1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 18th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 17 October.

Season summary

Honda stepped up their racing program with a new four-cylinder 500cc bike, as well as bikes in the four smaller classes. Despite Honda's increased efforts, Suzuki would claim the 50cc title with Hans-Georg Anscheidt winning the championship from Honda's Luigi Taveri at the last race of the season in Japan. Yamaha would battle Honda all season for the 125 crown, each factory taking five wins, with Honda's Taveri taking the title from Yamaha's Bill Ivy.

Mike Hailwood, having left the MV Agusta team to ride for Honda, stormed to the 250 crown, winning the first eight races of the season, as Phil Read struggled with Yamaha's new v-four race bike. Hailwood would make it a double when he also claimed the 350 class ahead of MV Agusta's Giacomo Agostini. Honda's plan was for Jim Redman to lead their 500 class campaign before he retired. All started well with Redman winning the first two races of the year however, Honda's hopes were dashed when he crashed in the rain in Belgium and broke his wrist. This gave Agostini the championship lead, which he held despite Hailwood taking three of the last six races. Honda took some consolation by winning all five constructor's titles for a clean sweep.

1966 Grand Prix season calendar

Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 50cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Sidecars 500cc winner Report
1 8 May Spain Spanish Grand Prix Montjuïc circuit Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Report
2 22 May West Germany West German Grand Prix Hockenheimring West Germany Hans-Georg Anscheidt Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Rhodesia Jim Redman Switzerland United Kingdom Scheidegger / Robinson Report
3 29 May France French Grand Prix Charade Circuit United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Switzerland United Kingdom Scheidegger / Robinson Report
4 25 June Netherlands Dutch TT TT Circuit Assen Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Rhodesia Jim Redman Switzerland United Kingdom Scheidegger / Robinson Report
5 3 July Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Italy Giacomo Agostini Switzerland United Kingdom Scheidegger / Robinson Report
6 17 July East Germany East German Grand Prix Sachsenring Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Italy Giacomo Agostini Czechoslovakia Frantisek Stastny Report
7 24 July Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Masaryk Circuit Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Report
8 7 August Finland Finnish Grand Prix Imatra Circuit United Kingdom Phil Read United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Italy Giacomo Agostini Report
9 20 August Northern Ireland Ulster Grand Prix Dundrod Circuit Switzerland Luigi Taveri New Zealand Ginger Molloy United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Report
10 2 September Isle of Man Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain Northern Ireland Ralph Bryans United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Italy Giacomo Agostini United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Switzerland United Kingdom Scheidegger / Robinson Report
11 11 September Italy Nations Grand Prix Monza West Germany Hans-Georg Anscheidt Switzerland Luigi Taveri United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Italy Giacomo Agostini Italy Giacomo Agostini Report
12 17 October Japan Japanese Grand Prix Fuji Speedway Japan Yoshimi Katayama United Kingdom Bill Ivy Japan Hiroshi Hasegawa United Kingdom Phil Read Report

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best of four were counted on 50cc championships, best of five in 350cc and 500cc championships, best of six in 125cc and 250cc championships, while in the Sidecars, only the best of three races were counted.

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

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine GER
Germany
HOL
Netherlands
BEL
Belgium
DDR
East Germany
CZE
Czech Republic
FIN
Finland
ULS
Northern Ireland
MAN
Isle of Man
NAC
Italy
Pts
1 Italy Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 2 2 1 Ret 2 1 2 2 1 36 (54)
2 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Honda Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 2 1 1 Ret 30
3 Australia Jack Findlay Matchless 11 6 Ret 2 4 3 4 8 3 20 (21)
4 Czech Republic Frantisek Stastny Jawa-CZ 3 Ret 1 Ret Ret 3 6 Ret 17
5 Rhodesia Jim Redman Honda 1 1 Ret 16
6 Switzerland Gyula Marsovszky Matchless 3 7 4 5 3 7 8 8 13
7 Australia Jack Ahearn Norton 8 9 3 3 5 4 Ret 13
8 United Kingdom Stuart Graham Matchless 4 5 2 Ret Ret Ret 11
9 United Kingdom Peter Williams Matchless / AJS 9 6 7 2 7
10 United Kingdom Chris Conn Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 3 Ret 6
11 United Kingdom Ron Chandler Matchless Ret 6 4 5 Ret 6
12 United Kingdom John Cooper Norton Ret 4 Ret 7 Ret Ret 3
13 United Kingdom Fred Stevens Paton / Matchless / Metisse Ret 8 14 Ret Ret 8 12 12 4 3
14 United Kingdom John Blanchard Seeley / Matchless Ret 4 3
15 United Kingdom Lewis Young Matchless 5 Ret 8 Ret 9 6 Ret 3
16 Australia Malcolm Stanton Norton 14 Ret Ret 5 10 Ret 2
17 Germany Walter Scheimann Norton 10 Ret Ret 14 5 2
18 United Kingdom John Mawby Norton 5 Ret 13 2
19 Austria Edy Lenz Matchless 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 2
20 Australia John Dodds Norton Ret 13 6 10 Ret Ret Ret 1
21 Australia Eric Hinton Norton Ret 6 Ret 1
22 United Kingdom Dan Shorey Norton 7 12 11 8 13 Ret 19 Ret 0
23 Sweden Bo Granath Matchless 7 Ret 12 9 0
24 United Kingdom Derek Lee Matchless Ret Ret 17 Ret 7 0
25 United Kingdom Joe Dunphy Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 0
26 Wales Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 7 Ret 0
27 United Kingdom Billie Nelson Norton 9 Ret 9 8 12 Ret 0
28 Northern Ireland Billy McCosh Matchless 10 9 0
29 Czech Republic Gustav Havel Jawa-CZ Ret 11 14 11 Ret 9 Ret 0
30 France Philippe Canoui Matchless Ret Ret 9 0
31 Sweden Agne Carlsson Matchless 10 Ret 10 0
32 Australia Kel Carruthers Norton Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 13 11 Ret 0
33 Australia Len Atlee Norton Ret 10 Ret 15 21 0
34 Sweden Billy Andersson Matchless 11 16 0
35 Hungary György Kurucz Norton 11 Ret 0
36 Italy Giuseppe Dardanello Norton 11 0
= United Kingdom Robin Fitton Norton 11 0
38 United Kingdom Maurice Hawthorne Norton 12 18 10 0
39 Canada David Lloyd Norton Ret 12 20 0
40 Italy Vasco Loro Norton 12 0
41 Finland Pentti Lehtelä Norton Ret 15 13 0
42 Australia Jack Saunders Matchless 13 20 Ret 0
43 Germany Karl Hoppe Matchless Ret 13 Ret 0
44 United Kingdom George Fogarty Matchless 13 0
45 United Kingdom Roly Capner Matchless 14 0
= United Kingdom Barry Scully Norton 14 0
47 United Kingdom Godfrey Nash Norton 15 0
= United Kingdom Charlie Sanby Norton 15 0
49 Austria Rudi Thalhammer Seeley / Norton / Matchless Ret 16 Ret Ret 0
= Switzerland Ernst Weiss Matchless Ret Ret 16 Ret 0
51 United Kingdom Peter Sheppard Norton 16 0
52 Canada Roger Beaumont Norton Ret Ret Ret 17 Ret 0
53 New Zealand Neville Landrebe Matchless 17 0
54 United Kingdom Dennis Gallagher Matchless 18 Ret 0
55 Australia Tom Gill Matchless 19 Ret 0
56 New Zealand Ray Breingan Norton 21 Ret 0
57 Canada Stuart Morin Norton Ret Ret 22 0
58 Northern Ireland Terence Taylor Norton 22 0
59 Northern Ireland Brian Taggart Norton 23 0
= United Kingdom Carl Ward Norton 23 0
61 United States Byron Black Matchless 24 28 0
62 United Kingdom Dave Williams Norton 24 0
63 United Kingdom Steve Jolly Norton 25 0
64 United Kingdom Peter Darvill Matchless 26 0
65 United Kingdom Dave Duncan Matchless 27 0
66 United Kingdom Les Kempster Norton 29 0
67 United Kingdom Jim Ashton Matchless 30 0
68 United Kingdom Laurence Povey Norton 31 0
69 United Kingdom Harry Reynolds Matchless 32 0
- South Africa Ian Burne Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0
- United Kingdom Griff Jenkins Norton / Dunstall Ret Ret Ret 0
- United Kingdom John Denty Norton Ret Ret 0
- Rhodesia Owen Howard Matchless Ret Ret 0
- United Kingdom Derek Minter Seeley / Matchless Ret Ret 0
- New Zealand Johnny Wales Norton Ret Ret 0
- Republic of Ireland Stan Adams Norton Ret 0
- Germany Hartmut Allner BMW Ret 0
- Sweden Kent Andersson Husqvarna Ret 0
- France Alain Barbaroux Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Roy Bisbey Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom David Brown Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Rex Butcher Norton Ret 0
- Germany Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW Ret 0
- United Kingdom Kel Carlsson Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Conway Chivers Norton Ret 0
- Belgium Guy Cooremans Norton Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Davy Crawford Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Dave Croxford Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Brian Dennis Velocette Ret 0
- Italy Gianfranco Domeniconi Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Vincent Duckett Matchless Ret 0
- Canada Mike Duff Matchless Ret 0
- Germany Fritjof Eccarius Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Steve Ellis Matchless Ret 0
- South Africa Ray Flack Norton Ret 0
- Japan Toshio Fujii Norton Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Robert Graham AJS Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Billie Guthrie Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Albert Haddock Triumph Ret 0
- United Kingdom Trevor Holdsworth Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Alan Hunter Norton Ret 0
- Australia David Johnson Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom David Jones BSA Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Jimmy Jones Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Ken Kay Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Reay Mackay Vincent HRD Ret 0
- United Kingdom Tony McGurk Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Michael McStay Norton Ret 0
- Germany Helmut Morgenstern Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Albert Moule Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Frank Mumford Norton Ret 0
- Finland Tauno Nurmi Norton Ret 0
- Netherlands Bert Oosterhuis Norton Ret 0
- Italy Giovanni Perrone Bianchi Ret 0
- United Kingdom Alan Prange Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Norman Price Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Tom Read Norton Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Robert Reid Norton Ret 0
- Finland Jouko Ryhänen Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Tony Rutter Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Alf Shaw Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom John Simmonds Norton Ret 0
- Norway Lars Skjelfoss Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Bill Smith Matchless Ret 0
- South Africa Hans Sommerhalder Matchless Ret 0
- United Kingdom Adrian Spooner Norton Ret 0
- Wales Malcolm Uphill Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Brian Walmsley Norton Ret 0
- Australia Ron Wilson Norton Ret 0
- Northern Ireland Tony Wood Norton Ret 0
- United Kingdom Derek Woodman Matchless Ret 0
- Italy Benedetto Zambotti Norton Ret 0
Pos Rider Bike GER
Germany
HOL
Netherlands
BEL
Belgium
DDR
East Germany
CZE
Czech Republic
FIN
Finland
ULS
Ulster
MAN
United Kingdom
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 Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Honda 48 6
2 Italy Giacomo Agostini Italy MV Agusta 42 3
3 Italy Renzo Pasolini Italy Aermacchi 17 0
4 Czechoslovakia Frantisek Stastny Czechoslovakia Jawa 13 0
5 Czechoslovakia Gustav Havel Czechoslovakia Jawa 12 0
6 Italy Alberto Pagani Italy Aermacchi 11 0
7 East Germany Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ 10 0
8 United Kingdom Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha 8 1
9 Australia Jack Ahearn Australia Norton 8 0
10 Rhodesia Bruce Beale Rhodesia Honda 7 0
11 Italy Tarquinio Provini Italy Benelli 6 0
= United Kingdom Peter Williams United Kingdom AJS 6 0
= United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha 6 0
14 Italy Silvio Grassetti Italy Bianchi 6 0
15 Rhodesia Jim Redman Rhodesia Honda 4 0
= United Kingdom Tommy Robb United Kingdom Bultaco 4 0
= United Kingdom Chris Conn United Kingdom Norton 4 0
18 Italy Gilberto Milani Italy Aermacchi 3 0
= United Kingdom Stuart Graham United Kingdom AJS 3 0
= Australia Kel Carruthers Australia Norton 3 0
= United Kingdom Byron Black United Kingdom Honda 3 0
22 Czechoslovakia Frantisek Bocek Czechoslovakia Jawa 3 0
23 United Kingdom Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Honda-Norton 2 0
= Japan Kenzo Muromachi Japan Honda 2 0
25 United Kingdom John Blanchard United Kingdom AJS 1 0
= United Kingdom Joe Dunphy United Kingdom Norton 1 0
= Sweden Kent Andersson Sweden Husqvarna 1 0

250cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Honda 56 10
2 United Kingdom Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha 34 0
3 Rhodesia Jim Redman Rhodesia Honda 20 0
4 United Kingdom Derek Woodman United Kingdom MZ 18 0
5 United Kingdom Stuart Graham United Kingdom Honda 15 0
6 East Germany Heinz Rosner East Germany MZ 15 0
7 Australia Jack Findlay Australia Bultaco 14 0
8 Czechoslovakia Frantisek Stastny Czechoslovakia Jawa 11 0
9 Canada Mike Duff Canada Yamaha 9 0
10 New Zealand Ginger Molloy New Zealand Bultaco 8 1
= Japan Hiroshi Hasegawa Japan Yamaha 8 1
12 Switzerland Gyula Marsovsky Switzerland Bultaco 8 0
13 United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha 5 0
14 Italy Renzo Pasolini Italy Aermacchi 4 0
= Australia Kevin Cass Australia Bultaco 4 0
= United Kingdom Peter Inchley United Kingdom Villiers 4 0
= Italy Alberto Pagani Italy Aermacchi 4 0
= Japan Akiyasu Motohashi Japan Yamaha 4 0
19 Rhodesia Bruce Beale Rhodesia Honda 4 0
20 Sweden Kent Andersson Sweden Husqvarna 4 0
21 United Kingdom Selwyn Griffiths United Kingdom Royal Enfield 3 0
22 United Kingdom Tommy Robb United Kingdom Bultaco 3 0
23 United Kingdom Chris Anderson United Kingdom Yamaha 2 0
= United Kingdom Jim Curry United Kingdom Honda 2 0
25 West Germany Günter Beer West Germany Honda 1 0
= France Daniel Lhéraud France Yamaha 1 0
= Australia Len Atlee Australia Cotton 1 0
= United Kingdom Bill Smith United Kingdom Bultaco 1 0
= Italy Giuseppe Visenzi Italy Aermacchi 1 0

125cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland Honda 46 5
2 United Kingdom Bill Ivy United Kingdom Yamaha 40 4
3 United Kingdom Ralph Bryans United Kingdom Honda 32 0
4 United Kingdom Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha 29 1
5 New Zealand Hugh Anderson New Zealand Suzuki 15 0
6 Japan Yoshimi Katayama Japan Suzuki 14 0
7 United Kingdom Frank Perris United Kingdom Suzuki 10 0
8 Japan Akiyasu Motohashi Japan Yamaha 5 0
9 Canada Mike Duff Canada Yamaha 4 0
= Japan Mitsuo Itoh Japan Suzuki 4 0
11 United Kingdom Tommy Robb United Kingdom Yamaha 3 0
12 Italy Francesco Villa Italy Montesa 2 0
= West Germany Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki 2 0
= United Kingdom Peter Williams United Kingdom EMC 2 0
15 Spain José Medrano Spain Bultaco 1 0
= West Germany Herbert Mann West Germany MZ 1 0
= United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Honda 1 0
= East Germany Friedhelm Kohlar East Germany MZ 1 0
= East Germany Hartmut Bischoff East Germany MZ 1 0
= West Germany Walter Scheimann West Germany Honda 1 0
= Japan Yasuharu Yuzawa Japan Yamaha 1 0

50cc Standings

Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1 West Germany Hans-Georg Anscheidt West Germany Suzuki 28 2
2 United Kingdom Ralph Bryans United Kingdom Honda 26 1
3 Switzerland Luigi Taveri Switzerland Honda 26 2
4 New Zealand Hugh Anderson New Zealand Suzuki 16 0
5 Japan Yoshimi Katayama Japan Suzuki 10 1
6 Australia Barry Smith Australia Derbi 3 0
= West Germany Ernst Degner West Germany Suzuki 3 0
= Japan Mitsuo Itoh Japan Suzuki 3 0
9 Spain Angel Nieto Spain Derbi 2 0
= West Germany Oswald Dittrich West Germany Kreidler 2 0
= United Kingdom Brian Gleed United Kingdom Honda 2 0
= United Kingdom Tommy Robb United Kingdom Bridgestone 2 0
13 Netherlands Cees van Dongen Netherlands Kreidler 1 0
= Japan Isao Morishita Japan Bridgestone 1 0
= United Kingdom Dave Simmonds United Kingdom Honda 1 0
= Switzerland André Roth Switzerland Derbi 1 0
= Australia Jack Findlay Australia Bridgestone 1 0

This page was last updated at 2024-01-31 10:41 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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