John Dodds (motorcyclist)

John Dodds
Nationality	Australian
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1966 – 1978 First race 1966 500cc West German Grand Prix Last race 1978 250cc German Grand Prix First win 1970 125cc West German Grand Prix Last win 1974 250cc Spanish Grand Prix Team(s) Aermacchi, Yamaha Championships Formula 750 - 1974 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 70 4 21 1 4

John Dodds on the Nürburgring

John Dodds (13 November 1943 – 31 January 2024) was an Australian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed on the Grand Prix circuit from 1966 to 1978. His best finish was a third place behind Dieter Braun and Teuvo Länsivuori in the 1973 250cc world championship. ^[1] Dodds died in Brisbane on 31 January 2024, at the age of 80. ^{[2] [3]}

Motorcycle racing career

Dodds won his first world championship Grand Prix at the 1970 125cc West German Grand Prix held in rainy conditions at the challenging, 14.2 miles (22.9 km) long Nürburgring racetrack, riding a single-cylinder Aermacchi motorcycle. ^{[1] [4]}

During the 1971 season, Dodds helped fellow racer Kim Newcombe develop a motorcycle using a two-stroke outboard motor designed by Dieter König. Newcombe and the König were the first to challenge the dominance of the MV Agustas after the departure of Honda from Grand Prix competition at the end of the 1967 season. ^[5]

Dodds competed in the inaugural Formula 750 European championship in 1973, finishing second at the challenging Clermont-Ferrand circuit, then won the final round at the Montjuïc circuit to finish the season ranked second in the championship behind Barry Sheene. ^[6] In 1974, he won the preseason invitational 500cc Mettet Grand Prix and then, claimed the 1974 Formula 750 season world championship on a Yamaha TZ 350. ^{[7] [8]}

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Sources: ^{[1] [9]}

Points system from 1950 to 1968:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

Points system from 1969 onwards:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Points	Rank	Wins
1966	250cc	Cotton	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -	ULS -	IOM RET	NAT -	JPN -		0	-	0
	500cc	Norton		GER RET		NED -	BEL 13	DDR 6	CZE 10	FIN -	ULS RET	IOM RET	NAT RET			1	20th	0
1967	500cc	Norton	GER RET	IOM -	NED 10	BEL 8	DDR 4	CZE 6	FIN 9	ULS -	NAT RET	CAN -				4	13th	0
1968	500cc	Norton	GER RET	ESP 3	IOM RET	NED RET	BEL 10	DDR RET	CZE RET	FIN 5	ULS -	NAT 8				6	14th	0
1969	125cc	Aermacchi	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM -	NED 6	BEL 11	DDR -	CZE -	FIN -		NAT 9	YUG -		7	25th	0
	500cc	Librenti	ESP -	GER 4	FRA RET	IOM -	NED -	BEL RET	DDR -	CZE -	FIN RET	ULS -	NAT 3	YUG RET		18	11th	0
1970	125cc	Aermacchi	GER 1	FRA RET	YUG -	IOM -	NED RET	BEL 7	DDR -	CZE -	FIN RET		NAT -	ESP 6		24	8th	1
	500cc	Librenti	GER RET	FRA -	YUG -	IOM -	NED RET	BEL RET	DDR 2		FIN RET	ULS DNQ	NAT -	ESP RET		12	15th	0
1971	250cc	Yamaha	AUT RET	GER 3	IOM -	NED 7	BEL 2	DDR -	CZE -	SWE 7	FIN 2	ULS -	NAT 2	ESP 6		59	4th	0
	500cc	König	AUT RET	GER 10	IOM -	NED RET	BEL RET	DDR RET		SWE -	FIN -	ULS RET	NAT RET	ESP -		1	49th	0
1972	250cc	Yamaha	GER 5	FRA RET	AUT 3	NAT 6	IOM -	YUG 4	NED -	BEL 5	DDR -	CZE 7	SWE 8	FIN RET	ESP -	42	6th	0
	350cc	Yamaha	GER -	FRA RET	AUT -	NAT -	IOM -	YUG -	NED -		DDR -	CZE 9	SWE -	FIN 6	ESP -	8	22nd	0
1973	250cc	Yamaha	FRA 10	AUT 5	GER RET		IOM -	YUG 7	NED 3	BEL 2	CZE 6	SWE RET	FIN 3	ESP 1		58	3rd	1
	350cc	Yamaha	FRA RET	AUT RET	GER RET	NAT 4	IOM -	YUG 3	NED 4	BEL -	CZE 6	SWE 4	FIN 3	ESP -		49	4th	0
1974	250cc	Yamaha		GER -		NAT DNS	IOM RET	NED 5	BEL 4	SWE RET	FIN 6	CZE 7	YUG -	ESP 1		38	7th	1
	350cc	Yamaha	FRA 10	GER -	AUT RET	NAT -	IOM -	NED RET	BEL -	SWE 8	FIN 1		YUG 2	ESP RET		31	4th	1
1975	250cc	Yamaha	FRA -	ESP -		GER -	NAT -	IOM -	NED -	BEL -	SWE -	FIN 6	CZE 7	YUG -		9	19th	0
	350cc	Yamaha	FRA -	ESP -	AUT -	GER -	NAT -	IOM -	NED -			FIN 10	CZE -	YUG -		1	47th	0
1976	250cc	Yamaha	FRA 11		NAT RET	YUG -	IOM -	NED 3	BEL 4	SWE RET	FIN 7	CZE 9	GER 17	ESP 14		24	11th	0
	350cc	Yamaha	FRA 10	AUT 3	NAT 3	YUG RET	IOM -	NED 5			FIN 9	CZE 6	GER RET	ESP RET		34	5th	0
1977	250cc	Yamaha	VEN -		GER 18	NAT 18	ESP DNQ	FRA 10	YUG 4	NED DNQ	BEL -	SWE -	FIN 18	CZE 13	GBR -	9	22nd	0
	350cc	Yamaha	VEN -		GER RET	NAT -	ESP RET	FRA 6	YUG 5	NED -		SWE -	FIN RET	CZE -	GBR 12	11	20th	0
1978	250cc	Yamaha	VEN -	ESP -		FRA RET	NAT -	NED RET	BEL RET	SWE RET	FIN 9	GBR -	GER 20	CZE -	YUG -	2	24th	0

References

1. "John Dodds at MotoGP.com". MotoGP.com. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
2. GP-Held John Dodds ist tot (in German)
3. John Dodds Obituary
4. "Australian Double At The 'Ring". motorsportretro.com. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
5. "Kim Newcombe and the Konig". ozebook.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2010.
6. "1973 Formula 750 final standings". Racingmemo.free.fr. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
7. "Mettet Grand Prix results". racingmemo.free.fr. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
8. "1974 Formula 750 final standings". Racingmemo.free.fr. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
9. "John Dodds at iomtt.com". iomtt.com. Retrieved 13 December 2010.