1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

1955 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Previous

1954

Next

1956

Geoff Duke (pictured in 1951) won his last 500cc World Championship title in 1955.

The 1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the seventh F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eight Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 1 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 4 September.

1955 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	1 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Luigi Taveri			Reg Armstrong	Faust / Remmert	Report
2	15 May	French Grand Prix	Reims	Carlo Ubbiali		Duilio Agostini	Geoff Duke		Report
3	10 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Carlo Ubbiali	Bill Lomas	Bill Lomas	Geoff Duke	Schneider / Strauß	Report
4	26 June	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Carlo Ubbiali	Hermann Paul Müller	Bill Lomas	Geoff Duke	Faust / Remmert	Report
5	3 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Bill Lomas	Giuseppe Colnago	Noll / Cron	Report
6	16 July	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Carlo Ubbiali	Luigi Taveri	Ken Kavanagh	Geoff Duke	Faust / Remmert	Report
7	13 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		John Surtees	Bill Lomas	Bill Lomas		Report
8	4 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	Dickie Dale	Umberto Masetti	Noll / Cron	Report

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the four best races counted in the Sidecars, 125cc and 250cc, while in the 350cc and 500cc championships, the five best results were counted.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine ESP FRA MAN GER BEL HOL ULS NAC Pts 1 Geoff Duke Gilera Ret 1 1 1 Ret 1 3 36 2 Reg Armstrong Gilera 1 3 2 Ret Ret 2 2 30 3 Umberto Masetti MV Agusta 3 4 3 1 19 4 Giuseppe Colnago Gilera 7 5 1 Ret 4 13 5 Carlo Bandirola MV Agusta 2 11 3 Ret Ret 10 6 Bill Lomas Moto Guzzi 7 1 8 7 Pierre Monneret Gilera 10 2 Ret 6 8 John Hartle Norton 13 2 6 9 Libero Liberati Gilera 2 Ret 6 10 Walter Zeller BMW 2 6 11 Bob McIntyre Norton 5 4 5 12 Dickie Dale Moto Guzzi Ret 3 4 = Ken Kavanagh Moto Guzzi Ret 3 4 14 Léon Martin Gilera 3 4 15 Tito Forconi MV Agusta 6 4 Ret Ret 4 16 Duilio Agostini Moto Guzzi Ret 4 3 = Jack Brett Norton 4 Ret 3 18 Orlando Valdinoci Gilera 4 3 = Drikus Veer Gilera 4 3 20 Bob Brown Matchless 16 11 5 2 21 Alfredo Milani Gilera Ret 14 5 2 22 Peter Murphy Matchless Ret Ret Ret 5 2 23 Auguste Goffin Norton Ret Ret 5 2 24 Jacques Collot Norton 5 Ret 2 = Nello Pagani MV Agusta 5 Ret 2 26 Jack Ahearn Norton Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 1 27 Eddie Grant Matchless / Norton 14 16 6 1 28 John Clark Matchless Ret 6 1 = Ernst Riedelbauch BMW Ret 6 1 = John Storr Norton Ret 6 1 31 Firmin Dauwe Norton 6 1 = Derek Ennett Matchless 6 1 33 Hans-Günther Jäger Norton 7 8 0 = Eric Jones Norton 8 7 0 35 Florian Camathias Norton 7 Ret 0 = Gerold Klinger BMW Ret 7 0 37 Piet Bakker Norton 7 0 38 Len Aislabie Norton 20 Ret 8 Ret 0 39 Sven Andersson Norton Ret 8 Ret 0 40 William Hall Norton Ret 8 0 41 Marcel Beauvais Norton 8 0 = Alfredo Flores Norton 8 0 = Priem Rozenberg BMW 8 0 44 Bob Matthews Norton 11 9 Ret 11 0 45 Bill Collett Matchless 23 Ret 9 0 46 Derek Powell Matchless 9 Ret 0 = Percy Tait Norton Ret 9 0 48 Jean-Pierre Bayle Norton 9 0 = Enrico Galante Norton 9 0 = Kuno Johansson Matchless 9 0 51 Phil Heath Norton 14 13 10 Ret 0 52 Peter Davey Norton 10 Ret 0 = Ernst Hiller Matchless 10 Ret 0 = Maurice Low Triumph / BSA Ret 10 0 55 Artemio Cirelli Gilera 10 0 = Edouard Texidor Norton 10 0 56 Robin Fitton Norton Ret 11 Ret 0 = Piet Knijnenburg Matchless 11 0 = Ray Travers Norton 11 0 59 Malcolm Templeton Matchless 30 12 0 60 John Hempleman Norton Ret 12 Ret 0 61 Mike O'Rourke Norton 12 0 = Hans-Joachim Scheel Norton 12 0 63 Ken Tostevin Matchless Ret 13 0 64 Heinz Schreiber Norton 13 0 = Casper Swart Norton 13 0 66 Angus Martin Norton 40 14 0 67 Peter Davey Norton 14 0 68 Arthur Wheeler Matchless 17 15 Ret 0 69 Harry Pearce Matchless 15 0 = Karl-Heinz Scheifel Norton 15 0 = Gerrit Ten Kate Norton 15 0 = Harry Turner Norton 15 0 73 Ralph Rensen Norton 33 16 0 74 Frederick Cook Matchless 18 17 Ret Ret 0 75 Ernie Oliver Norton 17 0 76 Dick Knox Norton 18 0 77 Robert King Norton Ret 19 0 78 John Denton Norton 19 0 79 Ken Swallow Matchless 43 20 0 80 George Costain Norton 21 0 = Jimmy Hayes AJS 21 0 82 Roy Evans Matchless 22 0 = Ivor Lloyd Norton 22 0 84 Geoff Read Norton 24 0 85 Dave Chadwick Norton 25 Ret 0 86 Frank Perris Matchless 26 Ret 0 87 Eric Pantilin Norton 27 0 88 Albert Moule BSA 28 0 89 John Surtees Norton 29 Ret Ret 0 90 Bob Rowbottom Norton 31 0 91 George Catlin Norton 32 0 92 Philip Palmer BSA 34 0 93 Ken Tully Norton 35 0 94 Terry Shepherd Norton 36 0 95 Jack Bailey Norton 37 0 96 Bill Beevers Norton 38 0 97 Bill Roberton Norton 39 0 98 Joe Glazebrook Norton 41 0 99 Ray Fay BSA 42 0 100 Ralph Wijesinghe BSA 44 0 101 Walter Hancock BSA 45 0 102 Willie Wilshere Norton 46 0 103 Frank Norris Norton 47 0 – Tony McAlpine BMW Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – Keith Campbell Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 – Chris Stormont BSA Ret Ret Ret 0 – Francis Flahaut Norton Ret Ret 0 – Ulf Gate Matchless Ret Ret 0 – Hans Haldemann Norton Ret Ret 0 – Dick Thomson Matchless Ret Ret 0 – Fergus Anderson Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – Fernando Aranda Norton Ret 0 – Bruno Böhrer Horex Ret 0 – Paolo Campanelli Gilera Ret 0 – Roly Capner BSA Ret 0 – Louis Carr Norton Ret 0 – Louis Carter Norton Ret 0 – Phil Carter Matchless Ret 0 – Eric Cheers Matchless Ret 0 – Franco Chinelli Gilera Ret 0 – Javier de Ortueta Norton Ret 0 – Rally Dean Norton Ret 0 – Stanley Dibben Norton Ret 0 – Anton Elbersen Norton Ret 0 – Lodovico Facchinelli Gilera Ret 0 – Luigi Folconi Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – Bob Ferguson AJS Ret 0 – Jack Forrest BMW Ret 0 – Frank Fox Norton Ret 0 – Martino Giani Gilera Ret 0 – Francisco González Norton Ret 0 – John Grace Norton Ret 0 – Francesco Guglielminetti Norton Ret 0 – Wilf Herron Norton Ret 0 – Eric Houseley Matchless Ret 0 – Roy Ingram Norton Ret 0 – Arnold Jones Matchless Ret 0 – Harald Karlsson Norton Ret 0 – Rudolf Knees Norton Ret 0 – George Leigh Norton Ret 0 – Robert McCracken Triumph Ret 0 – George Northwood BSA Ret 0 – Pierre Nicholas Norton Ret 0 – Tony Ovens Norton Ret 0 – Harry Plews Norton Ret 0 – Maurice Quincey Norton Ret 0 – Gerald Robarts Norton Ret 0 – Michael Roche Norton Ret 0 – Charlie Salt BSA Ret 0 – George Salt Matchless Ret 0 – W. Stewart Norton Ret 0 – Martinus van Son Norton Ret 0 – John Williamson Norton Ret 0 – Jackie Wood Norton Ret 0 – Erich Wünsche Norton Ret 0 – Georg Braun Horex DNS 0 – Allen Burt Matchless DNS 0 – Ricardo Galvagni Norton DNS 0 – Sakari Järvimaa Matchless DNS 0 – Armando Poggi Norton DNS 0 – R. Siriwardena Norton DNS 0 – W.H. Spence Norton DNS 0 – Des Wright BSA DNS 0 Pos Rider Bike ESP FRA MAN GER BEL HOL ULS NAC Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Bill Lomas	72	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	32	4
2	Dickie Dale		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	18	1
3	August Hobl		Germany	DKW	17	0
4	Ken Kavanagh		Australia	Moto Guzzi	14	1
5	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	13	0
6	John Surtees		United Kingdom	Norton	11	0
7	Duilio Agostini		Italy	Moto Guzzi	8	1
8	Bob McIntyre		United Kingdom	Norton	8	0
9	John Hartle		United Kingdom	Norton	7	0
10	Roberto Colombo		Italy	Moto Guzzi	7	0
11	Keith Campbell		Australia	Norton	4	0
12	Enrico Lorenzetti		Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Auguste Goffin		Belgium	Velocette	3	0
14	Peter Murphy		New Zealand	AJS	3	0
=	Karl Hofmann		Germany	DKW	3	0
16	Maurice Quincey		Australia	Norton	2	0
17	Hans Bartl		Netherlands	DKW	2	0
18	Jacques Collot		France	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hermann Paul Müller		Germany	NSU	16	1
2	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	14	0
3	Bill Lomas		United Kingdom	MV Agusta	13	1
4	Luigi Taveri		Switzerland	MV Agusta	11	1
5	Umberto Masetti		Italy	MV Agusta	11	0
6	Sammy Miller		United Kingdom	NSU	10	0
7	John Surtees		United Kingdom	NSU	8	1
=	Carlo Ubbiali		Italy	MV Agusta	8	1
9	Hans Baltisberger		Germany	NSU	6	0
=	Wolfgang Brandt		Germany	NSU	6	0
11	Arthur Wheeler		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	6	0
12	Enrico Lorenzetti		Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
13	Dave Chadwick		United Kingdom	RD Special	2	0
14	Bill Webster		United Kingdom	Velocette	1	0
=	Helmut Hallmeier		Germany	NSU	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos. Rider Bike ESP FRA MAN GER NED NAT Pts 1 Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 3 1 1F 1F 1 1F 32 (44) 2 Luigi Taveri MV Agusta 1 2 2 2 NCF 26 3 Remo Venturi MV Agusta 3 2 2 16 4 Giuseppe Lattanzi Mondial 4 3 3 11 5 Angelo Copeta MV Agusta 5 5 3 8 6 Romolo Ferri Mondial 2F 6F 7 7 Bill Webster MV Agusta 5 4 5 8 Rudolf Grimas Mondial 3 4 9 Tarquinio Provini Mondial 4 3 9 Bill Lomas MV Agusta 4 3 9 Karl Lottes MV Agusta 4 3 9 August Hobl DKW 4 3 13 Bernhard Petruschke IFA 5 2 13 Willi Scheidhauer MV Agusta 5 2 13 Sigfried Wünsche DKW 5 2 16 Marcelo Cama Montesa 6 1 16 Ross Porter MV Agusta 6 1 16 Erhard Krumpholz IFA 6 1 16 Erich Wünsche MV Agusta 6 1 16 Paolo Campanelli Mondial 6 1 Pos. Rider Bike ESP FRA MAN GER NED NAT Pts

Race key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Annotation Meaning P Pole position F Fastest lap Rider key Colour Meaning Light blue Rookie rider

Constructors' standings

Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	32 (48)
2	Mondial	2	3	3		3	6	18 (19)
3	DKW						4	3
4	IFA				5			2
5	Montesa	6						1
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts

References

• Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 22–24. ISBN   978-2-9701086-8-9.
• 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.