1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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This article recaps the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
Contents |
[edit] 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 team-mate Teuvo Länsivuori. Newcomer Marco Lucchinelli impressed as well on a Suzuki but injuries curtailed his performance. Pat Hennen would win the first ever 500cc Grand Prix victory for an American rider when he triumphed at the Finnish Grand Prix.
1976 marked the closing 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 was 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.
[edit] 500cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  French Grand Prix |
Le Mans |  Barry Sheene |
Suzuki | Report |
| 2 |  Austrian Grand Prix |
Salzburgring | Barry Sheene |
Suzuki | Report |
| 3 |  Nations Grand Prix |
Mugello | Barry Sheene |
Suzuki | Report |
| 4 | Isle of Man TT |
Isle of Man | Tom Herron |
Yamaha | Report |
| 5 |  Dutch TT |
Assen | Barry Sheene |
Suzuki | Report |
| 6 |  Belgian Grand Prix |
Spa | John Williams |
Suzuki | Report |
| 7 |  Swedish Grand Prix |
Anderstorp | Barry Sheene |
Suzuki | Report |
| 8 |  Finnish Grand Prix |
Imatra |  Pat Hennen |
Suzuki | Report |
| 9 |  Czechoslovakian Grand Prix |
Brno | John Newbold |
Suzuki | Report |
| 10 |  West German Grand Prix |
Nürburgring | Giacomo Agostini |
MV Agusta | Report |
[edit] 1976 500cc Roadracing World Championship final standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barry Sheene |
7 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 72 | 5 |
| 2 | Teuvo Lansivuori |
4 | Finland | Suzuki | 48 | 0 |
| 3 | Pat Hennen |
40 | United States | Suzuki | 46 | 1 |
| 4 | Marco Lucchinelli |
Italy | Suzuki | 40 | 0 | |
| 5 | John Newbold |
8 | Britain | Suzuki | 31 | 1 |
| 6 |  Philippe Coulon |
Switzerland | Suzuki | 28 | 0 | |
| 7 | Giacomo Agostini |
1 | Italy | MV Agusta | 26 | 1 |
| 8 |  Jack Findlay |
10 | Australia | Suzuki | 25 | 0 |
| 9 | John Williams |
5 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 24 | 1 |
| 10 | Phil Read |
2 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 22 | 0 |
[edit] 350cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Grand Prix |
Le Mans | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 2 | Austrian Grand Prix |
Salzburgring |  Johnny Cecotto |
Yamaha | Report |
| 3 | Nations Grand Prix |
Mugello | Johnny Cecotto |
Yamaha | Report |
| 4 |  Yugoslavian Grand Prix |
Opatija | Olivier Chevallier |
Yamaha | Report |
| 5 | Isle of Man TT |
Isle of Man | Chas Mortimer |
Yamaha | Report |
| 6 | Dutch TT |
Assen | Giacomo Agostini |
MV Agusta | Report |
| 7 | Finnish Grand Prix |
Imatra | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 8 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix |
Brno | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 9 | West German Grand Prix |
Nürburgring | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 10 |  Spanish Grand Prix |
Montjuich |  Kork Ballington |
Yamaha | Report |
[edit] 1976 350cc Roadracing World Championship final standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Villa |
Italy | 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 | 1 |
| 5 | John Dodds |
Australia | Yamaha | 34 | 0 | |
| 6 | Victor 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 | 0 | |
| 10 | Franco Uncini |
Italy | Yamaha | 27 | 1 |
[edit] 250cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Grand Prix |
Le Mans | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 2 | Nations Grand Prix |
Mugello | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 3 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix |
Opatija | Dieter Braun |
Yamaha | Report |
| 4 | Isle of Man TT |
Isle of Man | Tom Herron |
Yamaha | Report |
| 5 | Dutch TT |
Assen | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 6 | Belgian Grand Prix |
Spa | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 7 | Swedish Grand Prix |
Anderstorp | Takazumi Katayama |
Yamaha | Report |
| 8 | Finnish Grand Prix |
Imatra | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 9 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix |
Brno | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 10 | West German Grand Prix |
Nürburgring | Walter Villa |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
| 11 | Spanish Grand Prix |
Montjuich | Franco Bonera |
Harley-Davidson | Report |
[edit] 1976 250cc Roadracing World Championship final standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walter Villa |
1 | Italy | Harley-Davidson | 90 | 7 |
| 2 | Takazumi Katayama |
Japan | Yamaha | 73 | 1 | |
| 3 | Franco Bonera |
Italy | 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 | 0 | |
| 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 | Victor Palomo |
Spain | Yamaha | 25 | 0 |
[edit] 125cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austrian Grand Prix |
Salzburgring | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 2 | Nations Grand Prix |
Mugello | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 3 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix |
Opatija | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 4 | Dutch TT |
Assen | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 5 | Belgian Grand Prix |
Spa | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
| 6 | Swedish Grand Prix |
Anderstorp | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 7 | Finnish Grand Prix |
Imatra | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 8 | West German Grand Prix |
Nürburgring | Anton Mang |
Morbidelli | Report |
| 9 | Spanish Grand Prix |
Montjuich | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
Morbidelli | Report |
[edit] 1976 125cc Roadracing World Championship final standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
2 | Italy | Morbidelli | 90 | 7 |
| 2 | Angel 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 |
[edit] 50cc Season review
| Round | Race | Location | Winning rider | Winning team | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Grand Prix |
Le Mans | Herbert Rittberger |
Kreidler | Report |
| 2 | Nations Grand Prix |
Mugello | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
| 3 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix |
Opatija | Ulrich Graf |
Kreidler | Report |
| 4 | Dutch TT |
Assen | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
| 5 | Belgian Grand Prix |
Spa | Herbert Rittberger |
Kreidler | Report |
| 6 | Swedish Grand Prix |
Anderstorp | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
| 7 | Finnish Grand Prix |
Imatra | Julien Van Zeebroeck |
Kreidler | Report |
| 8 | West German Grand Prix |
Nürburgring | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
| 9 | Spanish Grand Prix |
Montjuich | Angel Nieto |
Bultaco | Report |
[edit] 1976 50cc Roadracing World Championship final standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angel 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 | Rudi 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 |
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