The 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 22nd 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 3 May, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 27 September.
This is the most recent season before 2024 that the Japanese manufacturers failed to score a single win in the premier class.
With no other manufacturers competing in the 500cc class the MV Agusta team continued to dominate as Giacomo Agostini won his fifth consecutive 500cc world championship. [1] Kawasaki began to sell the Kawasaki H1R to privateer racing teams. [2] The H1R was the first multi-cylinder two stroke racing motorcycle to be sold commercially. [2] Ginger Molloy rode one of the Kawasakis to a second-place finish behind Agostini in the championship. [1]
Life was a bit tougher for Agostini in the 350 class as Kel Carruthers and Renzo Pasolini on Benellis and Rod Gould on a factory Yamaha gave him a battle on more than one occasion. [1] Gould would take the 250 title for Yamaha, battling Carruthers for the entire season. [1] German Dieter Braun would give Suzuki the 125 crown while Derbi mounted Angel Nieto claimed the 50cc class for the second year in a row.
There were six fatalities among the competitors at the Isle of Man TT races, including world championship contender Santiago Herrero, making 1970 the deadliest year in the history of the event. [3] [4]
Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. Only the best of six races were counted on 50cc, 125cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, best of seven in 250cc, while in the Sidecars, the best of five races were counted.
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Giacomo Agostini | 1 | Italy | MV Agusta | 90 | 9 |
2 | Kel Carruthers | 7 | Australia | Benelli | 58 | 0 |
3 | Renzo Pasolini | Italy | Benelli | 46 | 0 | |
4 | Kent Andersson | Sweden | Yamaha | 44 | 0 | |
5 | Martti Pesonen | Finland | Yamaha | 38 | 0 | |
6 | Rodney Gould | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 28 | 0 | |
7 | Angelo Bergamonti | Italy | MV Agusta | 27 | 1 | |
8 | Günter Bartusch | East Germany | MZ | 20 | 0 | |
9 | Alan Barnett | United Kingdom | Aermacchi | 20 | 0 | |
10 | Tommy Robb | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 18 | 0 |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rodney Gould | 6 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 102 | 6 |
2 | Kel Carruthers | Australia | Yamaha | 84 | 4 | |
3 | Kent Andersson | 2 | Sweden | Yamaha | 67 | 1 |
4 | Jarno Saarinen | Finland | Yamaha | 57 | 0 | |
5 | Börje Jansson | 5 | Sweden | Yamaha | 34 | 0 |
6 | Chas Mortimer | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 30 | 0 | |
7 | Gyula Marsovsky | Switzerland | Yamaha | 28 | 0 | |
8 | Santiago Herrero | 3 | Spain | Ossa | 27 | 1 |
9 | Bo Granath | Sweden | Yamaha | 25 | 0 | |
10 | Silvio Grassetti | Italy | Yamaha | 24 | 0 | |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dieter Braun | 2 | West Germany | Suzuki | 84 | 4 |
2 | Angel Nieto | Spain | Derbi | 72 | 4 | |
3 | Börje Jansson | Sweden | Maico | 62 | 0 | |
4 | Dave Simmonds | 1 | United Kingdom | Kawasaki | 57 | 1 |
5 | László Szabó | 8 | Hungary | MZ | 34 | 0 |
6 | Toni Gruber | West Germany | Maico | 33 | 0 | |
7 | Aalt Toersen | Netherlands | Suzuki | 31 | 0 | |
8 | John Dodds | Australia | Aermacchi | 24 | 1 | |
9 | Gunter Bartusch | East Germany | MZ | 22 | 0 | |
10 | Heinz Kriwanek | Austria | Rotax | 25 | 0 | |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Angel Nieto | 1 | Spain | Derbi | 87 | 5 |
2 | Aalt Toersen | 2 | Netherlands | Jamathi | 75 | 3 |
3 | Rudolf Kunz | 8 | West Germany | Kreidler | 66 | 0 |
4 | Salvador Cañellas | Spain | Derbi | 63 | 1 | |
5 | Jan De Vries | 4 | Netherlands | Kreidler | 60 | 1 |
6 | Jos Schurgers | Netherlands | Kreidler | 41 | 0 | |
7 | Martin Mijwaart | 10 | Netherlands | Jamathi | 40 | 0 |
8 | Ludwig Fassbender | 9 | West Germany | Kreidler | 17 | 0 |
9 | Gilberto Parlotti | 6 | Italy | Tomos | 15 | 1 |
10 | Harald Bartol | Austria | Kreidler | 11 | 0 | |
Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen was a Finnish professional Motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1968 to 1971 as Yamaha privateer, before receiving the Yamaha factory's full support in 1972 and 1973. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle road racers of his era until he was killed during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen's death led to increased demands for better safety conditions for motorcycle racers competing in the world championships. He remains the only Finn to have won a solo motorcycle road racing world championship. Saarinen was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009.
The 1967 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 19th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 30 April, with the Spanish Grand Prix, and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 15 October.
The 1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 27th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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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.
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The 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 24th 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 30 April, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 23 September.
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The 1964 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 16th 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 2 February, with United States Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 1 November.
The 1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 17th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 21 March, with United States Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on October, 24.
The 1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 18th 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 8 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 17 October.
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.
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Dave Simmonds was a British professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1963 to 1972. Simmonds is notable for winning the 1969 125 cc FIM road racing world championship.
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The 1971 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 23rd 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 9 May, with Austrian Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 26 September.
But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple