1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Bill Lomas (left) and John Surtees (right), the 1956 350cc and 500cc World Champion respectively.
Carlo Ubbiali, the 1956 125cc and 250cc World Champion.

The 1956 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the eighth F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of six Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 June, with Isle of Man TT and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 9 September.

1956 Grand Prix season calendar

Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Sidecars 500cc winner Report
1 8 June Isle of Man Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy Carlo Ubbiali Australia Ken Kavanagh United Kingdom John Surtees Germany Hillebrand / Grunwald Report
2 30 June Netherlands Dutch TT TT Circuit Assen Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy Carlo Ubbiali United Kingdom Bill Lomas United Kingdom John Surtees Germany Hillebrand / Grunwald Report
3 8 July Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy Carlo Ubbiali United Kingdom John Surtees United Kingdom John Surtees Germany Noll / Cron Report
4 22 July West Germany German Grand Prix Solitude Italy Romolo Ferri Italy Carlo Ubbiali United Kingdom Bill Lomas Republic of Ireland Reg Armstrong Germany Noll / Cron Report
5 11 August Northern Ireland Ulster Grand Prix Dundrod Circuit Italy Carlo Ubbiali Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Bill Lomas United Kingdom John Hartle Germany Noll / Cron Report
6 9 September Italy Nations Grand Prix Monza Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy Libero Liberati United Kingdom Geoff Duke Italy Milani / Milani Report

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the four best races were counted in all five classes: the Sidecars, 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th 
Points 8 6 4 3 2 1

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine MAN
United Kingdom
HOL
Netherlands
BEL
Belgium
GER
Germany
ULS
Ulster
NAC
Italy
Pts
1 United Kingdom John Surtees MV Agusta 1 1 1 24
2 Germany Walter Zeller BMW 4 2 2 Ret Ret 6 16
3 United Kingdom John Hartle Norton 2 1 14
4 France Pierre Monneret Gilera 3 3 3 12
5 Republic of Ireland Reg Armstrong Gilera Ret 1 Ret 4 11
6 Italy Umberto Masetti MV Agusta DNS Ret 4 2 Ret 9
7 United Kingdom Geoff Duke Gilera Ret Ret Ret 1 8
8 Australia Bob Brown Matchless Ret 2 6
9 Italy Libero Liberati Gilera 2 6
10 South Africa Eddie Grant Norton 37 3 11 5 6
11 United Kingdom Jack Brett Norton 3 6 5
12 New Zealand Peter Murphy Matchless Ret 3 4
13 Australia Keith Bryen Norton Ret 4 10 6 4
14 Austria Gerold Klinger BMW 4 9 3
15 United Kingdom Geoffrey Tanner Norton Ret 4 3
16 Italy Alfredo Milani Gilera 5 8 2
17 United Kingdom Bill Lomas Moto Guzzi 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 2
18 New Zealand Paul Fahey Matchless Ret 5 Ret Ret 2
19 Italy Carlo Bandirola MV Agusta 5 2
= Northern Ireland Wilf Herron Norton 5 2
21 Germany Ernst Hiller BMW 6 8 10 1
22 Isle of Man Derek Ennett Matchless 6 1
= Belgium Auguste Goffin Norton 6 1
24 United Kingdom Alan Trow Norton 7 9 0
25 Canada Gerald Robarts Norton 15 7 0
26 Australia Barry Hodgkinson Norton 22 Ret 7 Ret 0
27 Germany Alois Huber BMW RS 7 Ret 0
28 Northern Ireland Austin Carson Norton 7 0
= Italy Roberto Colombo MV Agusta 7 0
30 United Kingdom John Storr Norton 8 Ret 12 0
31 United Kingdom Dave Chadwick Norton 23 8 0
32 Netherlands Piet Bakker Norton 8 0
= New Zealand Gavin Dunlop Matchless 8 0
34 Isle of Man Jackie Wood Velocette / Norton 24 Ret 9 Ret 0
35 Northern Ireland Bob Matthews Norton 9 Ret 0
36 Netherlands Priem Rozenberg BMW 9 0
= United Kingdom George Salt Norton 9 0
38 United Kingdom Dennis Chapman Norton 10 11 0
39 New Zealand Frederick Cook Matchless 18 10 13 17 0
40 Northern Ireland Angus Martin Matchless Ret 10 0
41 France Jacques Collot Norton Manx 10 Ret 0
42 Germany Ernst Riedelbauch BMW Ret 11 11 0
43 United Kingdom Ralph Rensen Norton 11 13 0
44 Netherlands Casper Swart Norton 11 0
45 Gibraltar John Grace Norton Ret Ret 12 0
= Germany Hans-Günther Jäger Norton Ret Ret 12 0
47 United Kingdom Stephen Murray Norton 12 0
= Northern Ireland Mike O'Rourke Norton 12 0
49 Italy Giuseppe Cantoni MV Agusta 13 0
= Isle of Man George Costain Norton 13 0
= Germany Peter Knees BMW 13 0
52 Wales Frank Perris Matchless 14 Ret 0
53 Republic of Ireland Michael Roche Norton DNS 14 0
= Germany Hans-Joachim Scheel Norton 14 0
= Northern Ireland Harry Turner Norton 14 0
56 Sweden Ulf Gate Norton 15 0
= Belgium Pierre Nicholas Norton 15 0
= United Kingdom Des Sloan Norton 15 0
59 Isle of Man Frank Fox Norton 16 0
= United Kingdom Bill Roberton Matchless 16 0
= Germany Berthold Sieler Norton 16 0
62 Northern Ireland Martin Brosnan BSA 17 0
= United Kingdom Harry Plews Norton 17 0
64 United Kingdom Harry Lowe BSA 41 18 0
= Germany Karl-Heinz Scheifel Norton 18 0
66 Northern Ireland Phil Carter Norton 19 0
= Northern Ireland Stanley Williamson Norton 19 0
68 United Kingdom Denis Christian Matchless 20 0
69 Guernsey Ken Tostevin Matchless 21 Ret 0
70 United Kingdom Ken Tully Norton 25 0
71 Northern Ireland Bob Ferguson Matchless 26 0
72 United Kingdom Louis Carr Matchless 27 0
73 United Kingdom Brian Duffy Norton 28 Ret 0
74 United Kingdom Albert Moule Norton 29 0
75 Australia Dick Thomson Matchless 30 Ret 0
76 United Kingdom Llewelyn Ranson Norton 31 0
77 East Africa Protectorate Vic Preston Norton 32 0
78 United Kingdom Bill Beevers Norton 33 0
79 United Kingdom Ken Willis Norton 34 0
80 South Africa James Edwards Norton 35 0
81 New Zealand George Begg AJS 36 Ret 0
82 United Kingdom Joe Glazebrook Norton 38 0
83 Colombia E. Barona Norton 39 0
84 United Kingdom Walter Hancock BSA 40 0
85 New Zealand Stan Cameron AJS 42 0
86 Dominion of Ceylon Ralph Wijesinghe BSA 43 0
87 United Kingdom Roly Capner BSA 44 0
88 United Kingdom John Denton Norton 45 0
- Australia Keith Campbell Norton / Moto Guzzi Ret Ret Ret 0
- Germany Günther Borgesdiek Norton Ret Ret 0
- New Zealand Robert Coleman Norton Ret Ret 0
- Spain Francisco González Norton Ret Ret 0
- Australia Ken Kavanagh Moto Guzzi DNS Ret Ret DNS 0
- Sweden Olle Nygren Matchless Ret Ret 0
- Netherlands Leen Reehorst Jawa Ret Ret 0
- Netherlands Martinus van Son Matchless Ret Ret 0
- Sweden Sven Andersson Norton Ret 0
- France Jean-Pierre Bayle Norton Ret 0
- Belgium Raymond Bogaerdt Norton Ret 0
- Germany Buno Böhrer Horex Ret 0
- Italy Paolo Campanelli Gilera Ret 0
- United Kingdom George Catlin Norton Ret 0
- Italy Artemio Cirelli Gilera Ret 0
- United Kingdom John Clark Matchless Ret 0
- New Zealand Robert Cook BSA Ret 0
- United Kingdom Ronald Cousins Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Dickie Dale Moto Guzzi Ret 0
- Belgium Firmin Dawue Norton Ret 0
- Italy Gerardo Düring Matchless Ret 0
- Netherlands Anton Elbersen Matchless Ret 0
- Germany Karl-Heinz Ewig Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Ray Fay BSA Ret 0
- United Kingdom Robin Fitton Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Brian Freestone Norton Ret 0
- Italy Enrico Galante Norton Ret 0
- Italy Martino Giani Gilera Ret 0
- Italy Francesco Guglielminetti Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom William Hall Norton Ret 0
- Czech Republic Gustav Havel Jawa Ret 0
- Czech Republic Frantisek Helikar Jawa Ret 0
- Australia Eric Hinton Norton DNS Ret 0
- Netherlands Jaap Iesberts Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Roy Ingram BSA Ret 0
- United Kingdom Arnold Jones Matchless Ret 0
- Netherlands Kees Koster Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom George Leigh Norton Ret 0
= Canada Ivor Lloyd Norton Ret 0
= Italy Giuseppe Mantelli Gilera Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Robert McCracken Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Bob McIntyre Norton Ret 0
- Belgium Jules Nies Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Frank Norris Norton Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Ernie Oliver Norton Ret 0
- Italy Sergio Pinza Moto Guzzi Ret 0
- United Kingdom Maurice Pizzey Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Derek Powell Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Charlie Salt BSA Ret 0
- United Kingdom Brian Setchell AJS Ret 0
- United Kingdom Terry Shepherd Norton Ret 0
- Netherlands Lodewijk Simons Norton Ret 0
- Czech Republic František Šťastný Jawa Ret 0
- United Kingdom Ken Swallow Matchless Ret 0
- Netherlands Gerrit Ten Kate Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Gerry Turner Pike-BSA Ret 0
- Netherlands Drikus Veer Jawa Ret 0
- Canada John Waring Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Arthur Wheeler Moto Guzzi Ret 0
- India Jack Wilks BSA Ret 0
- United Kingdom Trevor Williams Norton Ret 0
- New Zealand Len Aislabie Norton DNS 0
- New Zealand Rod Coleman Norton DNS 0
- United Kingdom Robert King Norton DNS 0
- United Kingdom Derek Minter BSA DNS 0
- Morocco E. Muñoz Norton DNS 0
- Morocco M. Muñoz Norton DNS 0
- United Kingdom George Northwood BSA DNS 0
- United Kingdom Tony Ovens Norton DNS 0
- Canada H. Wieland Norton DNS 0
- Republic of Ireland J. Woods Norton DNS 0
Pos Rider Bike MAN
United Kingdom
HOL
Netherlands
BEL
Belgium
GER
Germany
ULS
Ulster
NAC
Italy
Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Points finish
Blue Non-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple Retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 United Kingdom Bill Lomas United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 24 3
2 United Kingdom Dickie Dale United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 17 0
= West Germany August Hobl Germany DKW 17 0
4 United Kingdom John Surtees United Kingdom MV Agusta 14 1
5 United Kingdom Cecil Sandford United Kingdom DKW 13 0
6 Australia Ken Kavanagh Australia Moto Guzzi 10 1
7 Italy Libero Liberati Italy Gilera 8 1
8 United Kingdom John Hartle United Kingdom Norton 8 0
9 United Kingdom Derek Ennett United Kingdom AJS 6 0
10 West Germany Karl Hofmann Germany DKW 6 0
11 Italy Roberto Colombo Italy MV Agusta 4 0
12 United Kingdom Jack Brett United Kingdom Norton 3 0
13 Netherlands Hans Bartl Netherlands DKW 3 0
14 Italy Umberto Masetti Italy MV Agusta 2 0
= New Zealand Peter Murphy New Zealand AJS 2 0
= South Africa Eddie Grant South Africa Norton 2 0
17 Australia Bob Brown Australia AJS 1 0
= United Kingdom Bob Matthews United Kingdom Norton 1 0
= United Kingdom Alan Trow United Kingdom Norton 1 0

250cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy MV Agusta 32 5
2 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland MV Agusta 26 1
3 Italy Enrico Lorenzetti Italy Moto Guzzi 10 0
4 Italy Roberto Colombo Italy MV Agusta 9 0
= West Germany Horst Kassner Germany NSU 9 0
6 Italy Remo Venturi Italy MV Agusta 8 0
7 United Kingdom Sammy Miller United Kingdom NSU 7 0
8 West Germany Hans Baltisberger Germany NSU 7 0
9 United Kingdom Arthur Wheeler United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 5 0
10 New Zealand Bob Coleman New Zealand NSU 3 0
= Netherlands Kees Koster Netherlands NSU 3 0
12 Czechoslovakia František Bartoš Czechoslovakia ČZ 2 0
= United Kingdom Bill Maddrick United Kingdom Moto Guzzi 2 0
= Netherlands Lo Simons Netherlands NSU 2 0
= Italy Alano Montanari Italy Moto Guzzi 2 0
= Australia Bob Brown Australia NSU 2 0
17 France Jean-Pierre Bayle France NSU 1 0
= Switzerland Maurice Büla Switzerland NSU 1 0
= West Germany Roland Heck Germany NSU 1 0
= Czechoslovakia Jiří Koštíř Czechoslovakia ČZ 1 0

125cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Italy Carlo Ubbiali Italy MV Agusta 32 5
2 Italy Romolo Ferri Italy Gilera 14 1
3 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland MV Agusta 12 0
4 Italy Tarquinio Provini Italy Mondial 10 0
5 Italy Fortunato Libanori Italy MV Agusta 9 0
6 Spain Marcelo Cama Spain Montesa 6 0
7 West Germany August Hobl Germany DKW 6 0
8 West Germany Karl Hofman Germany DKW 5 0
9 France Pierre Monneret France Gilera 4 0
= Spain Francisco Gonzalez Spain Montesa 4 0
= Italy Renato Sartori Italy Mondial 4 0
= United Kingdom Bill Webster United Kingdom MV Agusta 4 0
13 United Kingdom Cecil Sandford United Kingdom Mondial 4 0
14 Spain Enrico Sirera Spain Montesa 3 0
= United Kingdom Bill Maddrick United Kingdom MV Agusta 3 0
16 Italy Sandro Artusi Italy Ducati 2 0
= United Kingdom Dave Chadwick United Kingdom LEF 2 0
= United Kingdom Frank Cope United Kingdom MV Agusta 2 0
= Czechoslovakia František Bartoš Czechoslovakia ČZ 1 0
= Gibraltar Johnny Grace Gibraltar Montesa 1 0
= Czechoslovakia Vaclav Parus Czechoslovakia ČZ 1 0

This page was last updated at 2023-07-01 21:51 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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