1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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.[1]

1968 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Previous: 1967 Next: 1969

Season summary

With the departure of Honda from the Grand Prix scene, MV Agusta proceeded to dominate the larger classes with Giacomo Agostini winning every race in the 500 and 350 classes.[2] 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.[2] As a result, Yamaha would discharge Read and he would never regain a place on the factory team.[2] 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 German Grand Prix Nürburgring Sudschleife Hans-Georg Anscheidt Phil Read Bill Ivy Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Fath / Kalauch Report
2 5 May Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc circuit Hans-Georg Anscheidt Salvador Cañellas Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Report
3 14 June Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain Barry Smith Phil Read Bill Ivy Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Schauzu/Horst Schneider Report
4 29 June Dutch TT TT Circuit Assen Paul Lodewijkx Phil Read Bill Ivy Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Attenberger / Schillinger Report
5 7 July Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps Hans-Georg Anscheidt Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Auerbacher / Hahn Report
6 14 July East German Grand Prix Sachsenring Phil Read Bill Ivy Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report
7 21 July Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Masaryk Circuit Phil Read Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report
8 4 August Finnish Grand Prix Imatra Circuit Phil Read Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Fath / Kalauch Report
9 17 August Ulster Grand Prix Dundrod Circuit Bill Ivy Bill Ivy Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report
10 15 September Nations Grand Prix Monza Bill Ivy Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report

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 GER
 ESP
 MAN
 HOL
 BEL
 DDR
 CZE
 FIN
 ULS
 NAC
 Pts
1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 48 (80)
2 Jack Findlay Matchless / Cardani Ret 2 Ret 2 2 3 2 2 5 Ret 34 (36)
3 Gyula Marsovszky Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 4 5 Ret Ret Ret 11 3 6 Ret Ret 10
4 Alberto Pagani Linto Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 9
5 Robin Fitton Norton 4 2 9
6 Peter Williams Arter-Matchless 3 Ret 4 7 7 5 20 9 9
7 Derek Woodman Seeley Ret 9 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 8
8 John Cooper Seeley / Norton Ret 3 6 4 Ret Ret 8
9 Dan Shorey Norton 2 Ret Ret 10 6 Ret Ret 7
10 Angelo Bergamonti Paton Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 7
11 Kel Carruthers Norton / Westlake Ret 6 5 5 Ret Ret 8 6 6 7
12 Brian Ball Seeley-Matchless / Matchless 2 18 6
13 Renzo Pasolini Benelli 2 6
14 John Dodds Norton Ret 3 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 6
15 Billie Nelson Paton / Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 4 7 Ret Ret 5
16 John Hartle Metisse / MV Agusta Ret Ret 9 11 9 Ret 3 4
17 Barry Randle Norton 3 4
18 Percy Tait Triumph Ret 4 3
19 Bill Smith Matchless / Paton 4 Ret Ret 3
20 Nikolai Sevostianov Vostok 4 3
21 Bohumil Stasa ČZ 5 Ret 13 Ret 2
22 Silvano Bertarelli Paton 5 2
= Bernie Lund Matchless 5 2
24 Rodney Gould Norton / Triumph 6 Ret 8 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 1
25 Ron Chandler Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 7 6 9 Ret Ret 10 1
26 Rex Butcher Norton / Matchless / Seeley Ret 6 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1
27 Godfrey Nash Norton Ret 6 Ret Ret 1
28 Derek Lee Gazelle / Matchless Ret 7 9 0
29 Walter Scheimann Norton 12 7 12 12 11 0
30 Malcolm Uphill Manning-Norton Ret 7 Ret 0
31 John Blanchard Metisse 7 0
32 Errol Cowan Matchless / Norton / Metisse 8 Ret 12 10 0
33 Keith Turner Matchless 15 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 0
34 Bo Granath Matchless / Seeley Ret 14 14 8 Ret Ret 0
35 Steve Jolly Higley-Matchless Ret Ret 8 0
36 Gordon Keith Monark 8 0
37 Paul Eickelberg Norton 10 9 13 19 14 0
38 Pentti Lehtelä Matchless 13 14 9 0
39 Heinrich Rosenbusch Norton 9 0
= Frantisek Srna Jawa 9 0
41 Theo Louwes Norton 10 12 0
42 Hannu Kuparinen Matchless 10 0
= William McCosh Matchless 10 0
44 György Kurucz Matchless / Metisse 18 15 15 11 0
45 Armand Nerger Honda 11 0
= Bert Oosterhuis Norton 11 0
= Matti Salonen Yamaha 11 0
= Ron Wilson Norton 11 0
= John Williams Matchless 11 0
50 Werner Bergold Matchless 12 0
= Paolo Campanelli Matchless 12 0
= Tony Godfrey Norton 12 0
= Wolfgang Stropek Norton 12 0
54 Karl Hoppe Matchless Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 0
55 Dieter Dögmann BMW 13 0
= Gianfranco Domeniconi Norton 13 0
= George Fogarty Matchless 13 0
= Osmo Hansen Matchless 13 0
= Jack Lindh Seeley 13 0
60 Edy Lenz Matchless 14 0
= Charlie Sanby Norton 14 0
= Barry Scully Norton 14 0
63 Peter Humber Humber-Crescent Ret 15 0
64 Peter Darvill Norton 15 0
65 Alan Lawton Norton 16 16 0
66 Ferdinand Kaczor BMW 16 0
67 Hartmut Allner Matchless 17 0
= Bob McCurry Matchless 17 0
= Jan Strijbis Norton 17 0
70 Jim Evans Norton 18 0
71 Ralf Engelhardt Norton 19 Ret 0
72 Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 19 0
73 Norman Price Norton 20 0
74 Harris Healey Norton 21 0
= Ian Munro Matchless 21 0
76 Peter Gibson Matchless 22 0
77 George Barnacle Triumph 23 0
78 Brian Adams Norton 24 0
79 Adrian Cooper Norton 25 0
80 Bob Heath BSA 26 0
81 Gilbert Argo Matchless 27 0
82 Walter Dawson Norton 28 0
83 Jim Curry Aermacchi / Metisse 29 Ret 0
84 Jim Ashton Matchless 30 0
85 John Burgess Norton 31 Ret 0
86 Graham Robinson Read Titan 32 0
87 Brian Hunter Matchless 33 0
88 Chris Neve Matchless 34 0
89 Dennis Trollope Norton 35 0
90 Reay Mackay Vincent HRD 36 0
91 Roy Reid Norton 37 0
- Marty Lunde Norton Ret Ret Ret 0
- František Šťastný Jawa Ret Ret Ret 0
- Vincent Duckett Matchless Ret Ret 0
- Denis Gallagher Matchless Ret Ret 0
- Silvio Grassetti Bianchi Ret Ret 0
- Maurice Hawthorne Norton Ret Ret 0
- Ernst Weiss Seeley Ret Ret 0
- Billy Andersson Matchless Ret 0
- Jean Aureal Aermacchi Ret 0
- Alan Barnett Kirby-Metisse Ret 0
- Rupert Bauer BMW Ret 0
- Bob Biscardine Velocette Ret 0
- Karel Bojer ČZ Ret 0
- Ray Breingan Norton Ret 0
- Bo Brolin Matchless Ret 0
- Mick Burns BSA-Metisse Ret 0
- Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW Ret 0
- Heiner Butz Bianchi Ret 0
- Salvador Cañellas Bultaco Ret 0
- Doug Cash Norton Ret 0
- Bert Clark Rickman-Metisse Ret 0
- Roger Corbett Norton Ret 0
- Conway Chivers Norton Ret 0
- Herbert Denzler Matchless Ret 0
- Tom Dickie Petty-Norton Ret 0
- Hugh Evans BSA Ret 0
- Rolf Fenker Norton Ret 0
- Derek Filler Norton Ret 0
- Bill Fulton Norton Ret 0
- Roger Fursman Norton Ret 0
- Manfred Gäckle Matchless Ret 0
- Albert Haddock Triton Ret 0
- Mike Hailwood Benelli Ret 0
- Peter Hampe Norton Ret 0
- Mick Hatherill Matchless-Metisse Ret 0
- Keith Heckles Norton Ret 0
- Oliver Howe Norton Ret 0
- Griff Jenkins Matchless Ret 0
- John Jones Triumph Ret 0
- Brian Kemp Triumph Ret 0
- Willi Kern Norton Ret 0
- Endel Kiisa Vostok Ret 0
- Stanislav Klatil Jawa Ret 0
- Ray Knight Hughes-Triumph Ret 0
- Udo Konchanski BMW Ret 0
- Toivo Lehtinen Norton Ret 0
- Taneli Lepo Matchless Ret 0
- Vasco Loro Norton Ret 0
- Pat Mahoney Oakley-Matchless Ret 0
- Emanuele Maugliani Norton Ret 0
- Dennis May Petty-Norton Ret 0
- Tony McGurk Matchless Ret 0
- Hans-Jürgen Melcher Honda Ret 0
- David Menzies Norton Ret 0
- Gilberto Milani Linto Ret 0
- Ginger Molloy Bultaco Ret 0
- Stephen Murray Matchless Ret 0
- Gart Neveling Norton Ret 0
- Ilari Pekkinen Norton Ret 0
- Giovanni Perrone Matchless Ret 0
- Harry Reynolds Matchless-Metisse Ret 0
- Tony Rutter Norton Ret 0
- Brian Sapsford Lyster-Norton Ret 0
- Jack Saunders Matchless Ret 0
- Peter Sheppard Norton Ret 0
- Bruno Spaggiari Ducati Ret 0
- Steve Spencer Norton Ret 0
- Malcolm Stanton Norton Ret 0
- John Taylor Kirby-Matchless Ret 0
- Rolf Thiemig Norton Ret 0
- Colin Thompson Norton Ret 0
- Franco Trabalzini Norton Ret 0
- Harry Turner Norton Ret 0
- Tom Walker Triumph Ret 0
- Brian Walmsley Norton Ret 0
- John Wetherall Norton Ret 0
- Lewis Young Matchless Ret 0
- Benedetto Zambotti Bianchi Ret 0
Pos Rider Bike GER
 ESP
 MAN
 HOL
 BEL
 DDR
 CZE
 FIN
 ULS
 NAC
 Pts
ColourResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
GreenPoints finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not participate (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings
Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Giacomo Agostini Italy MV Agusta 32 7
2 Renzo Pasolini Italy Benelli 18 0
3 Kel Carruthers Australia Aermacchi 17 0
4 Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ 12 0
= Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco 12 0
6 Derek Woodman United Kingdom Aermacchi 9 0
7 Frantisek Stastny Czechoslovakia Jawa 8 0
8 Bohumil Stasa Czechoslovakia ČZ 7 0
9 Bill Smith United Kingdom Honda 4 0
= Gilberto Milani Italy Aermacchi 4 0
= Brian Steenson United Kingdom Aermacchi 4 0
= Silvio Grassetti Italy Benelli 4 0
13 Billie Nelson United Kingdom Norton 3 0
14 Dan Shorey United Kingdom Norton 2 0
= John Cooper United Kingdom Seeley 2 0
= Karl Hoppe West Germany Aermacchi 2 0
= Bruno Spaggiari Italy Ducati 2 0
18 Jack Findlay Australia Aermacchi 1 0
= Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Kawasaki 1 0

250cc Standings
Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha 46 5
2 Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha 46 5
3 Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ 32 0
4 Rodney Gould United Kingdom Yamaha 21 0
5 Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco 19 0
6 Renzo Pasolini Italy Benelli 10 0
7 Santiago Herrero Spain Ossa 8 0
8 Kent Andersson Sweden Yamaha 6 0
9 Malcolm Uphill United Kingdom Suzuki 5 0
= László Szabó Hungary MZ 5 0
= Jack Findlay Australia Bultaco 5 0
12 Carlos Giró-Vila Spain Ossa 3 0
= Gordon Keith Rhodesia Yamaha 3 0
14 Carlos Rocamora Spain Bultaco 2 0
= Gilberto Milani Italy Aermacchi 2 0
16 Paul Eickelberg West Germany Aermacchi 1 0
= Bill Smith United Kingdom Yamaha 1 0
= Gyula Marsovsky Switzerland Bultaco 1 0
= Rex Butcher United Kingdom Suzuki 1 0

125cc Standings
Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha 40 6
2 Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha 34 2
3 Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco 15 0
4 Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ 12 0
5 Salvador Cañellas Spain Bultaco 11 1
6 László Szabó Hungary MZ 11 0
= Dieter Braun West Germany MZ-Neckermann 11 0
8 Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki 10 0
9 Günter Bartusch East Germany MZ 8 0
10 Kel Carruthers Australia Honda 6 0
11 Tommy Robb United Kingdom Bultaco 5 0
12 Siegfried Möhringer West Germany MZ-Neckermann 4 0
= Jan Huberts Netherlands MZ 4 0
14 Walter Scheimann West Germany Honda 3 0
= Friedhelm Kohlar East Germany MZ 3 0
= Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Kawasaki 3 0
17 Kent Andersson Sweden MZ 2 0
= Gordon Keith Rhodesia Montesa 2 0
= Hartmut Bischoff East Germany MZ 2 0
= Lothar John West Germany MZ 2 0
= Jürgen Lenk East Germany MZ 2 0
= Thomas Heuschkel East Germany MZ 2 0
23 Pedro Alvarez Spain Bultaco 1 0
= Steve Murray United Kingdom Honda 1 0
= Giuseppe Visenzi Italy Montesa 1 0
= János Reisz Hungary MZ 1 0

50cc Standings
Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki 30 3
2 Paul Lodewijkx Netherlands Jamathi 17 1
3 Barry Smith Australia Derbi 15 1
4 Angel Nieto Spain Derbi 10 0
5 Rudolf Kunz West Germany Kreidler 6 0
= Chris Walpole United Kingdom Honda 6 0
= Rudolf Schmälzle West Germany Kreidler 6 0
8 Leslie Griffiths United Kingdom Honda 4 0
= Aalt Toersen Netherlands Kreidler 4 0
10 Ludwig Faßbender West Germany Kreidler 3 0
= Brian Lock United Kingdom Honda 3 0
= Jan de Vries Netherlands Kreidler 3 0
13 Cees van Dongen Netherlands Kreidler 2 0
= Carlos Giró-Vila Spain Derbi 2 0
= Jim Pink United Kingdom Honda 2 0
= Jos Schurgers Netherlands Kreidler 2 0
= Martin Mijwaart Netherlands Jamathi 2 0
18 Janco Florjan-Stefe Yugoslavia Tomos 1 0
= Francisco Cufi Spain Derbi 1 0
= Robin Udall United Kingdom Honda 1 0

References
  1. Walker, Mick (1999). Mick Walker's German Racing Motorcycles. Redline Books. p. 81. ISBN 0953131122.
  2. Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
  • Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
  • "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.
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