1963 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Last updated August 21, 2025

The 1963 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 15th 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 5 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 10 November.

1963 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	6 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Luigi Taveri	Tarquinio Provini			Deubel / Hörner	Report
2	26 May	West German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Hugh Anderson	Ernst Degner	Tarquinio Provini	Jim Redman		Camathias / Herzig	Report
3	2 June	French Grand Prix	Charade Circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Hugh Anderson					Report
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Mitsuo Itoh	Hugh Anderson	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Camathias / Herzig	Report
5	29 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Ernst Degner	Hugh Anderson	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	John Hartle	Deubel / Hörner	Report
6	7 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Isao Morishita	Bert Schneider	Fumio Ito		Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
7	10 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Hugh Anderson	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
8	18 August	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Hugh Anderson	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood		Report
9	1 September	Finnish Grand Prix	Tampere Circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Hugh Anderson		Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood		Report
10	15 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza		Luigi Taveri	Tarquinio Provini	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
11	6 October	Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	Hugh Anderson	Jim Redman	Tarquinio Provini		Mike Hailwood		Report
12	10 November	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit	Luigi Taveri	Frank Perris	Jim Redman	Jim Redman †			Report

† Non-championship race.

Standings

Scoring system

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

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

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	MAN	HOL	BEL	ULS	DDR	FIN	NAC	ARG	Pts
1	Mike Hailwood	MV Agusta	1	Ret	1	1	1	1	1	1	40 (56)
2	Alan Shepherd	Matchless	Ret	3	3	4	3	2		Ret	21
3	John Hartle	Gilera	2	1		2	Ret	Ret			20
4	Phil Read	Gilera	3	2	2	Ret			Ret		16
5	Fred Stevens	Norton	6	5	4	7		4	3		13
6	Mike Duff	Matchless	4			6	4	3			11
7	Derek Minter	Gilera				3	2		Ret		10
8	Jack Findlay	Matchless	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	5		2		8
9	Jorge Kissling	Norton								2	6
10	Jack Ahearn	Norton	9	4	5	Ret			Ret		5
11	Benedicto Caldarella	Matchless								3	4
12	Bill Smith	Matchless / Norton	8						4		3
13	Victorio Minguzzi	Matchless								4	3
14	Syd Mizen	Norton / Matchless	13	8	7	Ret		5			2
15	Ladislaus Richter	Norton		Ret			Ret		5		2
16	Joe Dunphy	Norton	5			8					2
17	Ralph Bryans	Norton				5					2
=	Fabián Villaverlran	Norton								5	2
19	Nikolai Sevostianov	CKB		12	Ret			6			1
20	Sven-Olof Gunnarsson	Norton	14	6	Ret			Ret			1
21	Gyula Marsovszky	Matchless	Ret		6				Ret		1
22	Horacio Costas	Norton								6	1
=	Vernon Cottle	Norton					6				1
=	Vasco Loro	Norton							6		1
25	Raymond Shaw	Matchless	32	10					7		0
26	Morry Low	Matchless	12	7	Ret						0
27	Ian Burne	Norton	21		Ret		7				0
28	Anssi Resko	Matchless					Ret	7			0
=	Paddy Driver	Matchless	7						Ret		0
30	Dan Shorey	Matchless		Ret	11		8		Ret		0
31	Roy Ingram	Norton			8	Ret	Ret				0
32	Othmar Drixl	Norton							8		0
=	Hannu Kuparinen	Norton						8			0
34	Billy McCosh	Matchless	19			9					0
35	Walter Scheimann	Norton	Ret	9	Ret						0
36	Bo Granath	Matchless	Ret					9			0
37	György Kurucz	Norton					9				0
=	Alberto Picca	Gilera							9		0
39	Ellis Boyce	Norton	10			13					0
40	Roy Robinson	Norton			17		10				0
=	Derek Woodman	Matchless	17			10					0
42	Ginger Molloy	Matchless			10						0
=	Tauno Nurmi	Norton						10			0
=	Renzo Rossi	Norton							10		0
45	Dick Creith	Norton				11					0
=	Karl Recktenwald	Norton		11							0
=	Brian Setchell	Norton	11								0
=	Antero Ventoniemi	Norton						11			0
49	Lothar John	Norton		Ret	12						0
50	Stuart Graham	Matchless				12					0
51	Ron Robinson	Norton	33		13						0
52	John Somers	Norton		13							0
53	Alf Shaw	Norton	26			14					0
54	Joop Vogelzang	Norton		Ret	14						0
55	Michael McStay	Norton	15								0
=	Tommy Holmes	Matchless				15					0
57	Ronald Föll	Matchless	16				Ret	Ret	Ret		0
58	Patsy McGarrity	Matchless				16					0
=	Jüri Randla	CKB			16						0
60	Jimmy Jones	Norton				17					0
61	Raymond Bogaerdt	Norton			18						0
=	Louis Carr	Matchless	18								0
=	Rollie Stallard	Norton				18					0
64	John Brown	Norton				19					0
65	Derek Llee	Matchless	20								0
=	John Meneely	Norton				20					0
67	Pete Bettison	Norton	22								0
68	Billie Nelson	Norton	23								0
69	Peter Evans	Norton	24								0
70	Martyn Hayward	Matchless	25								0
71	Brian Walmsley	Norton	27								0
72	Bernie Marrier	Norton	28								0
73	John Simmonds	Matchless	29								0
74	Bob Ritchie	Norton	30								0
75	Don Ellis	Matchless	31								0
76	Jimmy Morton	Matchless	34								0
77	Colin Cross	Norton	35								0
78	Tony Heaton	Norton	36								0
79	Graham Dickson	Matchless	37								0
80	Stan Brassley	Norton	38								0
81	Robert Knott	Norton	39								0
82	Bill Wetzel	Matchless	40								0
83	Albert Moule	Norton	41								0
-	Philippe Canoui	Norton					Ret		Ret		0
-	Dennis Fry	Norton	Ret	Ret							0
-	Edy Lenz	Norton	Ret	Ret							0
-	Frantisek Stastny	Jawa	Ret	Ret							0
-	Veikko Sulasaari	Norton					Ret	Ret			0
-	Ernst Weiss	Norton				Ret	Ret				0
-	Dennis Ainsworth	Matchless		Ret							0
-	Billy Andersson	Norton					Ret				0
-	Monty Buxton	Norton	Ret								0
-	Roly Capner	BSA	Ret								0
-	Brian Carr	Norton	Ret								0
-	Chris Conn	Norton				Ret					0
-	John Courtney	Norton				Ret					0
-	Giuseppe Dardanello	Norton							Ret		0
-	Antonio de Simone	Rudge							Ret		0
-	Brian Dennis	BSA	Ret								0
-	Alan Dugdale	Matchless	Ret								0
-	Anthony Fisher	Norton	Ret								0
-	Jack Gow	Triton	Ret								0
-	Don Haddow	Matchless	Ret								0
-	Alan Harris	Velocette	Ret								0
-	Endel Kiisa	CKB						Ret			0
-	Pentti Lehtelä	Norton						Ret			0
-	Colin Lyster	Norton					Ret				0
-	Emanuele Maugliani	Gilera							Ret		0
-	Pietro Mencaglia	Norton							Ret		0
-	Raphaël Orinel	Norton			Ret						0
-	Peter Preston	Norton	Ret								0
-	Tarquinio Provini	Moto Morini								Ret	0
-	George Purvis	Matchless				Ret					0
-	Johnnie Rae	Norton	Ret								0
-	Frank Reynolds	Norton	Ret								0
-	William Sharp	BSA			Ret						0
-	Jack Simpson	Matchless	Ret								0
-	Vagn Stevnhoved	Matchless			Ret						0
-	Rudi Thalhammer	Norton		Ret							0
-	Angelo Tenconi	Moto Guzzi							Ret		0
-	Ray Turkington	Norton				Ret					0
-	Remo Venturi	Bianchi							Ret		0
-	Tom Walker	Norton	Ret								0
-	Benedetto Zambotti	Norton							Ret		0
Pos	Rider	Bike	MAN	HOL	BEL	ULS	DDR	FIN	NAC	ARG	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points classification
Blue	Non-points classification
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired, not classified (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	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	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	32	5
2	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	28	2
3	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	16	0
4	Frantisek Stastny	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	7	0
5	Gustav Havel	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	7	0
6	Remo Venturi	Italy	Bianchi	6	0
=	John Hartle	United Kingdom	Gilera	6	0
=	Alan Shepherd	United Kingdom	MZ	6	0
9	Nicolaï Sevostianov	USSR	CKEB C360	5	0
10	Mike Duff	Canada	AJS	5	0
11	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Gilera	4	0
=	Sven-Olof Gunnarsson	Sweden	Norton	4	0
=	Tommy Robb	United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
14	Jack Ahearn	Australia	Norton	4	0
15	Fred Stevens	United Kingdom	Norton	4	0
16	Sid Mizen	United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
=	Pavel Slavícek	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	3	0
18	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	2	0
=	Dan Shorey	United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
20	Len Ireland	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Veikko Sulasaari	Finland	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	44	4
2	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	Morini	42	4
3	Fumio Ito	Japan	Yamaha	26	1
4	Tommy Robb	United Kingdom	Honda	20	0
5	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	13	0
6	Alan Shepherd	United Kingdom	MZ	11	0
7	Yoshikazu Sunako	Japan	Yamaha	9	0
8	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	MZ	8	1
9	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Japan	Honda	7	0
10	Bill Smith	United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Umberto Masetti	Italy	Moto Morini	4	0
=	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Yamaha	4	0
13	Stanislav Malina	Czechoslovakia	CZ	4	0
14	Silvio Grassetti	Italy	Benelli	3	0
=	Hiroshi Hasegawa	Japan	Yamaha	3	0
=	László Szabó	Hungary	MZ	3	0
=	Raúl Kissling	Argentina	NSU	3	0
18	Jack Findlay	Australia	FB-Mondial	2	0
=	Ivan Schumann	Argentina	NSU	2	0
20	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	1	0
=	John Kidson	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	1	0
=	Cas Swart	Netherlands	Honda	1	0
=	Chris Anderson	United Kingdom	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Carlos Marfetan	Uruguay	Parilla	1	0
=	Isamu Kasuya	Japan	Honda	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	ULS	GDR	FIN	NAT	ARG	JPN	Pts
1	Hugh Anderson	Suzuki		2	1^F	1^F	1	2	1	1^F	1^F			5	54 (62)
2	Luigi Taveri	Honda	1^F	4	3	4	3	3	3	4	2	1^F			38 (47)
3	Jim Redman	Honda	2		2	6					5	2^F	1^F	2^F	35
4	Frank Perris	Suzuki			4	2	2		6					1	24
5	Bert Schneider	Suzuki				5	4^F	1	2^F	3					23
6	Ernst Degner	Suzuki		1^F	6	3		NC^F						3	17
7	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Honda	3	5			5		5			3			14
8	Alan Shepherd	MZ		6						2	3				11
9	Tommy Robb	Honda			5		6	5	4					4	11
10	László Szabó	MZ		3							4				7
11	Héctor Pochettino	Bultaco											2		6
12	Giuseppe Visenzi	Honda						4				4			6
13	Aldo Caldarella	Bultaco											3		4
14	Peter Inchley	EMC	4												3
14	Alberto Gómez	Zanella											4		3
16	Mike Duff	Bultaco	6												3
16	Mike Duff	MZ								5					3
17	Francisco González	Bultaco	5												2
17	John Grace	Bultaco										5			2
17	Eduardo Salatino	Zanella											5		2
20	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Bultaco						6							1
20	Werner Musiol	MZ								6					1
20	Gary Dickinson	Honda									6				1
20	Stanislav Malina	ČZ										6			1
20	Horacio Maffia	Ducati											6		1
20	Mitsuo Itoh	Suzuki												6	1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	ULS	GDR	FIN	NAT	ARG	JPN	Pts

Race key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	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	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	ULS	GDR	FIN	NAT	ARG	JPN	Pts
1	Suzuki		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1			1	56 (72)
2	Honda	1	4	2	4	3	3	3	4	2	1	1	2	46 (63)
3	MZ		3						2	3				14
4	Bultaco	5					6				5	2		11
5	EMC	4												3
5	Zanella											4		3
7	ČZ										6			1
7	Ducati											6		1
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	ULS	GDR	FIN	NAT	ARG	JPN	Pts

50cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hugh Anderson	New Zealand	Suzuki	34	2
2	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	West Germany	Kreidler	32	3
3	Ernst Degner	West Germany	Suzuki	30	1
4	Isao Morishita	Japan	Suzuki	23	1
5	Mitsuo Itoh	Japan	Suzuki	20	1
6	Michio Ichino	Japan	Suzuki	14	0
7	Alberto Pagani	Italy	Kreidler	9	0
8	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	8	1
9	José Busquets	Spain	Derbi	7	0
10	Shunkishi Masuda	Japan	Suzuki	4	0
11	Raúl Kissling	Argentina	Kreidler	3	0
12	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	France	Kreidler	3	0
13	Karaber Samardjian	Argentina	Suzuki	2	0
=	Sadao Shimazaki	Japan	Honda	2	0
15	Juan García	Spain	Ducson	1	0
=	Ian Plumridge	United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	Matti Salonen	Finland	Prykija	1	0
=	Gastón Biscia	Uruguay	Suzuki	1	0

References

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 51–54. ISBN 978-2-9701086-8-9.
"The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2010-07-06.

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