From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season

500cc – Barry Sheene (Suzuki) 350cc - Walter Villa (Aermacchi Harley-Davidson) 250cc – Walter Villa (Aermacchi Harley-Davidson) 125cc – Pier Paolo Bianchi (Morbidelli) 50cc – Ángel Nieto (Bultaco) The 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 28th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Season summary

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. Angel Nieto would take his fifth world title in the 50cc division, this time aboard a Bultaco. 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.

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. Pat Hennen became the first American rider to win a 500cc Grand Prix, when he triumphed at the Finnish Grand Prix.

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. Once the most prestigious race of the year, the event had been increasingly boycotted by the top riders. The TT finally succumbed to pressure for increased safety in racing events. 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. As Agostini had chosen the MV Agusta for this challenging track, this win was also the last for a 500cc four-stroke engine.

1976 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner
April 25	France French Grand Prix	Le Mans Bugatti	West Germany Herbert Rittberger		Italy Walter Villa	Italy Walter Villa	UK Barry Sheene	[Report](1976-french-motorcycle-grand-prix)
May 2	Austria Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi		Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	UK Barry Sheene	[Report](1976-austrian-motorcycle-grand-prix)
May 16	Italy Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Italy Walter Villa	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	UK Barry Sheene	[Report](1976-nations-motorcycle-grand-prix)
May 23	Yugoslavia Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Switzerland Ulrich Graf	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Germany Dieter Braun	France Olivier Chevallier		[Report](1976-yugoslavian-motorcycle-grand-prix)
June 12	UK Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain			UK Tom Herron	UK Chas Mortimer	UK Tom Herron	[Report](1976-isle-of-man-tt)
June 26	Netherlands Dutch TT	Assen	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Italy Walter Villa	Italy Giacomo Agostini	UK Barry Sheene	[Report](1976-dutch-tt)
July 4	Belgium Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	West Germany Herbert Rittberger	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Walter Villa		UK John Williams	[Report](1976-belgian-motorcycle-grand-prix)
July 25	Sweden Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Japan Takazumi Katayama		UK Barry Sheene	[Report](1976-swedish-motorcycle-grand-prix)
August 1	Finland Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Belgium Julien van Zeebroeck	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Italy Walter Villa	Italy Walter Villa	United States Pat Hennen	[Report](1976-finnish-motorcycle-grand-prix)
August 22	Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno			Italy Walter Villa	Italy Walter Villa	UK John Newbold	[Report](1976-czechoslovak-motorcycle-grand-prix)
August 29	West Germany German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Spain Angel Nieto	West Germany Anton Mang	Italy Walter Villa	Italy Walter Villa	Italy Giacomo Agostini	[Report](1976-german-motorcycle-grand-prix)
September 19	Spain Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Spain Angel Nieto	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	Italy Franco Bonera	South Africa Kork Ballington		[Report](1976-spanish-motorcycle-grand-prix)

Participants

500cc participants

Team	Constructor	Motorcycle	No.	Rider
Team Agostini-Marlboro	???/???	1	ITA Giacomo Agostini	1–3, 5–6, 8–10
Team Life International	Suzuki RG 500	2
9	GBR Phil Read	1–3
Life Racing Team	4
2
3	FIN Teuvo Länsivuori	1–3, 6–9*
Danfay	???	4	IRL Billie Guthrie	4
Texaco Heron Team Suzuki	???	5
2
30	GBR John Williams	1–2, 4–6
Suzuki RG 500	7	GBR Barry Sheene	1–3, 5–7
8
3
6
7	GBR John Newbold	6–10
???	14	GBR Tom Herron	2, 4
Hermetite	6
8
3	GBR Alex George	2, 5
Meuaui Racing Team	10
6
5	AUS Jack Findlay	2–8
Team Sarome	???/???	11
8
10	GBR Chas Mortimer	1, 4, 6–7, 9–10
???	41
17	JPN Takazumi Katayama	4, 6, 8
???	12
8
9
11	AUT Karl Auer	1–2, 7–9
Boeri Dainese Racing Team	13
14
30
10
12	BRD Dieter Braun	1–3, 6, 8
Esso	19
18
25
29	FRA Olivier Chevallier	9
Ecurie Elf	21
20	FRA Michel Rougerie	1–2, 6
???	22
13
16	FRA Bernard Fau	5
Castrol/Jim Findlay	Yamaha TZ???	23
15
19
21	GBR Tom Herron	6–7
Beale	???	23	GBR Roger Nichols	4
???	24
52
21
48	FRA Christian Estrosi	8
25	GBR Ian Richards	4
26
41
31
24	DEN Børge Nielsen	3
27
33
28
43
12	NED Marcel Ankoné	3, 6, 10
Gallina Corse	Suzuki RG 500	28
40
26
31	ITA Virginio Ferrari	3, 10
33
40
34
32
30
17	ITA Marco Lucchinelli	1–2, 7–10
???	34	ITA Roberto Gallina	???
Riemersma	Suzuki RG 500	34
31
48	NED Wil Hartog	2, 5, 7
Padgett	???	38
26	RSA Jon Ekerold	4
Frankonia Suzuki	40
38
18
43
51
22
23
71	CHE Philippe Coulon	3, 7–9
???	41
39
19
44
63	BRD Helmut Kassner	5–6
Swaep Motor-Racing	43
33
24
20	SPA Víctor Palomo	1–2, 7
Laponder	???/???	51
43
32
27
39
14
29	NED Boet van Dulmen	8–10
Colemans	???	54
45
25
40
28
22
66	USA Pat Hennen	1–3, 5–10
56
47
32
35
42
25	NZL Stuart Avant	1–3, 7
Team Venemotos	Yamaha YZR500 (OW29)	55
3
21
16	VEN Johnny Cecotto	1–3
???	???	57
28
44
27	AUT Max Wiener	9

Key
Regular Rider
Wildcard Rider
Replacement Rider

|} ;Notes

- Länsivuori was disqualified for the second round of the season, the Austrian GP, for not stopping his engine during a refuelling stop.

Final standings

500cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	UK Barry Sheene	7	United Kingdom	Suzuki	72	5
2	Finland Teuvo Lansivuori	4	Finland	Suzuki	48	0
3	United States Pat Hennen	40	United States	Suzuki	46	1
4	Italy Marco Lucchinelli		Italy	Suzuki	40	0
5	UK John Newbold	8	United Kingdom	Suzuki	31	1
6	Switzerland Philippe Coulon		Switzerland	Suzuki	28	0
7	Italy Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	Suzuki / MV Agusta	26	1
8	Australia Jack Findlay	10	Australia	Suzuki	25	0
9	UK John Williams	5	United Kingdom	Suzuki	24	1
10	UK Phil Read	2	United Kingdom	Suzuki	22	0
11	Marcel Ankone				21
12	Stuart Avant				20
13	Tom Herron				17	1
14	Chas Mortimer				16
15	Michel Rougerie				16
16	Karl Auer				16
17	Dieter Braun				15
18	Víctor Palomo				13
19	Ian Richards				12
20	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	3			12
21	Wil Hartog				10
22	Virginio Ferrari				10
23	Billie Guthrie				10
24	Alex George				10
25	Boet Van Dulmen				9
26	Takazumi Katayama				8
27	Max Wiener				6
28	Roger Nichols				6
29	Olivier Chevallier				5
30	Jon Ekerold				5
31	Bernard Fau				4
32	Bernd Tungethal				4
33	Alan North				4
34	Gordon Pantall				3
35	Christian Estrosi				3
36	Rob Bron				3
37	Christian Bourgeois				3
38	Helmut Kassner				3
39	Pekka Nurmi				2
40	John Weeden				2
41	Dave Potter				1
42	G.Schwemmer				1
43	W.A. Smith				1
44	Edmar Ferreira				1
45	Borge W.Nielsen				1

350cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Walter Villa	42	Italy	Aermacchi Harley-Davidson	76	4
2	Venezuela Johnny Cecotto	1	Venezuela	Yamaha	65	2
3	UK Chas Mortimer	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	54	1
4	UK Tom Herron	9	United Kingdom	Yamaha	47	0
5	Australia John Dodds	56	Australia	Yamaha	34	0
6	Spain Víctor Palomo		Spain	Yamaha	29	0
7	Japan Takazumi Katayama		Japan	Yamaha	28	0
8	Switzerland Bruno Kneubühler		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
9	France Olivier Chevallier		France	Yamaha	27	1
10	Italy 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

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Walter Villa	1	Italy	Aermacchi Harley-Davidson	90	7
2	Japan Takazumi Katayama		Japan	Yamaha	73	1
3	Italy Franco Bonera		Italy	Aermacchi Harley-Davidson	61	1
4	UK Tom Herron		United Kingdom	Yamaha	47	1
5	Finland Pentti Korhonen		Finland	Yamaha	47	0
6	West Germany Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	42	1
7	UK Chas Mortimer	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	31	0
8	Switzerland Bruno Kneubühler	9	Switzerland	Yamaha	29	0
9	France Olivier Chevallier		France	Yamaha	25	0
10	Spain 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

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Italy Pier Paolo Bianchi	2	Italy	Morbidelli	90	7
2	Spain Ángel Nieto		Spain	Bultaco	67	1
3	Italy Paolo Pileri	1	Italy	Morbidelli	64	0
4	Netherlands Henk van Kessel	7	Netherlands	Condor	46	0
5	West Germany Anton Mang		West Germany	Morbidelli	32	1
6	France Jean-Louis Guignabodet	2	France	Morbidelli	27	0
7	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	5	Italy	Morbidelli	26	0
8	West Germany Gert Bender		West Germany	Bender	25	0
9	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger		Switzerland	Morbidelli	23	0
10	Belgium 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

50cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Spain Ángel Nieto	1	Spain	Bultaco	85	5
2	West Germany Herbert Rittberger	5	West Germany	Kreidler	76	2
3	Switzerland Ulrich Graf		Switzerland	Kreidler	69	1
4	Italy Eugenio Lazzarini	2	Italy	Morbidelli	53	0
5	West Germany Rudolf Kunz	4	West Germany	Kreidler	34	0
6	Belgium Julien van Zeebroeck	9	Belgium	Kreidler	26	1
7	Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger	6	Switzerland	Kreidler	25	0
8	Switzerland Rolf Blatter		Switzerland	Kreidler	25	0
9	Austria Hans Hummel	9	Austria	Kreidler	20	0
10	France 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	billy				4
25	Wolfgang Müller				3
26	Ramon Gali				3
27	Ermanno Giuliano				1

References

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A.

References

(1999). "Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix". Hazleton Publishing Ltd.
(2006-10-13). "Motorcycle Racing Online - 500cc Grand Prix entry lists for 1976 to 1978".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

grand-prix-motorcycle-racing-seasons 1976-in-motorsport 1976-in-grand-prix-motorcycle-racing

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report