	14			3
36	GBR Tony Rutter	Yamaha					8	14					3
37	BEL Francis Holleberg	Yamaha							8				3
38	SWI Hans Stadelmann	Yamaha		Ret				8					3
39	SWE Johnny Bengtsson	Yamaha									8		3
40	AUT Hans Braumandl	Yamaha		15								8	3
41	NOR Bjorn Hasli	Yamaha								17	9		2
42	GER Helmut Kassner	Yamaha	13	13	13		9	11	Ret			Ret	2
43	DEN Borge W.Nielsen	Yamaha								Ret		9	2
44	FRA Bernard Fau	Yamaha			Ret	9			Ret				2
45	BRA Adu Celso	Yamaha	12	Ret	9								2
46	FIN Seppo Kangasniemi	Yamaha									10		1
47	FIN Pekka Nurmi	Yamaha			20					10			1
48	NOR Kjell Solberg	Yamaha	10										1
49	FRA Jean-François Baldé	Yamaha							10				1
50	FIN Anssi Resko	Yamaha										10	1
51	NED Peter Van Der Wal	Yamaha						10					1
52	SWI Rudolph Keller	Yamaha	DNS			10							1
53	AUS Les Kenny	Yamaha	17		Ret		10						1

350cc standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	FRA
FRA	SPA
Spain	AUT
AUT	GER
GER	NAC
ITA	MAN
GBR	HOL
NED	FIN
FIN	CZE
CZE	YUG
YUG	Pts
1	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	Yamaha	1	2	Ret	1	1		5	1	Ret		78
2	Italy Giacomo Agostini	Yamaha	2	1	Ret	Ret	2		4	2	Ret		59
3	Finland Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha	7	6	9	3	Ret		2	Ret	10	1	48
4	West Germany Dieter Braun	Yamaha		5	Ret	2	4		1	5	Ret	Ret	47
5	France Patrick Pons	Yamaha	Ret	Ret	5		3		Ret	3	5		32
6	UK Chas Mortimer	Yamaha	Ret	Ret		7	8	2	9	Ret		3	31
7	France Gerard Choukroun	Yamaha	3	7	7	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	28
8	Italy Otello Buscherini	Yamaha									1	2	27
9	UK Tom Herron	Yamaha		11	Ret	Ret		3		Ret	4	4	26
10	Japan Hideo Kanaya	Yamaha	Ret	3	1	Ret	Ret						25
11	Spain Víctor Palomo	Yamaha		4	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	7	3	Ret	22
12	GBR Alex George	Yamaha		Ret		8	Ret	Ret	3	9	6	Ret	20
13	SWI Philippe Coulon	Yamaha	17		4	4	Ret			Ret	Ret	Ret	16
14	GBR Charlie Williams	Yamaha		Ret				1		Ret			15
15	SWI Hans Stadelmann	Yamaha	14		8	5	10		7				14
16	RSA Jon Ekerold	Yamaha			2				10				13
17	FRA Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha			Ret		Ret			Ret	2	Ret	12
18	BRA Adu Celso	Yamaha		9	3								12
19	AUT Karl Auer	Yamaha	Ret			6			Ret	6	9	Ret	12
20	nowrap	FRA Jean-Louis Guignabodet	Yamaha	4			17			Ret				8
21	SWI Bruno Kneubühler	Yamaha			Ret					4		Ret	8
22	GBR Steve Tonkin	Yamaha						4					8
23	FRA Christian Huguet	Yamaha	5										6
24	GER Rudolf Kunz	Yamaha											6
25	GBR Derek Chatterton	Yamaha						5					6
26	IRE Billie Guthrie	Yamaha						6					5
27	GER Anton Mang	Schloegl Mang Zender			6								5
28	FRA Jean-François Baldé	Yamaha	6			Ret			17	13			5
29	NED Wil Hartog	Yamaha							6				5
30	GBR Bill Henderson	Yamaha						14				6	5
31	ITA Giovanni Proni	Yamaha					6						5
32	ITA Marco Lucchinelli	Yamaha					7						4
33	ITA Mario Lega	Yamaha										7	4
34	IRE Gerry Mateer	Yamaha						7					4
35	AUT Max Wiener	Yamaha			10							8	4
36	GBR Tony Rutter	Yamaha							8				3
37	ITA Walter Villa	nowrap	Harley Davidson		8									3
38	NED Boet van Dulmen	Yamaha								8			3
39	FIN Tapio Virtanen	Yamaha									8		3
40	GBR Geoff Barry	Yamaha						8					3
41	GBR Pete McKinley	Yamaha	9			10							3
42	AUS Les Kenny	Yamaha				9							2
43	GBR Noel Clegg	Yamaha						9					2
44	ITA Guido Mandracci	Yamaha					9						2
45	HUN Janos Reisz	Yamaha										9	2
46	TCH Titer Balaz	Yamaha										10	1
47	AUS John Dodds	Yamaha								10			1
48	GBR Martin Sharpe	Yamaha						10					1
49	GBR John Williams	Dugdale		10									1
50	NOR Kjell Solberg	Yamaha	10										1

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Walter Villa	1	Italy	Aermacchi Harley-Davidson	85	5
2	France Michel Rougerie	9	France	Harley-Davidson	76	2
3	West Germany Dieter Braun	2	West Germany	Yamaha	56	1
4	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	19	Venezuela	Yamaha	54	2
5	France Patrick Pons	3	France	Yamaha	48	0
6	UK Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	0
7	Italy Otello Buscherini		Italy	Yamaha	40	0
8	Sweden Leif Gustafsson		Sweden	Yamaha	33	0
9	Switzerland Bruno Kneubühler	5	Switzerland	Yamaha	22	0
10	Finland Tapio Virtanen		Finland	Yamaha	20	0
11	Víctor Palomo		usa		18
12	Harald Bartol		usa		18
13	Tom Herron		usa		16
14	John Williams		spa		15
15	Derek Chatterton		spa		12
16	Ikujiro Takai		spa		12
17	Benjamin Grau		fra		10
18	Alex George		fra		9
19	John Dodds		fra		9
20	Pentti Korhonen		ita		9
21	Tony Rutter		ita		8
22	Rolf Minhoff		ita		8
23	Edmar Ferreira		irl		8
24	Paolo Pileri		Irl		6
25	Yvon Duhamel		irl		6
26	Mario Lega		isl		5
27	Gerard Choukroun		isl		5
28	Bill Henderson		isl		5
29	Neil Tuxworth		nor		4
30	Olivier Chevallier		nor		3
31	Duilio Agostini		nor		3
32	Helmut Kassner		fin		3
33	Nico Van Der Zanden		fin		3
34	Pete McKinley		fin		3
35	Jean Louis Guignabodet		swe		2
36	Eddie Roberts		swe		2
37	Horst Lahfeld		swe		2
38	Vincenzo Cascino		Gbr		1
39	Philippe Bouzanne		Gbr		1
40	Clive Horton		Gbr		1
41	Jean-François Baldé		Can		1

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Paolo Pileri		Italy	Morbidelli	90	7
2	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi		Italy	Morbidelli	72	0
3	Sweden Kent Andersson	1	Sweden	Yamaha	67	1
4	Sweden Leif Gustafsson	8	Sweden	Yamaha	57	1
5	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini		Italy	Piovaticci	47	0
6	Switzerland Bruno Kneubühler	2	Switzerland	Yamaha	43	0
7	Netherlands Henk van Kessel		Netherlands	Condor	38	0
8	Austria Harald Bartol	7	Austria	Suzuki	21	0
9	Austria Johan Zemzauer		Austria	Rotax	21	0
10	Italy Pierluigi Conforti		Italy	Morbidelli	18	0
11	Dieter Braun		jpn		15
12	Hans Müller		jpn		14
13	Cees van Dongen		jpn		9
14	Peter Frohnmeyer		spa		8
15	Jos Schurgers		spa		6
16	Horst Seel		spa		6
17	Maurice Maingret		fra		5
18	Otello Buscherini		fra		5
19	Matti Kinnunen		Fra		5
20	Oriol Fernandez		Ita		4
21	Gert Bender		Ita		4
22	Hans Hallberg		Ita		4
23	Matti Salonen		Irl		4
24	Hiroshi Aoyama		Irl		2
25	Shuhei Aoyama		Irl		2
26	Alberto Ieva		Isl		2
27	Nicky Hayden		Isl		2
28	Randy Pangalila		Isl		2
29	Tierry Tchernine		nor		2
30	Collin edwards		nor		2
31	Xaver Tschannen		Nor		1
32	Ben spies		Swe		1
33	Ulrich Graf		Swe		1
34	Ivan Carlsson		Swe		1
35	Zbynek Havrda		fin		1
36	Hans Hummel		fin		1
37	Kenny Roberts		Fin		1

50cc standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	SPA
Spain	GER
GER	NAC
ITA	HOL
NED	BEL
BEL	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	YUG
YUG	Pts	Pos	Rider	Bike	SPA
Spain	GER
GER	NAC
ITA	HOL
NED	BEL
BEL	SWE
SWE	FIN
FIN	YUG
YUG	Pts
1	Spain Angel Nieto	Kreidler	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	75
2	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	Piovaticci	4	2	2	3	3	1	2	Ret	61
3	West Germany Rudolf Kunz	Kreidler	9	5		6		7	3	2	37
4	West Germany Herbert Rittberger	Kreidler	6	4	5	2			Ret		31
5	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger	Kreidler	3	6	3	Ret	11		Ret	5	31
6	Netherlands Nico Polane	Kreidler									28
7	West Germany Gerhard Thurow	Kreidler									21
8	Austria Hans Hummel	Kreidler									20
9	Italy Claudio Lusuardi	Derbi									16
10	NED Theo Timmer	Jamathi									13
11	NED Henk van Kessel	Kreidler									12
12	ITA Aldo Pero	Kreidler									10
13	SWI Ulrich Graf	Kreidler									10
14	NED Gerrit Strikker	Kreidler									8
15	NED Cees Van Dongen	Kreidler									8
16	NED Jan Huberts	Kreidler									5
17	SWI Rolf Blatter	Kreidler									4
18	Spain Ramon Gali	Derbi									4
19	AUT Walter Werner	Kreidler									4
20	Spain Jaime Alguersuari Sr.	Derbi									4
21	NED Theo Van Geffen	D.R.M.									3
22	SWE Karl Gotesson	Kreidler									3
23	NED Jan Bruins	Kreidler									3
24	FRA Robert Laver	Kreidler									3
25	ITA Cesare Guerrini	Ringhini									2
26	GER Ingo Emmerich	Kreidler									2
27	Spain Joaquim Gali	Derbi									1
28	FRA Pierre Audry	ABF									1
29	ITA Germano Zanetti	Kreidler									1
30	GER Günter Schirnhofer	Kreidler									1

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.
"Rider Statistics - Johnny Cecotto". MotoGP.com.
"500cc Grand Prix entry lists for 1972 to 1975".

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