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1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season

500cc – Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) 350cc - Jon Ekerold (Yamaha) 250cc – Anton Mang (Kawasaki) 125cc – Pier Paolo Bianchi (MBA) 50cc – Eugenio Lazzarini (Iprem) The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Season summary

Yamaha's Kenny Roberts claimed his third successive 500cc world championship in a season shortened by the cancellations of the Venezuelan and Austrian rounds. Randy Mamola took over at Suzuki from Barry Sheene. Kawasaki returned to the 500cc class with a monocoque, four cylinder bike for Kork Ballington. Honda soldiered on with its exotic four-stroke NR500 but began to realize it was at a disadvantage against its two-stroke opposition.

There were only six rounds in the 350cc class that saw South Africa's Jon Ekerold, a true privateer, take the championship from the Kawasaki factory-sponsored Anton Mang. Mang would take the 250cc crown from defending champion Ballington while Pier Paolo Bianchi won the 125cc title. Eugenio Lazzarini won a tight battle from Swiss Stefan Dörflinger to take the 50cc championship by only 2 points.

1980 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1980:

Round	Date	Grand Prix
11 May	Italy Gran Premio delle Nazioni	Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
18 May	Spain Gran Premio de España	Circuito Permanente Del Jarama
25 May	France Grand Prix de France Moto	Circuit Paul Ricard
15 Jun	Yugoslavia Velika Nagrada Jugoslavije	Automotodrom Rijeka
28 June	Netherlands Dutch TT Assen	TT Circuit Assen
6 July	Belgium Grand Prix of Belgium	Circuit Zolder
27 July	Finland Finnish GP	Imatra Circuit
10 August	UK Marlboro British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit
17 August	Czechoslovakia Grand Prix ČSSR	Brno Circuit
24 August	Germany Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring-Nordschleife

Calendar changes

The Venezuelan and Swedish Grand Prix was taken off the calendar due to financial problems.
The Austrian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April, was eventually cancelled due to snowy conditions on race week. It was the last Grand Prix to have all races cancelled until the 2018 British Grand Prix (although all free practices and qualifying took place).
The German Grand Prix had its date moved from 6 May to 24 August and the venue was moved from the Hockenheimring to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
The French Grand Prix had its date moved from 2 September to 25 May and the venue was moved from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to the Circuit Paul Ricard.
The Belgian Grand Prix moved from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to the Circuit Zolder due to problems with the new track last year.

Results and standings

1980 Grand Prix season results

Round	Date	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner
11 May	Italy Nations Grand Prix	Misano	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Germany Anton Mang	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	United States Kenny Roberts	Report
18 May	Spain Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	South Africa Kork Ballington		United States Kenny Roberts	Report
25 May	France French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard		Spain Angel Nieto	South Africa Kork Ballington	South Africa Jon Ekerold	United States Kenny Roberts	Report
15 Jun	Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Rijeka	Spain Ricardo Tormo	France Guy Bertin	Germany Anton Mang			Report
28 June	Netherlands Dutch TT	Assen	Spain Ricardo Tormo	Spain Angel Nieto	Venezuela Carlos Lavado	South Africa Jon Ekerold	Netherlands Jack Middelburg	Report
6 July	Belgium Belgian Grand Prix	Zolder	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger	Spain Angel Nieto	Germany Anton Mang		United States Randy Mamola	Report
27 July	Finland Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		Spain Angel Nieto	South Africa Kork Ballington		Netherlands Wil Hartog	Report
10 August	UK British Grand Prix	Silverstone		Italy Loris Reggiani	South Africa Kork Ballington	Germany Anton Mang	United States Randy Mamola	Report
17 August	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno Circuit		France Guy Bertin	Germany Anton Mang	Germany Anton Mang		Report
24 August	Germany German Grand Prix	Nürburgring-Nordschleife	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger	France Guy Bertin	South Africa Kork Ballington	South Africa Jon Ekerold	Italy Marco Lucchinelli	Report

Participants

500cc participants

Team	Constructor	Motorcycle	No.	Rider
Yamaha Motor Japan	Yamaha YZR500 (OW48)	1	USA Kenny Roberts	All
Cagiva	Cagiva GP500	2	ITA Virginio Ferrari	All
Riemersma Racing	Suzuki RGB500	3
4	NED Wil Hartog	1–2, 4–8
Venemotos Racing Team	Yamaha YZR500 (OW48)	4	VEN Johnny Cecotto	All
Jen Organs	Suzuki RG 500	5
57	ITA Franco Uncini	1–2, 4–8
Yamaha I.M.N.	???	6	NED Boet van Dulmen	All
14
8
9
7	NED Jack Middelburg	2–8
Team Akai with Texaco	Yamaha TZ???/Yamaha OW???	7	GBR Barry Sheene	1–4, 7
Honda International	Honda NR500**	8
17
14
52	JPN Takazumi Katayama	7
19
???	GBR Mick Grant	9
Marlboro Frankonia Nava	???	9
???	CHE Philippe Coulon	1–2, 5–7
Team Nava Olio Fiat	Suzuki RGB500	2
10
???	ITA Marco Lucchinelli	All
23
28
???	ITA Graziano Rossi	1–7
Team Kawasaki	Kawasaki KR500	11
???	RSA Kork Ballington	1–3, 6–9
20
???	AUS Gregg Hansford	8
Team Sonauto Gauloises GPA	???	12
19
???	FRA Patrick Pons	3–7
34	FRA Raymond Roche	1, 3–7
7	FRA Christian Sarron	All
Elf Moto Racing Team	13
21
???	CHE Michel Frutschi	2
Ecurie Sté Pernod	14
36
???	FRA Michel Rougerie	2–4, 6
Ecurie Sté Pernod/Sonauto	20
???	FRA Patrick Fernandez	4–6
Texaco Heron Team Suzuki	Suzuki RGB500	10
15
???	USA Randy Mamola	All
15
40
???	NZL Graeme Crosby	1–5, 7–8
???	???	18
???	JPN Sadao Asami	1, 3, 5–6, 8
26
???	CHE Sergio Pellandini	1
27
???	FRA Christian Estrosi	1
GME Motul GPA	28
???	FRA Bernard Fau	3, 5
Team Naldoni	36	ITA Maurizio Massimiani	1, 5, 8
Sarome	Suzuki RG 500**	40
???	JPN Hiroshi Aoyama	1–4, 8
MAN 2000	???	44
???	FIN Seppo Rossi	2–3, 6
Team Gattino	45
???	ITA Carlo Perugini	1–3, 5–6, 8
Stimorol	61
???	NED Willem Zoet	4–5

Key
Regular Rider
Wildcard Rider
Replacement Rider

|} ;Notes

- The 500cc did not participate in rounds 4 and 9 of the championship, the Yugoslav and Czechoslovak GPs.
** Katayama raced with the Suzuki for the first four races until the Honda was ready.
*** Ballington missed some races due to an injury.
**** Pons was killed in a racing accident at the British GP.

500cc riders' standings

;Scoring system Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

Position	Points
1st	2nd
15	12

Place	Rider	Team	Machine	NAT
Italy	ESP
Spain	FRA
France	NED
Netherlands	BEL
Belgium	FIN
Finland	GBR
Great Britain	GER
Germany	Points
1	United States Kenny Roberts	Yamaha International	YZR500	1	1	1	Ret	3	2	2	4	87
2	United States Randy Mamola	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	3	2	5	1	4	1	5	72
3	Italy Marco Lucchinelli	Nava Gallina-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	2	3	Ret	2	Ret	3	1	59
4	Italy Franco Uncini	Uncini-Suzuki	RG500	2	7	Ret	3	6	3	6	7	50
5	Italy Graziano Rossi	Nava Gallina-Suzuki	RG500	3	Ret	4	2	Ret	13	4	Ret	38
6	Netherlands Wil Hartog	Riemersma Racing	RG500	Ret	Ret		19	5	1	Ret	3	31
7	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	Venemotos-Yamaha	YZR500	4	6	9	6	Ret		5	6	31
8	New Zealand Graeme Crosby	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	12	5	8	4		13	2	29
9	Netherlands Jack Middelburg	IMN-Yamaha	YZR500	DNS	15	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	9	8	20
10	Japan Takazumi Katayama	Honda-HRC	RG500/NR500	6	4	6	Ret		Ret	15	12	18
11	Italy Carlo Perugini	Team Gattina	RG500	5	10	13	Ret	7	7	Ret	9	17
12	South Africa Kork Ballington	Team Kawasaki	KR500	Ret	13	8			5	7	11	13
13	Switzerland Philippe Coulon	Frankonia-Suzuki	RG500	9	8	16	Ret	11	8	8	Ret	11
14	The Netherlands Boet Van Dulmen	IMN-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	18	19	4	9	Ret	16	Ret	10
15	Great Britain Barry Sheene	Akai-Yamaha	YZR500	7	5	Ret	Ret	DNQ		Ret		10
16	France Patrick Pons	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	Ret	10	10	8	6	Ret		10
17	France Patrick Fernandez	Ecurie Ste Pernod	YZR500	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	14			4
18	France Michel Rougerie	Ecurie Ste Pernod	RG500	DNQ	11	7	14	Ret	15	Ret		4
19	France Christian Estrosi	Team Furygan Suzuki	RG500	8	16	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret			3
20	The Netherlands Henk De Vries		RG500				9	DNQ		25		2
21	Japan Sadao Asami	Yamaha International	YZR500	Ret	Ret	12	DNQ	15	9	Ret	15	2
22	Switzerland Michel Frutschi	Elf-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	9	22	Ret	DNQ	18	Ret	Ret	2
23	France Raymond Roche	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	DNQ	11	DNQ	12	10	14		1
24	Germany Gustav Reiner	Nava Kucera Racing Team	RG500	DNQ			DNQ	Ret		22	10	1
25	France Bernard Fau	GME Motul GPA	YZR500	Ret	Ret	15		10	Ret	Ret		1
26	Great Britain Dave Potter	Mitsui-Yamaha	YZR500				15	DNQ		10		1
27	Switzerland Sergio Pellandini		RG500	10	Ret	21	DNQ	DNQ			Ret	1
	Italy Maurizio Massimiani		YZR500	11		23		13			13	0
	USA Dale Singleton		YZR500			DNQ	18	Ret		11	16	0
	France Franck Gross		RG500			24		Ret	11	DNQ	Ret	0
	Australia Jeff Sayle		YZR500	DNQ		DNQ	11	Ret		Ret	Ret	0
	Netherlands Willem Zoet		RG500	DNQ		18	12	14	Ret	19	Ret	0
	Italy Gianfranco Bonera		YZR500	12		17		Ret				0
	Sweden Lennart Bäckström		RG500						12			0
	Great Britain John Newbold		RG500							12		0
	Finland Markku Matikainen		YZR500	DNQ	19	20	13	Ret	DNQ			0
	Italy Guido Paci		RG500	13		Ret						0
	Finland Seppo Rossi		RG500	DNQ	14	14		16	Ret	Ret	23	0
	New Zealand Stuart Avant		RG500					DNQ		Ret	14	0
	Belgium Richard Hubin		YZR500	14	Ret							0
	Austria Werner Nenning		RG500	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret		16	23	18	0
	GBR Mick Grant		RG500				16		Ret	DNQ		0
	GBR Steve Parrish		RG500				17	DNQ		17	17	0
	France Hubert Rigal		YZR500	DNQ	17	Ret	Ret	DNQ	17	Ret		0
	Australia Kenny Blake		YZR500					17				0
	Great Britain Roger Marshall		YZR500							18		0
	Austria Max Wiener		RG500	DNQ		DNQ	DNQ		19		25	0
	Germany Josef Hage		RG500				DNQ	DNQ			19	0
	Sweden Peter Sjöström		RG500		DNQ	DNQ		DNQ	Ret	20		0
	Germany Peter Ammann		RG500								20	0
	Italy Giovanni Pelletier		Morbidelli	Ret	DNQ	DNQ		DNQ			21	0
	Great Britain Paul Henderson		RG500							21		0
	Switzerland Wolfgang von Muralt		YZR500								22	0
	Germany Gerhard Vogt		RG500							24		0
	Germany Jürgen Steiner		RG500								24	0
	Austria Michael Schmid		RG500			DNQ					26	0
	Germany Alois Tost		YZR500								27	0
	Germany Bruno Kölble		YZR500								28	0
	Germany Rolf Schneider		YZR500								29	0
	France Christian Sarron		YZR500	Ret	Ret							0
	Italy Gianni Rolando		RG500	Ret	Ret	DNQ				Ret		0
	Italy Carlo Prati		RG500	Ret				DNQ			Ret	0
	South Africa Jon Ekerold		Sol/Bimota	DNQ		DNQ	Ret			DNS	DNS	0
	USA Skip Aksland		YZR500		Ret							0
	Belgium Alain Nies		RG500			DNQ		Ret		DNQ		0
	USA Freddie Spencer		YZR500					Ret				0
	ITA Adelio Faccioli		RG500						Ret			0
	GER Anton Mang		KR500						Ret			0
	SWE Peter Sköld		RG500						Ret			0
	FIN Kimmo Kopra		YZR500						Ret			0
	Great Britain Graham Wood		YZR500							Ret		0
	Great Britain Steve Manship		YZR500							Ret		0
	Germany Elmar Renner		RG500		DNQ	DNQ					Ret	0
	Australia Gregg Hansford		KR500								Ret	0
	Germany Klaus Klein		RG500								Ret	0
	Italy Virginio Ferrari		GP500								Ret	0
	Germany Clemens Driesch		RG500								Ret	0
	Germany Fritz Reitmaier		RG500								Ret	0
	Great Britain Ron Haslam		YZR500							DNS		0
	New Zealand Dennis Ireland		RG500				DNQ	DNQ		DNQ		0
	Spain Carlos de San Antonio		RG500	DNQ	DNQ							0
	Great Britain Gary Lingham		RG500	DNQ	DNQ							0
	Spain Antonio Garcia		RG500		DNQ			DNQ				0
	Japan Masaru Iwasaki		RG500				DNQ	DNQ				0
	Netherlands Henk Twikler		RG500				DNQ	DNQ				0
	Finland Timo Pohjola		RG500						DNQ		DNQ	0
	Italy Fabio Biliotti		RG500	DNQ								0
	Italy Corrado Tuzii		RG500	DNQ								0
	Belgium Didier de Radigues		RG500		DNQ							0
	USA Richard Schlachter		YZR500			DNQ						0
	France Jacques Agopian		RG500			DNQ						0
	Denmark Børge Nielsen		RG500			DNQ						0
	Netherlands Dick Alblas		RG500				DNQ					0
	Belgium Philippe Chaltin		RG500					DNQ				0
	Netherlands Albert Siegers		RG500					DNQ				0
	Germany Walter Koschine		RG500					DNQ				0
	Belgium Jean-Philippe Delers		YZR500					DNQ				0
	Great Britain John Woodley		RG500							DNQ		0
	Venezuela Roberto Pietri		RG500							DNQ		0
	Great Britain Alex George		YZR500							DNQ		0
	Germany Günter Riehl		Yamato								DNQ	0

350cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	South Africa Jon Ekerold	8	South Africa	Yamaha	63	3
2	West Germany Anton Mang	4	West Germany	Kawasaki	60	2
3	France Jean-François Baldé		France	Kawasaki	38	0
4	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto		Venezuela	Yamaha	37	1
5	Australia Jeff Sayle	10	Australia	Yamaha	25	0
6	France Eric Saul		France	Yamaha	24	0
7	Switzerland Jacques Cornu	27	Switzerland	Yamaha	21	0
8	Italy Massimo Matteoni	4	Italy	Yamaha	19	0
9	Italy Walter Villa	4	Italy	Yamaha	16	0
10	France Patrick Fernandez	2	France	Yamaha	12	0
11	Carlo Perugini				10
12	Tony Head				9
13	Carlos Lavado				8
14	Roland Freymond				7
15	Gregg Hansford				6
16	Tony Rogers				6
17	Jacques Bolle				6
18	Keith Huewen				6
19	Thierry Espié				6
20	Jean Louis Tournadre				5
21	Loris Reggiani				4
22	Graeme McGregor				4
23	Alan North				2
24	Pekka Nurmi				1
25	Edi Stoellinger				1

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	West Germany Anton Mang	6	West Germany	Kawasaki	128	4
2	South Africa Kork Ballington	1	South Africa	Kawasaki	87	5
3	France Jean-François Baldé	8	France	Kawasaki	59	0
4	France Thierry Espié		France	Yamaha	53	0
5	Switzerland Roland Freymond	10	Switzerland	Morbidelli	46	0
6	Venezuela Carlos Lavado		Venezuela	Yamaha	29	1
7	Italy Gianpaolo Marchetti		Italy	Yamaha	28	0
8	Switzerland Jacques Cornu		Switzerland	Yamaha	26	0
9	France Eric Saul		France	Yamaha	24	0
10	France Patrick Fernandez	5	France	Yamaha	16	0
11	Edi Stoellinger				16
12	Hans Müller				16
13	Sauro Pazzaglia				12
14	Graeme McGregor				12
15	Pier Luigi Conforti				10
16	Jean-Louis Guignabodet				9
17	Didier de Radiguès				8
18	Eero Hyvärinen				8
19	Clive Horton				7
20	Paolo Ferretti				7
21	Greame Geddes				6
22	R.Sibille				6
23	Steve Tonkin				5
24	Jacques Bolle				5
25	Herbert Hauf				4
26	A.Gouin				4
27	Reinhold Roth				4
28	Walter Villa				4
29	Charlie Williams				2
30	Martin Wimmer				2
31	Marco Papa				1
32	Jean-Louis Tournadre				1
33	Rene Delaby				1
34	F.Marcheggiani				1
35	Tony Rogers				1
36	H.Tomic				1

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	10	Italy	MBA	90	2
2	France Guy Bertin	6	France	Motobécane	81	3
3	Spain Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Minarelli	78	4
4	Switzerland Bruno Kneubühler	9	Switzerland	MBA	68	0
5	Switzerland Hans Müller		Switzerland	MBA	64	0
6	Italy Loris Reggiani		Italy	Minarelli	63	1
7	Venezuela Iván Palazzese		Venezuela	MBA	28	0
8	Italy Maurizio Massimiani	2	Italy	Minarelli	20	0
9	Netherlands Peter Looijensteijn		Netherlands	MBA	18	0
10	Australia Barry Smith		Australia	MBA	17	0
11	Harald Bartol				15
12	Ricardo Tormo				13
13	Stefan Dörflinger				13
14	Gianpaolo Marchetti				10
15	August Auinger				9
16	Jose Dubon				8
17	Eugenio Lazzarini				8
18	Rolf Blatter				8
19	Henk Van Kessel				8
20	Gert Bender				6
21	Michel Galbit				6
22	P.Herouard				6
23	Janos Drapal				5
24	Thierry Noblesse				4
25	Matti Kinnunen				4
26	Jhonni Baeckstroem				2
27	S.Janssen				2
28	Jean Claude Selini				2
29	Johnny Wickstroem				1
30	Hugo Vignetti				1
31	Z.Ljeljak				1
32	Anton Straver				1

50cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	1	Italy	Iprem	74	2
2	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger	10	Switzerland	Kreidler	72	2
3	Austria Hans Hummel		Austria	Kreidler	37	0
4	Spain Ricardo Tormo		Spain	Kreidler	36	2
5	Netherlands Henk van Kessel	7	Netherlands	Kreidler	31	0
6	Netherlands Hans Spaan		Netherlands	Kreidler The Best Team	24	0
7	Netherlands Theo Timmer		Netherlands	Bultaco	19	0
8	France Yves Dupont		France	ABF	18	0
9	France Jacques Hutteau	8	France	ABF	18	0
10	West Germany Wolfgang Müller		West Germany	Kreidler	15	0
11	Switzerland Rolf Blatter				14
12	West Germany Gerhard Waibel				7
13	AustriaOtto Machinek				7
14	West Germany Ingo Emmerich				6
15	Italy Giuseppe Ascareggi				4
16	West Germany Günter Schirnhofer				4
17	Spain Daniel Mateos				3
18	Italy Claudio Lusuardi				3
19	Italy Enrico Cereda				2
20	ItalyAldo Pero				1
21	West GermanyGerhard Böhl				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.
"Results and Statistics". MotoGP.com.
"Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1980". Archive.li.
(15 January 2018). "1980 World Motorcycle Championship".
"500cc Grand Prix entry list for 1983".
{{in lang. en [http://www.elsberg-tuning.dk/iprem.html Iprem : 50cc Roadracing Story] - The Iprem was a rebadged [[Van Veen (motorcycle). Van Veen]]-[[Kreidler]]

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