1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

1968 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1967

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1969

The 1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 20th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of ten Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 21 April, with German Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix on 15 September. As the sidecar race was cancelled at the Nations Grand Prix, it was announced that a replacement race would be held at Hockenheimring in October alongside the German national championship. ^[1]

Season summary

With the departure of Honda from the Grand Prix scene, MV Agusta proceeded to dominate the larger classes with Giacomo Agostini winning every race in the 500 and 350 classes. ^[2] The 250 crown went to Phil Read amidst a controversy between Yamaha teammates. Read was supposed to take the 125 title while leaving the 250 crown for Bill Ivy. After Read captured the 125 title, he ignored team orders and went after the 250 title as well. ^[2] Ivy and Read finished the championship tying on points and race results, and in this unlikely scenario, the FIM decided to give Read the title based on aggregate race times. ^[3] As a result, Yamaha would discharge Read and he would never regain a place on the factory team. ^[2] Hans-Georg Anscheidt would capture his third consecutive 50cc championship for Suzuki.

1968 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	21 April	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Sudschleife	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Fath / Kalauch	Report
2	5 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Salvador Cañellas	Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini		Report
3	14 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Barry Smith	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Schauzu/Horst Schneider	Report
4	29 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Paul Lodewijkx	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Attenberger / Schillinger	Report
5	7 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
6	14 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
7	21 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit		Phil Read	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
8	4 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Phil Read	Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini	Fath / Kalauch	Report
9	17 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Bill Ivy	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
10	15 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza		Bill Ivy	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Cancelled	Report
11 [N 1]	13 October	Hockenheim Grand Prix	Hockenheimring						Fath / Kalauch

Footnotes

1. The sidecar race at the 1968 Nations Grand Prix was cancelled and so a replacement race was held alongside the German national championship at the Hockenheimring in October. ^[1]

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best of three were counted on 50cc championships, best of five in 125cc championships, best of six in 250cc and 500cc championships, while in the Sidecars and 350cc, 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 GER ESP MAN HOL BEL DDR CZE FIN ULS NAC Pts 1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 48 (80) 2 Jack Findlay Matchless / Cardani Ret 2 Ret 2 2 3 2 2 5 Ret 34 (36) 3 Gyula Marsovszky Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 4 5 Ret Ret Ret 11 3 6 Ret Ret 10 4 Alberto Pagani Linto Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 9 5 Robin Fitton Norton 4 2 9 6 Peter Williams Arter-Matchless 3 Ret 4 7 7 5 20 9 9 7 Derek Woodman Seeley Ret 9 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 8 8 John Cooper Seeley / Norton Ret 3 6 4 Ret Ret 8 9 Dan Shorey Norton 2 Ret Ret 10 6 Ret Ret 7 10 Angelo Bergamonti Paton Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 7 11 Kel Carruthers Norton / Westlake Ret 6 5 5 Ret Ret 8 6 6 7 12 Brian Ball Seeley-Matchless / Matchless 2 18 6 13 Renzo Pasolini Benelli 2 6 14 John Dodds Norton Ret 3 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 6 15 Billie Nelson Paton / Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 4 7 Ret Ret 5 16 John Hartle Metisse / MV Agusta Ret Ret 9 11 9 Ret 3 4 17 Barry Randle Norton 3 4 18 Percy Tait Triumph Ret 4 3 19 Bill Smith Matchless / Paton 4 Ret Ret 3 20 Nikolai Sevostianov Vostok 4 3 21 Bohumil Stasa ČZ 5 Ret 13 Ret 2 22 Silvano Bertarelli Paton 5 2 = Bernie Lund Matchless 5 2 24 Rodney Gould Norton / Triumph 6 Ret 8 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 1 25 Ron Chandler Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 7 6 9 Ret Ret 10 1 26 Rex Butcher Norton / Matchless / Seeley Ret 6 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 27 Godfrey Nash Norton Ret 6 Ret Ret 1 28 Derek Lee Gazelle / Matchless Ret 7 9 0 29 Walter Scheimann Norton 12 7 12 12 11 0 30 Malcolm Uphill Manning-Norton Ret 7 Ret 0 31 John Blanchard Metisse 7 0 32 Errol Cowan Matchless / Norton / Metisse 8 Ret 12 10 0 33 Keith Turner Matchless 15 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 0 34 Bo Granath Matchless / Seeley Ret 14 14 8 Ret Ret 0 35 Steve Jolly Higley-Matchless Ret Ret 8 0 36 Gordon Keith Monark 8 0 37 Paul Eickelberg Norton 10 9 13 19 14 0 38 Pentti Lehtelä Matchless 13 14 9 0 39 Heinrich Rosenbusch Norton 9 0 = Frantisek Srna Jawa 9 0 41 Theo Louwes Norton 10 12 0 42 Hannu Kuparinen Matchless 10 0 = William McCosh Matchless 10 0 44 György Kurucz Matchless / Metisse 18 15 15 11 0 45 Armand Nerger Honda 11 0 = Bert Oosterhuis Norton 11 0 = Matti Salonen Yamaha 11 0 = Ron Wilson Norton 11 0 = John Williams Matchless 11 0 50 Werner Bergold Matchless 12 0 = Paolo Campanelli Matchless 12 0 = Tony Godfrey Norton 12 0 = Wolfgang Stropek Norton 12 0 54 Karl Hoppe Matchless Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 0 55 Dieter Dögmann BMW 13 0 = Gianfranco Domeniconi Norton 13 0 = George Fogarty Matchless 13 0 = Osmo Hansen Matchless 13 0 = Jack Lindh Seeley 13 0 60 Edy Lenz Matchless 14 0 = Charlie Sanby Norton 14 0 = Barry Scully Norton 14 0 63 Peter Humber Humber-Crescent Ret 15 0 64 Peter Darvill Norton 15 0 65 Alan Lawton Norton 16 16 0 66 Ferdinand Kaczor BMW 16 0 67 Hartmut Allner Matchless 17 0 = Bob McCurry Matchless 17 0 = Jan Strijbis Norton 17 0 70 Jim Evans Norton 18 0 71 Ralf Engelhardt Norton 19 Ret 0 72 Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 19 0 73 Norman Price Norton 20 0 74 Harris Healey Norton 21 0 = Ian Munro Matchless 21 0 76 Peter Gibson Matchless 22 0 77 George Barnacle Triumph 23 0 78 Brian Adams Norton 24 0 79 Adrian Cooper Norton 25 0 80 Bob Heath BSA 26 0 81 Gilbert Argo Matchless 27 0 82 Walter Dawson Norton 28 0 83 Jim Curry Aermacchi / Metisse 29 Ret 0 84 Jim Ashton Matchless 30 0 85 John Burgess Norton 31 Ret 0 86 Graham Robinson Read Titan 32 0 87 Brian Hunter Matchless 33 0 88 Chris Neve Matchless 34 0 89 Dennis Trollope Norton 35 0 90 Reay Mackay Vincent HRD 36 0 91 Roy Reid Norton 37 0 - Marty Lunde Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 - František Šťastný Jawa Ret Ret Ret 0 - Vincent Duckett Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Denis Gallagher Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Silvio Grassetti Bianchi Ret Ret 0 - Maurice Hawthorne Norton Ret Ret 0 - Ernst Weiss Seeley Ret Ret 0 - Billy Andersson Matchless Ret 0 - Jean Aureal Aermacchi Ret 0 - Alan Barnett Kirby-Metisse Ret 0 - Rupert Bauer BMW Ret 0 - Bob Biscardine Velocette Ret 0 - Karel Bojer ČZ Ret 0 - Ray Breingan Norton Ret 0 - Bo Brolin Matchless Ret 0 - Mick Burns BSA-Metisse Ret 0 - Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW Ret 0 - Heiner Butz Bianchi Ret 0 - Salvador Cañellas Bultaco Ret 0 - Doug Cash Norton Ret 0 - Bert Clark Rickman-Metisse Ret 0 - Roger Corbett Norton Ret 0 - Conway Chivers Norton Ret 0 - Herbert Denzler Matchless Ret 0 - Tom Dickie Petty-Norton Ret 0 - Hugh Evans BSA Ret 0 - Rolf Fenker Norton Ret 0 - Derek Filler Norton Ret 0 - Bill Fulton Norton Ret 0 - Roger Fursman Norton Ret 0 - Manfred Gäckle Matchless Ret 0 - Albert Haddock Triton Ret 0 - Mike Hailwood Benelli Ret 0 - Peter Hampe Norton Ret 0 - Mick Hatherill Matchless-Metisse Ret 0 - Keith Heckles Norton Ret 0 - Oliver Howe Norton Ret 0 - Griff Jenkins Matchless Ret 0 - John Jones Triumph Ret 0 - Brian Kemp Triumph Ret 0 - Willi Kern Norton Ret 0 - Endel Kiisa Vostok Ret 0 - Stanislav Klatil Jawa Ret 0 - Ray Knight Hughes-Triumph Ret 0 - Udo Konchanski BMW Ret 0 - Toivo Lehtinen Norton Ret 0 - Taneli Lepo Matchless Ret 0 - Vasco Loro Norton Ret 0 - Pat Mahoney Oakley-Matchless Ret 0 - Emanuele Maugliani Norton Ret 0 - Dennis May Petty-Norton Ret 0 - Tony McGurk Matchless Ret 0 - Hans-Jürgen Melcher Honda Ret 0 - David Menzies Norton Ret 0 - Gilberto Milani Linto Ret 0 - Ginger Molloy Bultaco Ret 0 - Stephen Murray Matchless Ret 0 - Gart Neveling Norton Ret 0 - Ilari Pekkinen Norton Ret 0 - Giovanni Perrone Matchless Ret 0 - Harry Reynolds Matchless-Metisse Ret 0 - Tony Rutter Norton Ret 0 - Brian Sapsford Lyster-Norton Ret 0 - Jack Saunders Matchless Ret 0 - Peter Sheppard Norton Ret 0 - Bruno Spaggiari Ducati Ret 0 - Steve Spencer Norton Ret 0 - Malcolm Stanton Norton Ret 0 - John Taylor Kirby-Matchless Ret 0 - Rolf Thiemig Norton Ret 0 - Colin Thompson Norton Ret 0 - Franco Trabalzini Norton Ret 0 - Harry Turner Norton Ret 0 - Tom Walker Triumph Ret 0 - Brian Walmsley Norton Ret 0 - John Wetherall Norton Ret 0 - Lewis Young Matchless Ret 0 - Benedetto Zambotti Bianchi Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike GER ESP MAN HOL BEL DDR CZE FIN 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	Giacomo Agostini		Italy	MV Agusta	32	7
2	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	18	0
3	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Aermacchi	17	0
4	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	12	0
=	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	12	0
6	Derek Woodman		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	9	0
7	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	8	0
8	Bohumil Stasa		Czechoslovakia	ČZ	7	0
9	Bill Smith		United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Gilberto Milani		Italy	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Brian Steenson		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Benelli	4	0
13	Billie Nelson		United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
14	Dan Shorey		United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
=	John Cooper		United Kingdom	Seeley	2	0
=	Karl Hoppe		West Germany	Aermacchi	2	0
=	Bruno Spaggiari		Italy	Ducati	2	0
18	Jack Findlay		Australia	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Kawasaki	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	5
2	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	5
3	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	32	0
4	Rodney Gould		United Kingdom	Yamaha	21	0
5	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	19	0
6	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	10	0
7	Santiago Herrero		Spain	Ossa	8	0
8	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	6	0
9	Malcolm Uphill		United Kingdom	Suzuki	5	0
=	László Szabó		Hungary	MZ	5	0
=	Jack Findlay		Australia	Bultaco	5	0
12	Carlos Giró-Vila		Spain	Ossa	3	0
=	Gordon Keith		Rhodesia	Yamaha	3	0
14	Carlos Rocamora		Spain	Bultaco	2	0
=	Gilberto Milani		Italy	Aermacchi	2	0
16	Paul Eickelberg		West Germany	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Bill Smith		United Kingdom	Yamaha	1	0
=	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Bultaco	1	0
=	Rex Butcher		United Kingdom	Suzuki	1	0

125cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	40	6
2	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	34	2
3	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	15	0
4	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	12	0
5	Salvador Cañellas		Spain	Bultaco	11	1
6	László Szabó		Hungary	MZ	11	0
=	Dieter Braun		West Germany	MZ-Neckermann	11	0
8	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	10	0
9	Günter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	8	0
10	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Honda	6	0
11	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Bultaco	5	0
12	Siegfried Möhringer		West Germany	MZ-Neckermann	4	0
=	Jan Huberts		Netherlands	MZ	4	0
14	Walter Scheimann		West Germany	Honda	3	0
=	Friedhelm Kohlar		East Germany	MZ	3	0
=	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Kawasaki	3	0
17	Kent Andersson		Sweden	MZ	2	0
=	Gordon Keith		Rhodesia	Montesa	2	0
=	Hartmut Bischoff		East Germany	MZ	2	0
=	Lothar John		West Germany	MZ	2	0
=	Jürgen Lenk		East Germany	MZ	2	0
=	Thomas Heuschkel		East Germany	MZ	2	0
23	Pedro Alvarez		Spain	Bultaco	1	0
=	Steve Murray		United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	Giuseppe Visenzi		Italy	Montesa	1	0
=	János Reisz		Hungary	MZ	1	0

50cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	30	3
2	Paul Lodewijkx		Netherlands	Jamathi	17	1
3	Barry Smith		Australia	Derbi	15	1
4	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	10	0
5	Rudolf Kunz		West Germany	Kreidler	6	0
=	Chris Walpole		United Kingdom	Honda	6	0
=	Rudolf Schmälzle		West Germany	Kreidler	6	0
8	Leslie Griffiths		United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Kreidler	4	0
10	Ludwig Faßbender		West Germany	Kreidler	3	0
=	Brian Lock		United Kingdom	Honda	3	0
=	Jan de Vries		Netherlands	Kreidler	3	0
13	Cees van Dongen		Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
=	Carlos Giró-Vila		Spain	Derbi	2	0
=	Jim Pink		United Kingdom	Honda	2	0
=	Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
=	Martin Mijwaart		Netherlands	Jamathi	2	0
18	Janco Florjan-Stefe		Yugoslavia	Tomos	1	0
=	Francisco Cufi		Spain	Derbi	1	0
=	Robin Udall		United Kingdom	Honda	1	0

References

1. Walker, Mick (1999). Mick Walker's German Racing Motorcycles. Redline Books. p. 81. ISBN   0953131122.
2. Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN   1-874557-83-7
3. Gustl, Kamikaze (2021-01-24). "Bill Ivy story - part 4". MotoRacers. Retrieved 2024-01-03.

• 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.