1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Sports season 1951 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season 1950 1952 thumb|Geoff Duke, the 1951 350cc and 500cc World Champion. The 1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the third F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eight Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 April, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix on 9 September. As of 2026, this is the most recent season the premier class was won by a non-Japanese or non-Italian constructor. 1951 Grand Prix season calendar Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Sidecars 500cc winner Report 1 8 April ESP 1945 Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc ITA 1946 Guido Leoni GBR Tommy Wood ITA 1946 Umberto Masetti GBR ITA 1946 Oliver / Dobelli Report2 27 May SUI Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarten ITA 1946 Dario Ambrosini GBR Leslie Graham SCO Fergus Anderson ITA 1946 Frigerio / Ricotti Report3 8 June IOM Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain NIR Cromie McCandless GBR Tommy Wood GBR Geoff Duke GBR Geoff Duke Report4 1 July BEL Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps GBR Geoff Duke GBR Geoff Duke GBR ITA 1946 Oliver / Dobelli Report5 7 July NED Dutch TT Assen ITA 1946 Gianni Leoni GBR Bill Doran GBR Geoff Duke Report6 14 July FRA 1830 French Grand Prix Albi ITA 1946 Bruno Ruffo GBR Geoff Duke ITA 1946 Alfredo Milani GBR ITA 1946 Oliver / Dobelli Report7 18 August NIR Ulster Grand Prix Clady NIR Cromie McCandless † ITA 1946 Bruno Ruffo GBR Geoff Duke GBR Geoff Duke Report8 9 September ITA 1946 Nations Grand Prix Monza ITA 1946 Carlo Ubbiali ITA 1946 Enrico Lorenzetti GBR Geoff Duke ITA 1946 Alfredo Milani ITA 1946 Milani / Pizzocri Report † The race saw only four competitors and was not counted as a round of the World Championship. Standings Scoring system Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best three races counted in the Sidecars, 125cc and 250cc, while in the 350cc and 500cc championships, the best five results counted. Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th  Points 8 6 4 3 2 1 500cc final standings Pos Rider Machine ESPSpain 1945 SUISUI MANGB BELBEL HOLNED FRAFRA ULSUlster NACITA Pts 1 GB Geoff Duke Norton Ret 1 1 1 5 1 4 35 2 ITA Alfredo Milani Gilera Ret Ret 2 2 1 4 1 31 3 ITA Umberto Masetti Gilera 1 9 Ret 4 3 2 21 4 GB Bill Doran AJS 2 Ret Ret 2 6 6 14 5 ITA Nello Pagani Gilera Ret Ret 5 10 3 8 3 10 6 IRL Reg Armstrong AJS 2 Ret 4 Ret Ret 9 7 SCO Fergus Anderson Moto Guzzi Ret 1 Ret Ret 7 8 8 ITA Enrico Lorenzetti Norton / Moto Guzzi Ret 3 8 3 9 Ret 8 9 GB Tommy Wood Norton 2 11 14 16 6 10 AUS Ken Kavanagh Norton Ret 2 Ret 6 11 GB Johnny Lockett Norton Ret 6 4 10 5 11 6 12 ITA Carlo Bandirola MV Agusta 5 4 Ret Ret 9 5 13 ITA Sante Geminiani Moto Guzzi Ret Ret 3 Ret 13 4 14 ITA Arciso Artesiani MV Agusta 3 Ret Ret Ret 4 = NIR Cromie McCandless Norton 3 4 16 IOM Tommy McEwans Norton 4 3 = Spain 1945 Roger Montané Norton 4 3 18 GB Jack Brett Norton 7 5 6 Ret 8 3 19 ITA Bruno Ruffo Moto Guzzi Ret 5 2 20 IRL Manliff Barrington Norton 5 2 = SUI Benoit Musy Moto Guzzi 5 2 22 NZL Len Perry Norton 9 12 6 Ret 1 23 SUI Willy Lips Norton 6 1 = GB Ashley Len Parry Norton 6 1 = Spain 1945 Ernesto Vidal Gilera 6 1 26 GB Arthur Wheeler Norton Ret 7 14 11 Ret 0 27 GER Hans Baltisberger Norton 7 0 = GB Eric Briggs Norton 7 0 = NIR Louis Carter Norton 7 0 = ITA Libero Liberati Gilera 7 0 31 GB Albert Moule Norton 8 9 0 32 GB Bill Petch AJS/ Norton Ret Ret 8 Ret 15 0 33 NED Lous van Riswijk Triumph Ret 8 0 34 SUI Massimo Forster Gilera 8 0 35 FIN Väinö Hollming Norton / Moto Guzzi 9 Ret 0 36 NED Cees Fokke-Bosch Norton 9 0 37 NZL Rod Coleman Norton / AJS Ret 10 11 Ret Ret 0 38 GB Sidney Mason Norton 10 Ret 0 39 GB Ken Armstrong Norton 10 0 = NIR Phil Carter Norton 10 0 = GB Les Dear Norton 10 0 42 Southern Rhodesia Ray Amm Norton 28 11 11 12 12 0 43 GB Guy Newman Norton 11 0 44 GB Jack Bailey Norton Ret 12 0 = GB Roy Evans Norton / AJS 12 Ret 0 46 SUI Alexandre Mayer Norton 12 0 47 GB Harold Grindley Norton Ret 13 0 48 ITA Dante Bianchi Moto Guzzi 13 0 = GB Dennis Lashmar Norton 13 0 50 NIR Maurice Acheson AJS 14 0 = ITA Giuseppe Colnago Gilera 14 0 = BEL Auguste Goffin Norton 14 0 53 GB Bill Hall Velocette Ret 15 0 54 FRA Jean Behra Moto Guzzi 15 0 = BEL León Martin Gilera 15 0 = GB Roy Walker Velocette 15 0 57 ITA Giulie Galbiati Moto Guzzi Ret 17 Ret 16 0 58 ITA Felice Benasedo Moto Guzzi Ret 31 16 Ret Ret 0 59 GB Robert Ferguson AJS 16 0 = GB Sid Franklen AJS 16 0 61 GB Ernie Barrett AJS Ret 17 062 GB Syl Anderton Norton 17 0 = ITA Lodovico Facchinelli Gilera 17 0= GB Jack Harding AJS 17 0 65 FRA Georges Houel Gilera Ret 18 0 66 NIR Charlie Gray AJS 18 0 = NIR George Brockerton Bitza 18 0 = BEL Jaak Delsing Triumph 18 0 69 GB Leo Starr AJS 27 19 0 70 GB Ernie Thomas Velocette / Norton Ret 19 Ret 0 71 SCO George Paterson AJS 19 0 72 DEN Sven Sørensen Norton 20 0 = BEL Albert Vertriest Triumph 20 0 74 SWE Evert Carlsson Norton 21 0 = USA Ronald Pike BSA 21 0 76 GB Ray Petty Norton 22 0 77 GB Arnold Jones Norton 23 0 78 GB Achie Fenn Norton 24 0 79 GB Jim Kentish AJS 25 0 80 GB Humphrey Ranson AJS / Norton 26 Ret 0 81 Canada 1921 Eddie Stidolph Norton 29 0 82 GB Max Klein AJS 30 0 83 GB Leslie Harris Norton 32 Ret 0 84 GB Ernie Braine Norton 33 0 85 GB John Fisher Velocette 34 0 86 GB Joe Chapman Rudge-Whitworth 35 0 87 GB Bill Maddrick Velocette 36 0 88 GB J. Gunn Norton 37 0 89 NIR Bob McDonald AJS 38 0 90 GB Bill Beevers AJS / Norton Ret 39 0 – GB Leslie Graham MV Agusta / Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – ITA Bruno Bertacchini MV Agusta Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – NIR Bob Matthews Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – GB Eric Oliver Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – GB Mick Featherstone AJS Ret Ret 0 – GB Charlie Salt BSA / Velocette Ret Ret 0 – BEL Edouard Texidor Norton Ret Ret 0 – Spain 1945 Javier de Ortueta NortonDNS Ret 0 – Spain 1945 Fernando Aranda Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – BEL Raymond Becquevort AJS Ret 0 – ITA Gaetano Biondelli Gilera Ret 0 – GB Charlie Brett Norton Ret 0 – GB Charlie Bruguiere AJS Ret 0 – SUI Florian Camathias BMW Ret 0 – GB Bernard Carter Triumph Ret 0 – NIR Phil Carter Norton Ret 0 – FRA Jacques Collot Norton Ret 0 – BEL Eugéne Cordang Triumph Ret 0 – SUI Georges Cordey Norton Ret 0 – BEL Firmin Dauwe Norton Ret 0 – BEL Julien Deronne Norton Ret 0 – FRA Jacques Drion Norton Ret 0 – BEL Roger Ergé Norton Ret 0 – GB Lennart Fenning Norton Ret 0 – ITA Tito Forconi Gilera Ret 0 – GB Frank Fry Norton Ret 0 – SUI Werner Gerber Norton Ret 0 – ITA Francesco Guglielminetti Gilera Ret 0 – GB Eric Hardy Norton Ret 0 – GB Philip Heath Vincent Ret 0 – GB Johnny Hodgkin Vincent Ret 0 – GB Chris Horn Norton Ret 0 – GB Sid Lawton AJS Ret 0 – GB George Leigh Norton Ret 0 – ITA Guido Leoni Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – IRL Harry Lindsay Norton Ret 0 – GB Maurice Lockwood AJS Ret 0 – AUS Tony McAlpine Gilera Ret 0 – GB Reg McDonald Velocette Ret 0 – GB Stan Miller Norton Ret 0 – FRA Georges Monneret Norton Ret 0 – GB George Morgan Velocette Ret 0 – NZL Ken Mudford AJS Ret 0 – GB Alan Mullee Norton Ret 0 – GB Bill Mundy Norton Ret 0 – GB Arthur Pollitt Norton Ret 0 – GB Brian Purslow BSA Ret 0 – BEL Jacques Raffeld AJS Ret 0 – IRL Michael Roche Triumph Ret 0 – ITA Elio Scopigno Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – GB Oliver Scott Norton Ret 0 – GB Ralf Seymour Velocette Ret 0 – GB Cyril Stevens Triumph Ret 0 – SUI Heinrich Stamm Gilera Ret 0 – GB Jack Varlow AJS Ret 0 – GB Ernest Walker Norton Ret 0 – GB Leonard Williams Velocette Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike ESPSpain 1945 SUISUI MANGB BELBEL HOLNED FRAFRA ULSUlster NACITA PtsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap Constructors' 500cc World Championship Pos Constructor Pts 1 GB Norton 38 (44) 2 ITA Gilera 36 (40) 3 GB AJS 21 (23) 4 ITA Moto Guzzi 18 5 ITA MV Agusta 7 – GER BMW 0 – GB BSA 0 – GB Rudge-Whitworth 0 – GB Triumph 0 – GB Velocette 0 – GB Vincent 0 350cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins 1 United Kingdom Geoff Duke United Kingdom Norton 40 5 2 United Kingdom Bill Doran United Kingdom AJS 19 1 3 United Kingdom John Lockett United Kingdom Norton 19 0 4 Australia Ken Kavanagh Australia Norton 16 0 5 United Kingdom Jack Brett United Kingdom Norton 15 0 6 United Kingdom Leslie Graham United Kingdom Velocette 14 1 7 Ireland Reg Armstrong Ireland AJS 11 0 8 United Kingdom Bill Petch United Kingdom AJS 10 0 9 United Kingdom Cecil Sandford United Kingdom Velocette 9 0 10 United Kingdom Tommy Wood United Kingdom Velocette 8 1 11 United Kingdom Bill Lomas United Kingdom Velocette 6 0 12 New Zealand Rod Coleman New Zealand AJS 5 0 13 United Kingdom Mick Featherstone United Kingdom AJS 4 0 14 Spain 1945 Fernando Aranda Spain Velocette 3 0 = Switzerland Paul Fuhrer Switzerland Velocette 3 0 16 United Kingdom Sid Mason United Kingdom Velocette 2 0 = Belgium Jack Raffeld Belgium Velocette 2 0 = United Kingdom Simon Sandys-Winsch United Kingdom Velocette 2 0 19 Gibraltar Johnny Grace Gibraltar Norton 1 0 = Ireland Bob Matthews Ireland Velocette 1 0 = United Kingdom Bob Foster United Kingdom Velocette 1 0 = Austria Leonhardt Faßl Austria AJS 1 0 250cc Standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins 1 Italy Bruno Ruffo Italy Moto Guzzi 22 2 2 United Kingdom Tommy Wood United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 18 1 3 Italy Dario Ambrosini Italy Benelli 14 1 4 Italy Enrico Lorenzetti Italy Moto Guzzi 12 1 5 Italy Gianni Leoni Italy Moto Guzzi 10 0 6 United Kingdom Maurice Cann United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 6 0 = United Kingdom Arthur Wheeler United Kingdom Velocette 6 0 8 United Kingdom Fergus Anderson United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 3 0 = United Kingdom Wilf Hutt United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 3 0 = Italy Alano Montanari Italy Moto Guzzi 3 0 = Switzerland Benoit Musy Switzerland Moto Guzzi 3 0 12 United Kingdom Bill Lomas United Kingdom Velocette 2 0 = United Kingdom Cecil Sandford United Kingdom Velocette 2 0 = United Kingdom Douglas Beasley United Kingdom Velocette 2 0 = Italy Bruno Francisci Italy Moto Guzzi 2 0 16 United Kingdom Fron Purslow United Kingdom Norton 1 0 = Ireland Norman Blemings Ireland Excelsior 1 0 = Switzerland Werner Gerber Switzerland Moto Guzzi 1 0 = Italy Nino Grieco Italy Parilla 1 0 = Italy Guido Paciocca Italy Moto Guzzi 1 0 125cc Riders' standings Pos. Rider Bike ESPSpain 1945 MANGB NEDNED NATITA Pts 1 ITA Carlo Ubbiali Mondial 2F 2 1F 20 2 ITA Gianni Leoni Mondial 3 1F 12 3 UK Cromie McCandless Mondial 1F 4 11 4 ITA Luigi Zinzani Morini 2 3 10 5 ITA Guido Leoni Mondial 1 8 6 ITA Vittorio Zanzi Morini 3 4 7 7 ITA Romolo Ferri Mondial 2 6 8 UK Leslie Graham MV Agusta 3 4 9 ESP 1945 Juan Bultó Montesa 5 5 4 10 ITA Raffaele Alberti Mondial 4 3 10 ITA Nello Pagani Mondial 4 3 12 ITA Franco Bertoni MV Agusta 5 2 12 ITA Otello Spadoni Mondial 5 2 14 ESP 1945 José Antonio Elizalde Mondial 6 1 14 ESP 1945 José Maria Llobet Montesa 6 1 14 ITA Emilio Mendogni Morini 6 1 14 ITA Giuseppe Matucci MV Agusta 6 1 Pos. Rider Bike ESPSpain 1945 MANGB NEDNED NATITA Pts Constructors' standings Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race. Pos. Constructor ESPSpain 1945 MANGB NEDNED NATITA Pts 1 ITA Mondial 1 1 1 1 24 (32) 2 ITA Morini 3 2 3 14 3 ITA MV Agusta 3 6 5 4 ESP 1945 Montesa 5 5 4 Pos. Constructor ESPSpain 1945 MANGB NEDNED NATITA Pts References Haefliger Werner FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide 9–10 978-2-9701086-8-9 2024 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/1951/NAT/500cc/World+Standing 2010-07-06 2021-06-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20210620132416/https://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1951/NAT/500cc/World+Standing dead Category:Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season