1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season 1968 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season 1967 1969 thumb|Giacomo Agostini (1968) 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.Mick Walker's German Racing Motorcycles Walker Mick 1999 Redline Books 0953131122 81 Season summary The FIM implemented new rules for the 1968 season, limiting all gearboxes to six-speeds, 125cc and 250cc motorcycles to no more than two cylinders, and 350cc and 500cc motorcycles to four cylinders.Dennis Noyes 1999 Michael Scott Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix Hazleton Publishing Ltd 1-874557-83-7 The new rules favored two-stroke engines over four-stroke engines in the smaller displacement classes, and since the Honda factory had a company policy to race only four-stroke motorcycles, they decided to withdraw from motorcycle racing to concentrate on Formula One racing. Hailwood would also retire from motorcycle racing to pursue a career in Formula One racing. In the wake of Honda's withdrawal, Giacomo Agostini and the MV Agusta team faced little opposition in the larger displacement classes from any major manufacturers, competing largely against privateer racers using ageing machinery. Agostini won every race in the 500 and 350 classes.Dennis Noyes 1999 Michael Scott Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix Hazleton Publishing Ltd 1-874557-83-7 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. 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.Gustl Kamikaze 2021-01-24 Bill Ivy story - part 4 http://www.motoracers.eu/bill-ivy-story-part-4/?lang=en 2024-01-03 MotoRacers en-US As a result, Yamaha would discharge Read and he would never regain a place on the factory team. 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 DEU German Grand Prix Nürburgring Sudschleife FRG Hans-Georg Anscheidt GBR Phil Read GBR Bill Ivy ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini DEU Fath / Kalauch Report 2 5 May ESP 1945 Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc circuit FRG Hans-Georg Anscheidt ESP 1945 Salvador Cañellas GBR Phil Read ITA Giacomo Agostini Report 3 14 June IOM Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain AUS Barry Smith GBR Phil Read GBR Bill Ivy ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini DEU Schauzu/Horst Schneider Report 4 29 June NLD Dutch TT TT Circuit Assen NLD Paul Lodewijkx GBR Phil Read GBR Bill Ivy ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini DEU Attenberger / Schillinger Report 5 7 July BEL Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps FRG Hans-Georg Anscheidt GBR Phil Read ITA Giacomo Agostini DEU Auerbacher / Hahn Report 6 14 July DDR East German Grand Prix Sachsenring GBR Phil Read GBR Bill Ivy ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini Report 7 21 July TCH Czechoslovak Grand Prix Masaryk Circuit GBR Phil Read GBR Phil Read ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini Report 8 4 August FIN Finnish Grand Prix Imatra Circuit GBR Phil Read GBR Phil Read ITA Giacomo Agostini DEU Fath / Kalauch Report 9 17 August NIR Ulster Grand Prix Dundrod Circuit GBR Bill Ivy GBR Bill Ivy ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini Report 10 15 September ITA Nations Grand Prix Monza GBR Bill Ivy GBR Phil Read ITA Giacomo Agostini ITA Giacomo Agostini Cancelled Report 11 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. "N" 13 October DEU Hockenheim Grand Prix Hockenheimring DEU Fath / Kalauch Footnotes N 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 GERDEU ESPESP 1945 MANIOM HOLNLD BELBEL DDRDDR TCHTCH FINFIN ULSNIR NACITA Pts 1 ITA Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 48 (80) 2 AUS Jack Findlay Matchless / Cardani Ret 2 Ret 2 2 3 2 2 5 Ret 34 (36) 3 CHE Gyula Marsovszky Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 4 5 Ret Ret Ret 11 3 6 Ret Ret 10 4 ITA Alberto Pagani Linto Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 9 5 GBR Robin Fitton Norton 4 2 9 6 GBR Peter Williams Arter-Matchless 3 Ret 4 7 7 5 20 9 9 7 GBR Derek Woodman Seeley Ret 9 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 8 8 GBR John Cooper Seeley / Norton Ret 3 6 4 Ret Ret 8 9 GBR Dan Shorey Norton 2 Ret Ret 10 6 Ret Ret 7 10 ITA Angelo Bergamonti Paton Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 7 11 AUS Kel Carruthers Norton / Westlake Ret 6 5 5 Ret Ret 8 6 6 7 12 GBR Brian Ball Seeley-Matchless / Matchless 2 18 6 13 ITA Renzo Pasolini Benelli 2 6 14 AUS John Dodds Norton Ret 3 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 6 15 GBR Billie Nelson Paton / Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 4 7 Ret Ret 5 16 GBR John Hartle Metisse / MV Agusta Ret Ret 9 11 9 Ret 3 4 17 GBR Barry Randle Norton 3 4 18 GBR Percy Tait Triumph Ret 4 3 19 GBR Bill Smith Matchless / Paton 4 Ret Ret 3 20 SUN Nikolai Sevostianov Vostok 4 3 21 TCH Bohumil Staša ČZ 5 Ret 13 Ret 2 22 ITA Silvano Bertarelli Paton 5 2 = GBR Bernie Lund Matchless 5 2 24 GBR Rodney Gould Norton / Triumph 6 Ret 8 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 1 25 GBR Ron Chandler Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 7 6 9 Ret Ret 10 1 26 GBR Rex Butcher Norton / Matchless / Seeley Ret 6 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 27 GBR Godfrey Nash Norton Ret 6 Ret Ret 1 28 GBR Derek Lee Gazelle / Matchless Ret 7 9 0 29 DEU Walter Scheimann Norton 12 7 12 12 11 0 30 GBR Malcolm Uphill Manning-Norton Ret 7 Ret 0 31 GBR John Blanchard Metisse 7 0 32 ZAF 1928 Errol Cowan Matchless / Norton / Metisse 8 Ret 12 10 0 33 NZL Keith Turner Matchless 15 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 0 34 SWE Bo Granath Matchless / Seeley Ret 14 14 8 Ret Ret 0 35 GBR Steve Jolly Higley-Matchless Ret Ret 8 0 36 RHO 1968 Gordon Keith Monark 8 0 37 DEU Paul Eickelberg Norton 10 9 13 19 14 0 38 FIN Pentti Lehtelä Matchless 13 14 9 0 39 DEU Heinrich Rosenbusch Norton 9 0 = CZE Frantisek Srna Jawa 9 0 41 NLD Theo Louwes Norton 10 12 0 42 FIN Hannu Kuparinen Matchless 10 0 = NIR William McCosh Matchless 10 0 44 HUN György Kurucz Matchless / Metisse 18 15 15 11 0 45 DEU Armand Nerger Honda 11 0 = NLD Bert Oosterhuis Norton 11 0 = FIN Matti Salonen Yamaha 11 0 = AUS Ron Wilson Norton 11 0 = GBR John Williams Matchless 11 0 50 AUT Werner Bergold Matchless 12 0 = ITA Paolo Campanelli Matchless 12 0 = GBR Tony Godfrey Norton 12 0 = AUT Wolfgang Stropek Norton 12 0 54 DEU Karl Hoppe Matchless Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 0 55 DEU Dieter Dögmann BMW 13 0 = ITA Gianfranco Domeniconi Norton 13 0 = GBR George Fogarty Matchless 13 0 = FIN Osmo Hansen Matchless 13 0 = SWE Jack Lindh Seeley 13 0 60 AUT Edy Lenz Matchless 14 0 = GBR Charlie Sanby Norton 14 0 = GBR Barry Scully Norton 14 0 63 GBR Peter Humber Humber-Crescent Ret 15 0 64 GBR Peter Darvill Norton 15 065 GBR Alan Lawton Norton 16 16 0 66 DEU Ferdinand Kaczor BMW 16 0 67 DEU Hartmut Allner Matchless 17 0 = NIR Bob McCurry Matchless 17 0 = NLD Jan Strijbis Norton 17 0 70 GBR Jim Evans Norton 18 0 71 DEU Ralf Engelhardt Norton 19 Ret 0 72 Wales Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 19 0 73 GBR Norman Price Norton 20 0 74 NIR Harris Healey Norton 21 0 = GBR Ian Munro Matchless 21 0 76 GBR Peter Gibson Matchless 22 0 77 GBR George Barnacle Triumph 23 0 78 GBR Brian Adams Norton 24 0 79 GBR Adrian Cooper Norton 25 0 80 GBR Bob Heath BSA 26 0 81 CHE Gilbert Argo Matchless 27 0 82 GBR Walter Dawson Norton 28 0 83 GBR Jim Curry Aermacchi / Metisse 29 Ret 0 84 GBR Jim Ashton Matchless 30 0 85 GBR John Burgess Norton 31 Ret 0 86 GBR Graham Robinson Read Titan 32 0 87 GBR Brian Hunter Matchless 33 0 88 GBR Chris Neve Matchless 34 0 89 GBR Dennis Trollope Norton 35 0 90 GBR Reay Mackay Vincent HRD 36 0 91 NIR Roy Reid Norton 37 0 Pos Rider Bike GERDEU ESPESP 1945 MANGBR HOLNLD BELBEL DDRDDR TCHTCH FINFIN ULSUlster NACITA PtsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap 350cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 ITA Giacomo Agostini Italy MV Agusta3272 ITA Renzo Pasolini Italy Benelli1803 AUS Kel Carruthers Australia Aermacchi1704 DDR Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ120= NZL Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco1206 GBR Derek Woodman United Kingdom Aermacchi907 TCH František Šťastný Czechoslovakia Jawa808 TCH Bohumil Staša Czechoslovakia ČZ709 GBR Bill Smith United Kingdom Honda40= ITA Gilberto Milani Italy Aermacchi40= GBR Brian Steenson United Kingdom Aermacchi40= ITA Silvio Grassetti Italy Benelli4013 GBR Billie Nelson United Kingdom Norton3014 GBR Dan Shorey United Kingdom Norton20= GBR John Cooper United Kingdom Seeley20= FRG Karl Hoppe West Germany Aermacchi20= ITA Bruno Spaggiari Italy Ducati2018 AUS Jack Findlay Australia Aermacchi10= GBR Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Kawasaki10 250cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 GBR Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha4652 GBR Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha4653 DDR Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ3204 GBR Rodney Gould United Kingdom Yamaha2105 NZL Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco1906 ITA Renzo Pasolini Italy Benelli1007 ESP 1945 Santiago Herrero Spain Ossa808 SWE Kent Andersson Sweden Yamaha609 GBR Malcolm Uphill United Kingdom Suzuki50= HUN László Szabó Hungary MZ50= AUS Jack Findlay Australia Bultaco5012 ESP 1945 Carlos Giró-Vila Spain Ossa30= RHO Gordon Keith Rhodesia Yamaha3014 ESP 1945 Carlos Rocamora Spain Bultaco20= ITA Gilberto Milani Italy Aermacchi2016 FRG Paul Eickelberg West Germany Aermacchi10= GBR Bill Smith United Kingdom Yamaha10= CHE Gyula Marsovsky Switzerland Bultaco10= GBR Rex Butcher United Kingdom Suzuki10 125cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 GBR Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha4062 GBR Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha3423 NZL Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco1504 DDR Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ1205 ESP 1945 Salvador Cañellas Spain Bultaco1116 HUN László Szabó Hungary MZ110= FRG Dieter Braun West Germany MZ-Neckermann1108 FRG Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki1009 DDR Günter Bartusch East Germany MZ8010 AUS Kel Carruthers Australia Honda6011 GBR Tommy Robb United Kingdom Bultaco5012 FRG Siegfried Möhringer West Germany MZ-Neckermann40= NLD Jan Huberts Netherlands MZ4014 FRG Walter Scheimann West Germany Honda30= DDR Friedhelm Kohlar East Germany MZ30= GBR Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Kawasaki3017 SWE Kent Andersson Sweden MZ20= RHO Gordon Keith Rhodesia Montesa20= DDR Hartmut Bischoff East Germany MZ20= FRG Lothar John West Germany MZ20= DDR Jürgen Lenk East Germany MZ20= DDR Thomas Heuschkel East Germany MZ2023 ESP 1945 Pedro Alvarez Spain Bultaco10= GBR Steve Murray United Kingdom Honda10= ITA Giuseppe Visenzi Italy Montesa10= HUN János Reisz Hungary MZ10 50cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 FRG Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki3032 NLD Paul Lodewijkx Netherlands Jamathi1713 AUS Barry Smith Australia Derbi1514 ESP 1945 Angel Nieto Spain Derbi1005 FRG Rudolf Kunz West Germany Kreidler60= GBR Chris Walpole United Kingdom Honda60= FRG Rudolf Schmälzle West Germany Kreidler608 GBR Leslie Griffiths United Kingdom Honda40= NLD Aalt Toersen Netherlands Kreidler4010 FRG Ludwig Faßbender West Germany Kreidler30= GBR Brian Lock United Kingdom Honda30= NLD Jan de Vries Netherlands Kreidler3013 NLD Cees van Dongen Netherlands Kreidler20= ESP 1945 Carlos Giró-Vila Spain Derbi20= GBR Jim Pink United Kingdom Honda20= NLD Jos Schurgers Netherlands Kreidler20= NLD Martin Mijwaart Netherlands Jamathi2018 Yugoslavia Janco Florjan-Stefe Yugoslavia Tomos10= ESP 1945 Francisco Cufi Spain Derbi10= GBR Robin Udall United Kingdom Honda10 References Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. 2-940125-32-5 The Official MotoGP website http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1968/NAT/500cc/World+Standing 2010-07-06 2012-09-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20120918192621/http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1968/NAT/500cc/World+Standing dead Category:Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season