1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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 2024, 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	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	Guido Leoni		Tommy Wood	Umberto Masetti	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
2	27 May	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten		Dario Ambrosini	Leslie Graham	Fergus Anderson	Frigerio / Ricotti	Report
3	8 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Cromie McCandless	Tommy Wood	Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke		Report
4	1 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
5	7 July	Dutch TT	Assen	Gianni Leoni		Bill Doran	Geoff Duke		Report
6	14 July	French Grand Prix	Albi		Bruno Ruffo	Geoff Duke	Alfredo Milani	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
7	18 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Clady	Cromie McCandless †	Bruno Ruffo	Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke		Report
8	9 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Carlo Ubbiali	Enrico Lorenzetti	Geoff Duke	Alfredo Milani	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	ESP	SUI	MAN	BEL	HOL	FRA	ULS	NAC	Pts
1	Geoff Duke	Norton		Ret	1	1	1	5	1	4	35
2	Alfredo Milani	Gilera	Ret	Ret		2	2	1	4	1	31
3	Umberto Masetti	Gilera	1			9	Ret	4	3	2	21
4	Bill Doran	AJS			2	Ret	Ret	2	6	6	14
5	Nello Pagani	Gilera	Ret	Ret		5	10	3	8	3	10
6	Reg Armstrong	AJS		2	Ret	4		Ret	Ret		9
7	Fergus Anderson	Moto Guzzi	Ret	1		Ret	Ret	7			8
8	Enrico Lorenzetti	Norton / Moto Guzzi	Ret	3		8	3	9		Ret	8
9	Tommy Wood	Norton	2	11	14			16			6
10	Ken Kavanagh	Norton			Ret				2	Ret	6
11	Johnny Lockett	Norton			Ret	6	4	10	5	11	6
12	Carlo Bandirola	MV Agusta	5	4		Ret	Ret			9	5
13	Sante Geminiani	Moto Guzzi	Ret	Ret		3	Ret	13			4
14	Arciso Artesiani	MV Agusta	3	Ret			Ret			Ret	4
=	Cromie McCandless	Norton			3						4
16	Tommy McEwans	Norton			4						3
=	Roger Montané	Norton	4								3
18	Jack Brett	Norton				7	5	6	Ret	8	3
19	Bruno Ruffo	Moto Guzzi					Ret			5	2
20	Manliff Barrington	Norton			5						2
=	Benoit Musy	Moto Guzzi		5							2
22	Len Perry	Norton			9	12	6	Ret			1
23	Willy Lips	Norton		6							1
=	Ashley Len Parry	Norton			6						1
=	Ernesto Vidal	Gilera	6								1
26	Arthur Wheeler	Norton			Ret		7	14	11	Ret	0
27	Hans Baltisberger	Norton		7							0
=	Eric Briggs	Norton			7						0
=	Louis Carter	Norton							7		0
=	Libero Liberati	Gilera								7	0
31	Albert Moule	Norton			8				9		0
32	Bill Petch	AJS/ Norton	Ret				Ret	8	Ret	15	0
33	Lous van Riswijk	Triumph				Ret	8				0
34	Massimo Forster	Gilera		8							0
35	Väinö Hollming	Norton / Moto Guzzi		9		Ret					0
36	Cees Fokke-Bosch	Norton					9				0
37	Rod Coleman	Norton / AJS			Ret	10		11	Ret	Ret	0
38	Sidney Mason	Norton		10		Ret					0
39	Ken Armstrong	Norton								10	0
=	Phil Carter	Norton							10		0
=	Les Dear	Norton			10						0
42	Ray Amm	Norton			28	11	11	12		12	0
43	Guy Newman	Norton			11						0
44	Jack Bailey	Norton			Ret				12		0
=	Roy Evans	Norton / AJS			12				Ret		0
46	Alexandre Mayer	Norton		12							0
47	Harold Grindley	Norton			Ret				13		0
48	Dante Bianchi	Moto Guzzi								13	0
=	Dennis Lashmar	Norton			13						0
50	Maurice Acheson	AJS							14		0
=	Giuseppe Colnago	Gilera								14	0
=	Auguste Goffin	Norton				14					0
53	Bill Hall	Velocette			Ret				15		0
54	Jean Behra	Moto Guzzi						15			0
=	León Martin	Gilera				15					0
=	Roy Walker	Velocette			15						0
57	Giulie Galbiati	Moto Guzzi	Ret			17		Ret		16	0
58	Felice Benasedo	Moto Guzzi	Ret		31	16	Ret			Ret	0
59	Robert Ferguson	AJS							16		0
=	Sid Franklen	AJS			16						0
61	Ernie Barrett	AJS			Ret			17			0
62	Syl Anderton	Norton			17						0
=	Lodovico Facchinelli	Gilera								17	0
=	Jack Harding	AJS							17		0
65	Georges Houel	Gilera	Ret					18			0
66	Charlie Gray	AJS			18						0
=	George Brockerton	Bitza							18		0
=	Jaak Delsing	Triumph				18					0
69	Leo Starr	AJS			27				19		0
70	Ernie Thomas	Velocette / Norton		Ret		19				Ret	0
71	George Paterson	AJS			19						0
72	Sven Sørensen	Norton			20						0
=	Albert Vertriest	Triumph				20					0
74	Evert Carlsson	Norton				21					0
=	Ronald Pike	BSA			21						0
76	Ray Petty	Norton			22						0
77	Arnold Jones	Norton			23						0
78	Achie Fenn	Norton			24						0
79	Jim Kentish	AJS			25						0
80	Humphrey Ranson	AJS / Norton			26					Ret	0
81	Eddie Stidolph	Norton			29						0
82	Max Klein	AJS			30						0
83	Leslie Harris	Norton			32					Ret	0
84	Ernie Braine	Norton			33						0
85	John Fisher	Velocette			34						0
86	Joe Chapman	Rudge-Whitworth			35						0
87	Bill Maddrick	Velocette			36						0
88	J. Gunn	Norton			37						0
89	Bob McDonald	AJS			38						0
90	Bill Beevers	AJS / Norton	Ret		39						0
–	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta / Norton	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	0
–	Bruno Bertacchini	MV Agusta	Ret	Ret			Ret			Ret	0
–	Bob Matthews	Norton	Ret	Ret		Ret				Ret	0
–	Eric Oliver	Norton	Ret			Ret		Ret		Ret	0
–	Mick Featherstone	AJS			Ret	Ret					0
–	Charlie Salt	BSA / Velocette			Ret				Ret		0
–	Edouard Texidor	Norton				Ret				Ret	0
–	Javier de Ortueta	Norton	DNS		Ret						0
–	Fernando Aranda	Moto Guzzi	Ret								0
–	Raymond Becquevort	AJS	Ret								0
–	Gaetano Biondelli	Gilera			Ret						0
–	Charlie Brett	Norton			Ret						0
–	Charlie Bruguiere	AJS			Ret						0
–	Florian Camathias	BMW		Ret							0
–	Bernard Carter	Triumph			Ret						0
–	Phil Carter	Norton			Ret						0
–	Jacques Collot	Norton						Ret			0
–	Eugéne Cordang	Triumph				Ret					0
–	Georges Cordey	Norton		Ret							0
–	Firmin Dauwe	Norton				Ret					0
–	Julien Deronne	Norton	Ret								0
–	Jacques Drion	Norton								Ret	0
–	Roger Ergé	Norton				Ret					0
–	Lennart Fenning	Norton			Ret						0
–	Tito Forconi	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Frank Fry	Norton			Ret						0
–	Werner Gerber	Norton	Ret								0
–	Francesco Guglielminetti	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Eric Hardy	Norton			Ret						0
–	Philip Heath	Vincent					Ret				0
–	Johnny Hodgkin	Vincent			Ret						0
–	Chris Horn	Norton			Ret						0
–	Sid Lawton	AJS			Ret						0
–	George Leigh	Norton			Ret						0
–	Guido Leoni	Moto Guzzi	Ret								0
–	Harry Lindsay	Norton			Ret						0
–	Maurice Lockwood	AJS			Ret						0
–	Tony McAlpine	Gilera			Ret						0
–	Reg McDonald	Velocette			Ret						0
–	Stan Miller	Norton			Ret						0
–	Georges Monneret	Norton						Ret			0
–	George Morgan	Velocette			Ret						0
–	Ken Mudford	AJS			Ret						0
–	Alan Mullee	Norton			Ret						0
–	Bill Mundy	Norton			Ret						0
–	Arthur Pollitt	Norton			Ret						0
–	Brian Purslow	BSA							Ret		0
–	Jacques Raffeld	AJS	Ret								0
–	Michael Roche	Triumph							Ret		0
–	Elio Scopigno	Moto Guzzi		Ret							0
–	Oliver Scott	Norton			Ret						0
–	Ralf Seymour	Velocette			Ret						0
–	Cyril Stevens	Triumph			Ret						0
–	Heinrich Stamm	Gilera	Ret								0
–	Jack Varlow	AJS			Ret						0
–	Ernest Walker	Norton			Ret						0
–	Leonard Williams	Velocette			Ret						0
Pos	Rider	Bike	ESP	SUI	MAN	BEL	HOL	FRA	ULS	NAC	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	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

Constructors' 500cc World Championship

Pos	Constructor	Pts
1	Norton	38 (44)
2	Gilera	36 (40)
3	AJS	21 (23)
4	Moto Guzzi	18
5	MV Agusta	7
–	BMW	0
–	BSA	0
–	Rudge-Whitworth	0
–	Triumph	0
–	Velocette	0
–	Vincent	0

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Geoff Duke	United Kingdom	Norton	40	5
2	Bill Doran	United Kingdom	AJS	19	1
3	John Lockett	United Kingdom	Norton	19	0
4	Ken Kavanagh	Australia	Norton	16	0
5	Jack Brett	United Kingdom	Norton	15	0
6	Leslie Graham	United Kingdom	Velocette	14	1
7	Reg Armstrong	Ireland	AJS	11	0
8	Bill Petch	United Kingdom	AJS	10	0
9	Cecil Sandford	United Kingdom	Velocette	9	0
10	Tommy Wood	United Kingdom	Velocette	8	1
11	Bill Lomas	United Kingdom	Velocette	6	0
12	Rod Coleman	New Zealand	AJS	5	0
13	Mick Featherstone	United Kingdom	AJS	4	0
14	Fernando Aranda	Spain	Velocette	3	0
=	Paul Fuhrer	Switzerland	Velocette	3	0
16	Sid Mason	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Jack Raffeld	Belgium	Velocette	2	0
=	Simon Sandys-Winsch	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
19	Johnny Grace	Gibraltar	Norton	1	0
=	Bob Matthews	Ireland	Velocette	1	0
=	Bob Foster	United Kingdom	Velocette	1	0
=	Leonhardt Faßl	Austria	AJS	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Bruno Ruffo	Italy	Moto Guzzi	22	2
2	Tommy Wood	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	18	1
3	Dario Ambrosini	Italy	Benelli	14	1
4	Enrico Lorenzetti	Italy	Moto Guzzi	12	1
5	Gianni Leoni	Italy	Moto Guzzi	10	0
6	Maurice Cann	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	6	0
=	Arthur Wheeler	United Kingdom	Velocette	6	0
8	Fergus Anderson	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Wilf Hutt	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Alano Montanari	Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Benoit Musy	Switzerland	Moto Guzzi	3	0
12	Bill Lomas	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Cecil Sandford	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Douglas Beasley	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Bruno Francisci	Italy	Moto Guzzi	2	0
16	Fron Purslow	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Norman Blemings	Ireland	Excelsior	1	0
=	Werner Gerber	Switzerland	Moto Guzzi	1	0
=	Nino Grieco	Italy	Parilla	1	0
=	Guido Paciocca	Italy	Moto Guzzi	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts
1	Carlo Ubbiali	Mondial	2^F	2		1^F	20
2	Gianni Leoni	Mondial		3	1^F		12
3	Cromie McCandless	Mondial		1^F		4	11
4	Luigi Zinzani	Morini			2	3	10
5	Guido Leoni	Mondial	1				8
6	Vittorio Zanzi	Morini	3		4		7
7	Romolo Ferri	Mondial				2	6
8	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta			3		4
9	Juan Bultó	Montesa	5	5			4
10	Raffaele Alberti	Mondial	4				3
10	Nello Pagani	Mondial		4			3
12	Franco Bertoni	MV Agusta			5		2
12	Otello Spadoni	Mondial				5	2
14	José Antonio Elizalde	Mondial	6				1
14	José Maria Llobet	Montesa		6			1
14	Emilio Mendogni	Morini			6		1
14	Giuseppe Matucci	MV Agusta				6	1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts

Race key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	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)
Annotation	Meaning
P	Pole position
F	Fastest lap
Rider key
Colour	Meaning
Light blue	Rookie rider

Constructors' standings

Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

Pos.	Constructor	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts
1	Mondial	1	1	1	1	24 (32)
2	Morini	3		2	3	14
3	MV Agusta			3	6	5
4	Montesa	5	5			4
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts

References

Haefliger, Werner. FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-2-9701086-8-9.
Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
"The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2010-07-06.