1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

1956 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1955

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1957

Bill Lomas (left) and John Surtees (right), the 1956 350cc and 500cc World Champion respectively.

Carlo Ubbiali, the 1956 125cc and 250cc World Champion.

The 1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the eighth F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of six Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 June, with Isle of Man TT and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 9 September.

Reigning 500cc champion Geoff Duke had to serve a six months ban at the start of the season for supporting a strike by privateer riders over starting money at the 1955 Dutch TT. ^{[1] [2]}

1956 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	8 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	Ken Kavanagh	John Surtees	Hillebrand / Grunwald	Report
2	30 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	Bill Lomas	John Surtees	Hillebrand / Grunwald	Report
3	8 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	John Surtees	John Surtees	Noll / Cron	Report
4	22 July	German Grand Prix	Solitude	Romolo Ferri	Carlo Ubbiali	Bill Lomas	Reg Armstrong	Noll / Cron	Report
5	11 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Carlo Ubbiali	Luigi Taveri	Bill Lomas	John Hartle	Noll / Cron	Report
6	9 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	Libero Liberati	Geoff Duke	Milani / Milani	Report

Standings

Scoring system

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

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

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine MAN HOL BEL GER ULS NAC Pts 1 John Surtees MV Agusta 1 1 1 24 2 Walter Zeller BMW 4 2 2 Ret Ret 6 16 3 John Hartle Norton 2 1 14 4 Pierre Monneret Gilera 3 3 3 12 5 Reg Armstrong Gilera Ret 1 Ret 4 11 6 Umberto Masetti MV Agusta DNS Ret 4 2 Ret 9 7 Geoff Duke Gilera Ret Ret Ret 1 8 8 Bob Brown Matchless Ret 2 6 9 Libero Liberati Gilera 2 6 10 Eddie Grant Norton 37 3 11 5 6 11 Jack Brett Norton 3 6 5 12 Peter Murphy Matchless Ret 3 4 13 Keith Bryen Norton Ret 4 10 6 4 14 Gerold Klinger BMW 4 9 3 15 Geoffrey Tanner Norton Ret 4 3 16 Alfredo Milani Gilera 5 8 2 17 Bill Lomas Moto Guzzi 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 18 Paul Fahey Matchless Ret 5 Ret Ret 2 19 Carlo Bandirola MV Agusta 5 2 = Wilf Herron Norton 5 2 21 Ernst Hiller BMW 6 8 10 1 22 Derek Ennett Matchless 6 1 = Auguste Goffin Norton 6 1 24 Alan Trow Norton 7 9 0 25 Gerald Robarts Norton 15 7 0 26 Barry Hodgkinson Norton 22 Ret 7 Ret 0 27 Alois Huber BMW RS 7 Ret 0 28 Austin Carson Norton 7 0 = Roberto Colombo MV Agusta 7 0 30 John Storr Norton 8 Ret 12 0 31 Dave Chadwick Norton 23 8 0 32 Piet Bakker Norton 8 0 = Gavin Dunlop Matchless 8 0 34 Jackie Wood Velocette / Norton 24 Ret 9 Ret 0 35 Bob Matthews Norton 9 Ret 0 36 Priem Rozenberg BMW 9 0 = George Salt Norton 9 0 38 Dennis Chapman Norton 10 11 0 39 Frederick Cook Matchless 18 10 13 17 0 40 Angus Martin Matchless Ret 10 0 41 Jacques Collot Norton Manx 10 Ret 0 42 Ernst Riedelbauch BMW Ret 11 11 0 43 Ralph Rensen Norton 11 13 0 44 Casper Swart Norton 11 0 45 John Grace Norton Ret Ret 12 0 = Hans-Günther Jäger Norton Ret Ret 12 0 47 Stephen Murray Norton 12 0 = Mike O'Rourke Norton 12 0 49 Giuseppe Cantoni MV Agusta 13 0 = George Costain Norton 13 0 = Peter Knees BMW 13 0 52 Frank Perris Matchless 14 Ret 0 53 Michael Roche Norton DNS 14 0 = Hans-Joachim Scheel Norton 14 0 = Harry Turner Norton 14 0 56 Ulf Gate Norton 15 0 = Pierre Nicholas Norton 15 0 = Des Sloan Norton 15 0 59 Frank Fox Norton 16 0 = Bill Roberton Matchless 16 0 = Berthold Sieler Norton 16 0 62 Martin Brosnan BSA 17 0 = Harry Plews Norton 17 0 64 Harry Lowe BSA 41 18 0 = Karl-Heinz Scheifel Norton 18 0 66 Phil Carter Norton 19 0 = Stanley Williamson Norton 19 0 68 Denis Christian Matchless 20 0 69 Ken Tostevin Matchless 21 Ret 0 70 Ken Tully Norton 25 0 71 Bob Ferguson Matchless 26 0 72 Louis Carr Matchless 27 0 73 Brian Duffy Norton 28 Ret 0 74 Albert Moule Norton 29 0 75 Dick Thomson Matchless 30 Ret 0 76 Llewelyn Ranson Norton 31 0 77 Vic Preston Norton 32 0 78 Bill Beevers Norton 33 0 79 Ken Willis Norton 34 0 80 James Edwards Norton 35 0 81 George Begg AJS 36 Ret 0 82 Joe Glazebrook Norton 38 0 83 E. Barona Norton 39 0 84 Walter Hancock BSA 40 0 85 Stan Cameron AJS 42 0 86 Ralph Wijesinghe BSA 43 0 87 Roly Capner BSA 44 0 88 John Denton Norton 45 0 - Keith Campbell Norton / Moto Guzzi Ret Ret Ret 0 - Günther Borgesdiek Norton Ret Ret 0 - Robert Coleman Norton Ret Ret 0 - Francisco González Norton Ret Ret 0 - Ken Kavanagh Moto Guzzi DNS Ret Ret DNS 0 - Olle Nygren Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Leen Reehorst Jawa Ret Ret 0 - Martinus van Son Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Sven Andersson Norton Ret 0 - Jean-Pierre Bayle Norton Ret 0 - Raymond Bogaerdt Norton Ret 0 - Buno Böhrer Horex Ret 0 - Paolo Campanelli Gilera Ret 0 - George Catlin Norton Ret 0 - Artemio Cirelli Gilera Ret 0 - John Clark Matchless Ret 0 - Robert Cook BSA Ret 0 - Ronald Cousins Norton Ret 0 - Dickie Dale Moto Guzzi Ret 0 - Firmin Dawue Norton Ret 0 - Gerardo Düring Matchless Ret 0 - Anton Elbersen Matchless Ret 0 - Karl-Heinz Ewig Norton Ret 0 - Ray Fay BSA Ret 0 - Robin Fitton Norton Ret 0 - Brian Freestone Norton Ret 0 - Enrico Galante Norton Ret 0 - Martino Giani Gilera Ret 0 - Francesco Guglielminetti Norton Ret 0 - William Hall Norton Ret 0 - Gustav Havel Jawa Ret 0 - Frantisek Helikar Jawa Ret 0 - Eric Hinton Norton DNS Ret 0 - Jaap Iesberts Matchless Ret 0 - Roy Ingram BSA Ret 0 - Arnold Jones Matchless Ret 0 - Kees Koster Norton Ret 0 - George Leigh Norton Ret 0 = Ivor Lloyd Norton Ret 0 = Giuseppe Mantelli Gilera Ret 0 - Robert McCracken Norton Ret 0 - Bob McIntyre Norton Ret 0 - Jules Nies Norton Ret 0 - Frank Norris Norton Ret 0 - Ernie Oliver Norton Ret 0 - Sergio Pinza Moto Guzzi Ret 0 - Maurice Pizzey Norton Ret 0 - Derek Powell Matchless Ret 0 - Charlie Salt BSA Ret 0 - Brian Setchell AJS Ret 0 - Terry Shepherd Norton Ret 0 - Lodewijk Simons Norton Ret 0 - František Šťastný Jawa Ret 0 - Ken Swallow Matchless Ret 0 - Gerrit Ten Kate Norton Ret 0 - Gerry Turner Pike-BSA Ret 0 - Drikus Veer Jawa Ret 0 - John Waring Norton Ret 0 - Arthur Wheeler Moto Guzzi Ret 0 - Jack Wilks BSA Ret 0 - Trevor Williams Norton Ret 0 - Len Aislabie Norton DNS 0 - Rod Coleman Norton DNS 0 - Robert King Norton DNS 0 - Derek Minter BSA DNS 0 - E. Muñoz Norton DNS 0 - M. Muñoz Norton DNS 0 - George Northwood BSA DNS 0 - Tony Ovens Norton DNS 0 - H. Wieland Norton DNS 0 - J. Woods Norton DNS 0 Pos Rider Bike MAN HOL BEL GER 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		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	24	3
2	Dickie Dale		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	17	0
=	August Hobl		Germany	DKW	17	0
4	John Surtees		United Kingdom	MV Agusta	14	1
5	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	DKW	13	0
6	Ken Kavanagh		Australia	Moto Guzzi	10	1
7	Libero Liberati		Italy	Gilera	8	1
8	John Hartle		United Kingdom	Norton	8	0
9	Derek Ennett		United Kingdom	AJS	6	0
10	Karl Hofmann		Germany	DKW	6	0
11	Roberto Colombo		Italy	MV Agusta	4	0
12	Jack Brett		United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
13	Hans Bartl		Netherlands	DKW	3	0
14	Umberto Masetti		Italy	MV Agusta	2	0
=	Peter Murphy		New Zealand	AJS	2	0
=	Eddie Grant		South Africa	Norton	2	0
17	Bob Brown		Australia	AJS	1	0
=	Bob Matthews		United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Alan Trow		United Kingdom	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Carlo Ubbiali		Italy	MV Agusta	32	5
2	Luigi Taveri		Switzerland	MV Agusta	26	1
3	Enrico Lorenzetti		Italy	Moto Guzzi	10	0
4	Roberto Colombo		Italy	MV Agusta	9	0
=	Horst Kassner		Germany	NSU	9	0
6	Remo Venturi		Italy	MV Agusta	8	0
7	Sammy Miller		United Kingdom	NSU	7	0
8	Hans Baltisberger		Germany	NSU	7	0
9	Arthur Wheeler		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	5	0
10	Bob Coleman		New Zealand	NSU	3	0
=	Kees Koster		Netherlands	NSU	3	0
12	František Bartoš		Czechoslovakia	ČZ	2	0
=	Bill Maddrick		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	2	0
=	Lo Simons		Netherlands	NSU	2	0
=	Alano Montanari		Italy	Moto Guzzi	2	0
=	Bob Brown		Australia	NSU	2	0
17	Jean-Pierre Bayle		France	NSU	1	0
=	Maurice Büla		Switzerland	NSU	1	0
=	Roland Heck		Germany	NSU	1	0
=	Jiří Koštíř		Czechoslovakia	ČZ	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos. Rider Bike MAN NED BEL GER ULS NAT Pts 1 Carlo Ubbiali MV Agusta 1F 1F 1 2 1F 1 32 (46) 2 Romolo Ferri Gilera NCF 1 2 14 3 Luigi Taveri MV Agusta 2 4 4 12 4 Tarquinio Provini Mondial 3 2F 10 5 Fortunato Libanori MV Agusta 2 4 9 6 Marcelo Cama Montesa 2 6 7 August Hobl DKW 3 5 6 8 Karl Hofmann DKW 5 5 6 5 9 Francisco Gonzalez Montesa 3 4 9 Pierre Monneret Gilera 3 4 9 Bill Webster MV Agusta 3 4 9 Renato Sartori Mondial 3 4 13 Cecil Sandford Mondial 4 6 4 14 Enrico Sirera Montesa 4 3 14 Bill Maddrick MV Agusta 4 3 16 Dave Chadwick LEF 5 2 16 Frank Cope MV Agusta 5 2 16 Sandro Artusi Ducati 5 2 19 Vaclav Parus ČZ 6 1 19 František Bartoš ČZ 6 1 19 Johnny Grace Montesa 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	MAN	NED	BEL	GER	ULS	NAT	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	1	1	2	1	1	32 (46)
2	Gilera			3	1	2		18
3	Mondial		4		3		2	13
4	DKW		3	5	5		6	9
5	Montesa	2		6				7
6	LEF	5						2
6	Ducati						5	2
8	ČZ	6	6					2
Pos.	Constructor	MAN	NED	BEL	GER	ULS	NAT	Pts

Sources

1. "GEOFF DUKE: FIRST GENTLEMAN OF RACING". Australian Motorcycle News. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
2. "Geoff Duke would have been 100 years old today". www.speedweek.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.

References

• Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 25–27. 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.