The 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 28th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
1976 marked the beginning of the era of Suzuki domination with the Japanese firm taking 11 of the first 12 places in the premier class. [1] Angel Nieto would take his fifth world title in the 50cc division, this time aboard a Bultaco. [1] In the 125cc class, it was more of the same with Morbidelli taking another crown with Pier Paolo Bianchi claiming the championship. Walter Villa would claim double world championships in the 250cc and 350cc classes for Harley-Davidson fighting off a strong challenge from defending champion, Johnny Cecotto in the larger class. [1]
Barry Sheene came to the fore with a dominating championship season in the 500cc division, finishing ahead of his Suzuki teammate Teuvo Länsivuori. Newcomer Marco Lucchinelli impressed as well on a Suzuki but injuries curtailed his performance. [1] Pat Hennen became the first American rider to win a 500cc Grand Prix, when he triumphed at the Finnish Grand Prix. [1]
1976 marked the end of an era as it would be the last time the Isle of Man TT would appear on the Grand Prix calendar. [1] Once the most prestigious race of the year, the event had been increasingly boycotted by the top riders. [1] The TT finally succumbed to pressure for increased safety in racing events. [1] The season also marked the end of another era with 15 time world champion Giacomo Agostini winning his last Grand Prix at the season-ending round at the Nürburgring. [1] As Agostini had chosen the MV Agusta for this challenging track, this win was also the last for a 500cc four-stroke engine. [1]
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Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter Villa | 42 | Italy | Aermacchi Harley-Davidson | 76 | 4 |
2 | Johnny Cecotto | 1 | Venezuela | Yamaha | 65 | 2 |
3 | Chas Mortimer | 6 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 54 | 1 |
4 | Tom Herron | 9 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 47 | 0 |
5 | John Dodds | 56 | Australia | Yamaha | 34 | 0 |
6 | Víctor Palomo | Spain | Yamaha | 29 | 0 | |
7 | Takazumi Katayama | Japan | Yamaha | 28 | 0 | |
8 | Bruno Kneubühler | Switzerland | Yamaha | 28 | 0 | |
9 | Olivier Chevallier | France | Yamaha | 27 | 1 | |
10 | Franco Uncini | Italy | Yamaha | 27 | 0 | |
11 | Dieter Braun | 23 | ||||
12 | Kork Ballington | 20 | ||||
13 | Pentti Korhonen | 19 | ||||
14 | Patrick Pons | 18 | ||||
15 | Gianfranco Bonera | 15 | ||||
16 | Giacomo Agostini | 15 | ||||
17 | Tony Rutter | 12 | ||||
18 | Billie Guthrie | 10 | ||||
19 | Gerard Choukroun | 10 | ||||
20 | Alan North | 10 | ||||
21 | Jean-François Baldé | 10 | ||||
22 | Martin Sharpe | 8 | ||||
23 | Leif Gustafsson | 8 | ||||
24 | Boet Van Dulmen | 6 | ||||
25 | John Weeden | 5 | ||||
26 | Patrick Fernandez | 5 | ||||
27 | Paolo Tordi | 5 | ||||
28 | Derek Chatterton | 5 | ||||
29 | Jon Ekerold | 4 | ||||
30 | Neil Tuxworth | 4 | ||||
31 | Philip Bouzanne | 3 | ||||
32 | Karl Auer | 3 | ||||
33 | Jack Findlay | 3 | ||||
34 | Kjell Solberg | 3 | ||||
35 | Bo Granath | 2 | ||||
36 | Rudolf Kunz | 2 | ||||
37 | Claudio Loigo | 1 | ||||
38 | S.McClements | 1 |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Walter Villa | 1 | Italy | Aermacchi Harley-Davidson | 90 | 7 |
2 | Takazumi Katayama | Japan | Yamaha | 73 | 1 | |
3 | Franco Bonera | Italy | Aermacchi Harley-Davidson | 61 | 1 | |
4 | Tom Herron | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 47 | 1 | |
5 | Pentti Korhonen | Finland | Yamaha | 47 | 0 | |
6 | Dieter Braun | West Germany | Yamaha | 42 | 1 | |
7 | Chas Mortimer | 6 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 31 | 0 |
8 | Bruno Kneubühler | 9 | Switzerland | Yamaha | 29 | 0 |
9 | Olivier Chevallier | France | Yamaha | 25 | 0 | |
10 | Víctor Palomo | Spain | Yamaha | 25 | 0 | |
11 | John Dodds | 24 | ||||
12 | Patrick Fernandez | 21 | ||||
13 | Kork Ballington | 15 | ||||
14 | Paolo Pileri | 12 | ||||
15 | Jon Ekerold | 10 | ||||
16 | Alan North | 10 | ||||
17 | Tony Rutter | 8 | ||||
18 | Jean-François Baldé | 8 | ||||
19 | Eddie Roberts | 6 | ||||
20 | Gerard Choukroun | 6 | ||||
21 | Franco Uncini | 6 | ||||
22 | Patrick Pons | 6 | ||||
23 | Philip Bouzanne | 6 | ||||
24 | Pekka Nurmi | 5 | ||||
25 | Alex George | 5 | ||||
26 | Boet van Dulmen | 4 | ||||
27 | John Weeden | 4 | ||||
28 | Ian Richards | 3 | ||||
29 | Leif Gustafsson | 3 | ||||
30 | Dennis Casement | 2 | ||||
31 | Jean Claude Hogrel | 2 | ||||
32 | Tapio Virtanen | 2 | ||||
33 | János Drapál | 2 | ||||
32 | Harald Bartol | 1 | ||||
33 | Eero Hyvärinen | 1 | ||||
34 | Niel Tuxworth | 1 |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pier Paolo Bianchi | 2 | Italy | Morbidelli | 90 | 7 |
2 | Ángel Nieto | Spain | Bultaco | 67 | 1 | |
3 | Paolo Pileri | 1 | Italy | Morbidelli | 64 | 0 |
4 | Henk van Kessel | 7 | Netherlands | Condor | 46 | 0 |
5 | Anton Mang | West Germany | Morbidelli | 32 | 1 | |
6 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | 2 | France | Morbidelli | 27 | 0 |
7 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 5 | Italy | Morbidelli | 26 | 0 |
8 | Gert Bender | West Germany | Bender | 25 | 0 | |
9 | Stefan Dörflinger | Switzerland | Morbidelli | 23 | 0 | |
10 | Julien van Zeebroeck | Belgium | Morbidelli | 18 | 0 | |
11 | Xaver Tschannen | 14 | ||||
12 | Walter Koschine | 12 | ||||
13 | Cees van Dongen | 11 | ||||
14 | Otello Buscherini | 10 | ||||
15 | Leif Gustafsson | 10 | ||||
16 | Harald Bartol | 9 | ||||
17 | Hans Müller | 9 | ||||
18 | Horst Seel | 8 | ||||
19 | Enrico Cereda | 7 | ||||
20 | Pierluigi Conforti | 7 | ||||
21 | Lennart Lundgren | 6 | ||||
22 | Per Edward Carlsson | 6 | ||||
23 | Johann Zemsauer | 5 | ||||
24 | Matti Kinnunen | 5 | ||||
25 | Rolf Blatter | 4 | ||||
26 | Luigi Richetti | 4 | ||||
27 | Hans Hummel | 4 | ||||
28 | Peter Frohnmeyer | 3 | ||||
29 | Ermanno Giuliano | 2 | ||||
30 | Auno Hakala | 2 | ||||
31 | Hans Hallberg | 1 | ||||
32 | Lennart Lindell | 1 | ||||
33 | Heinz Schmid | 1 | ||||
34 | P.Cecchini | 1 |
Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ángel Nieto | 1 | Spain | Bultaco | 85 | 5 |
2 | Herbert Rittberger | 5 | West Germany | Kreidler | 76 | 2 |
3 | Ulrich Graf | Switzerland | Kreidler | 69 | 1 | |
4 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 2 | Italy | Morbidelli | 53 | 0 |
5 | Rudolf Kunz | 4 | West Germany | Kreidler | 34 | 0 |
6 | Julien van Zeebroeck | 9 | Belgium | Kreidler | 26 | 1 |
7 | Stefan Dörflinger | 6 | Switzerland | Kreidler | 25 | 0 |
8 | Rolf Blatter | Switzerland | Kreidler | 25 | 0 | |
9 | Hans Hummel | 9 | Austria | Kreidler | 20 | 0 |
10 | Pierre Audry | France | ABF | 15 | 0 | |
11 | Aldo Pero | 13 | ||||
12 | Theo Timmer | 12 | ||||
13 | Engelbert Kip | 12 | ||||
14 | Gerrit Strikker | 9 | ||||
15 | Cees van Dongen | 9 | ||||
16 | Benjamin Laurent | 8 | ||||
17 | Günter Schirnhofer | 7 | ||||
18 | Theo Van Geffen | 6 | ||||
19 | Ricardo Tormo | 5 | ||||
20 | Robert Laver | 5 | ||||
21 | Claudio Lusuardi | 4 | ||||
22 | Yves Le Tourmelin | 4 | ||||
23 | E.Mischiatti | 4 | ||||
24 | B.Stopp | 4 | ||||
25 | Wolfgang Müller | 3 | ||||
26 | Ramon Gali | 3 | ||||
27 | Ermanno Giuliano | 1 |
Barry Steven Frank Sheene was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between 1971 and 1984, most prominently as a member of the Suzuki factory racing team where he won two consecutive FIM World Championships in 1976 and 1977. Sheene remains the last British competitor to win the premier class of FIM road racing competitions.
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 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 27th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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.
The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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.
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.
The 1969 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 21st 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 4 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Yugoslavian Grand Prix on 14 September.
The 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 29th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1974 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 26th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1981 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 33rd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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.
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.
The 1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix, the first of 13 rounds of the F.I.M. 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, was held on 18 March at the San Carlos Circuit. British rider Barry Sheene, world champion in 1976 and 1977, won the 500cc GP by 18 seconds from Italian Virginio Ferrari to make it three successive Venezuelan GPs. Venezuelan racer Carlos Lavado won the 350cc class from Italian Walter Villa and Frenchman Patrick Fernandez.