1964 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1964 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 16th 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 2 February, with United States Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 1 November.

Season summary

Mike Hailwood sprinted to another 500 class win for MV Agusta, winning the first six races of the year and seven races overall. Honda's Jim Redman won all eight 350 class races against only token factory opposition.

The 250 class proved to be more difficult as Yamaha's Phil Read battled Redman all season long, with Read finally coming out on top, winning five races to Redman's three. Luigi Taveri won the 125 title for Honda while Suzuki's Hugh Anderson fought a season-long battle with Honda's Ralph Bryans to retain his 50cc crown.

1964 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	2 February	United States Grand Prix	Daytona Speedway	Hugh Anderson	Hugh Anderson	Alan Shepherd		Mike Hailwood		Report
2	10 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Luigi Taveri	Tarquinio Provini			Camathias / Föll	Report
3	17 May	French Grand Prix	Charade Circuit	Hugh Anderson	Luigi Taveri	Phil Read			Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Hugh Anderson	Luigi Taveri	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Deubel / Hörner	Report
5	27 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Ralph Bryans	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Seeley / Rawling	Report
6	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Ralph Bryans		Mike Duff		Mike Hailwood	Deubel / Hörner	Report
7	19 July	West German Grand Prix	Solitude	Ralph Bryans	Jim Redman	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
8	26 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Hugh Anderson	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
9	8 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Hugh Anderson	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Phil Read		Report
10	30 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit	Hugh Anderson	Luigi Taveri		Jim Redman	Jack Ahearn		Report
11	13 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza		Luigi Taveri	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
12	1 November	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit	Ralph Bryans †	Ernst Degner	Jim Redman	Jim Redman			Report

† Non-championship race.

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best of five races were counted in 50cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, best of six in 125cc and 250cc championships, while in the Sidecars, only 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	USA	MAN	HOL	BEL	GER	DDR	ULS	FIN	NAC	Pts
1	Mike Hailwood	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1			1	40 (56)
2	Jack Ahearn	Norton		14	4	4	2	6	3	1	3	25 (29)
3	Phil Read	Matchless / Norton	2	Ret	6	2	3	Ret	1			25
4	Mike Duff	Norton / Matchless	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	Ret	2	4	18
5	Paddy Driver	Matchless	5	26	3	3	Ret	3		5	Ret	16
6	Fred Stevens	Matchless / Norton		3	5	7	6	Ret	6	Ret	7	8
7	Gyula Marsovszky	Matchless		Ret		Ret	4			3	Ret	7
8	Remo Venturi	Bianchi			2		DNS				10	6
9	Benedicto Caldarella	Gilera	Ret		Ret	Ret					2	6
10	Derek Minter	Norton		2	Ret							6
11	Dick Creith	Norton							2			6
12	Nikolai Sevostianov	CKEB						4		4		6
13	Derek Woodman	Matchless		4	Ret	6	Ret	5	Ret	7	Ret	6
14	John Hartle	Norton	3									4
15	Jack Findlay	Matchless	Ret	13	Ret	5	Ret	8	Ret	9	5	4
16	Robin Fitton	Norton							4			3
17	Morry Low	Norton			Ret	Ret	5					2
18	Chris Conn	Norton		Ret					5			2
19	Griff Jenkins	Norton		5								2
20	Lewis Young	Matchless			14	Ret	9	16		6		1
21	Walter Scheimann	Norton		25	9	Ret	Ret				6	1
22	Billy McCosh	Matchless		6					9			1
23	Buddy Parriott	Norton	6									1
24	Gustav Havel	Jawa			Ret		Ret	7	Ret		Ret	0
25	Alberto Pagani	Bianchi			7		DNS				Ret	0
26	Joe Dunphy	Norton		Ret					7			0
27	Klaus Enders	Norton					7					0
=	George Rockett	BMW	7									0
=	Brian Setchell	Norton		7								0
30	Dan Shorey	Norton		17	8	9	Ret	10	10			0
31	Dennis Fry	Norton		35	Ret	Ret	8	15				0
32	Vernon Cottle	Norton			15	8	Ret	Ret				0
33	Syd Mizen	Dunstall Norton		Ret					8			0
34	Ed LaBelle	Norton	8									0
=	Ginger Molloy	Norton									8	0
=	Jouko Ryhänen	Matchless								8		0
=	Carl Ward	Norton		8								0
38	Sven-Olaf Gunnarsson	Norton		Ret	Ret		Ret	9		Ret		0
39	John Cooper	Norton		9					Ret			0
40	Brian Davis	AJS	9									0
=	Vasco Loro	Norton									9	0
42	Andreas Georgeades	Matchless		27			10					0
43	Roy Robinson	Norton				10	Ret	Ret				0
44	Thomas Gill	Matchless							Ret	10		0
=	Karl Recktenwald	Norton			10		Ret					0
46	Charles Williams	Triumph	10									0
=	Derek Lee	Matchless		10								0
48	Maurice Hawthorne	Norton					12	Ret			11	0
49	Keith King	Norton		30			11	14				0
50	Raymond Bogaerdt	Norton				11	Ret					0
=	Bror-Erland Carlsson	Matchless						11		Ret		0
52	Frantisek Stastny	Jawa			11		DNQ					0
53	Pete Bettison	Norton		11								0
=	Hannu Kuparinen	Matchless								11		0
=	Paul Whitaker	Norton	11									0
56	Aart Van Kooij	Norton			13	12	DNS	Ret				0
57	Trevor Ritchie	Norton		20					12			0
58	Ernst Hiller	Norton			12		Ret					0
=	Endel Kiisa	CKEB						12		Ret		0
60	Giuseppe Dardanello	Norton									12	0
=	Alan Harris	Matchless		12								0
=	Joe Tillman	BSA	12									0
=	Antero Ventoniemi	Norton								12		0
64	Bo Granath	Matchless					15	13	14	Ret		0
65	Ian Burne	Norton		22		13		Ret	Ret			0
66	Hans-Otto Butenuth	BMW		34			13					0
67	Jimmy Jones	Norton							13			0
=	Emanuele Maugliani	Gilera									13	0
69	Hartmut Allner	BMW					14					0
=	Benedetto Zambotti	Norton									14	0
71	Pietro Mencaglia	Gilera									15	0
=	Alf Shaw	Norton							15			0
=	John Simmonds	Norton		15								0
74	Hans-Jürgen Melcher	Norton					16					0
=	Joop Vogelzang	Norton			16							0
=	Don Watson	Norton		16								0
77	John Somers	Norton				Ret		17				0
78	Alan Dugalde	Matchless		18								0
79	Stuart Graham	Matchless		19								0
80	Billie Nelson	Norton		21								0
81	Vincent Duckett	Matchless		23								0
82	Jim Evans	Norton		24								0
83	Brian Walmsley	Matchless		28								0
84	Don Ellis	Matchless		29								0
85	Laurence Povey	Norton		31								0
86	Jimmy Morton	Matchless		32								0
87	Dave Duncan	Matchless		33								0
88	Frank Norris	F.A.N.		36								0
89	Roly Capner	Matchless		37								0
-	Alan Hunter	Matchless		Ret	Ret	Ret						0
-	Ernst Weiss	Norton					Ret	Ret	Ret			0
-	Pentti Lehtelä	Norton					DNQ	Ret		Ret		0
-	Heiner Butz	Norton				Ret	Ret					0
-	Agne Carlsson	Matchless						Ret		Ret		0
-	Roy Ingram	Norton		Ret	Ret							0
-	Stephen Murray	Matchless		Ret					Ret			0
-	Bill Roberton	Norton		Ret					Ret			0
-	Ron Robinson	Norton					Ret	Ret				0
-	William Sharp	BSA		Ret				Ret				0
-	Silvio Grassetti	Bianchi					DNS				Ret	0
-	Edy Lenz	Norton					DNQ	Ret				0
-	Rudolf Bergsleithner	Norton					Ret					0
-	Peter Bosarge	Honda	Ret									0
-	Geoff Bradburn	Norton		Ret								0
-	Stan Brassley	Norton		Ret								0
-	John Brown	Norton							Ret			0
-	Monty Buxton	Norton		Ret								0
-	Paolo Campanelli	Matchless									Ret	0
-	Philippe Canoui	Norton									Ret	0
-	Louis Carr	Matchless		Ret								0
-	Wester Cooley	Norton	Ret									0
-	James Courtney	Matchless							Ret			0
-	Colin Cross	Norton		Ret								0
-	Nigel Crossett	Matchless							Ret			0
-	Peter Darvill	Norton		Ret								0
-	Dave Degens	Matchless	Ret									0
-	Brian Dennis	Velocette		Ret								0
-	Raymond Flack	Norton							Ret			0
-	Ronald Föll	Matchless		Ret								0
-	Manfred Gäckle	Matchless					Ret					0
-	Maurice Gittins	Triumph		Ret								0
-	Tony Godfrey	Norton		Ret								0
-	Bill Hawthorne	BSA		Ret								0
-	Jeff Hoff	Honda	Ret									0
-	Lothar John	Norton					Ret					0
-	Jorge Kissling	Norton	Ret									0
-	György Kurucz	Norton						Ret				0
-	Teuvo Laakso	Matchless								Ret		0
-	Kurt Leibmann	BMW	Ret									0
-	Jack Lindh	Norton							Ret			0
-	Lothar Luhr	Norton					Ret					0
-	Ian McGregor	Norton							Ret			0
-	John McLaughlin	Norton	Ret									0
-	Michael McStay	Norton		Ret								0
-	Tony Murphy	Honda	Ret									0
-	John Nash	Triumph	Ret									0
-	Alberto Picca	Gilera									Ret	0
-	Patrick Plunkett	Norton							Ret			0
-	Norman Price	Norton		Ret								0
-	Max Raab	Bianchi					Ret					0
-	Johnnie Rae	Norton		Ret								0
-	Barry Randle	Norton		Ret								0
-	Anssi Resko	Matchless								Ret		0
-	Ladislaus Richter	Norton						Ret				0
-	John Rudge	Norton		Ret								0
-	Gerry Saward	Norton		Ret								0
-	Horst Seidl	Norton					Ret					0
-	Alan Shepherd	Matchless	Ret									0
-	Fred Simone	BMW	Ret									0
-	George Simpson	Norton							Ret			0
-	Bill Smith	Matchless		Ret								0
-	John Smith	Norton					Ret					0
-	Tom Stuart	BMW	Ret									0
-	Hans Sevensson	Matchless						Ret				0
-	Veikko Sulasaari	Norton								Ret		0
-	John Wilkinson	Norton		Ret								0
-	Tony Wilmott	Norton		Ret								0
-	Scott Williams	Matchless	Ret									0
-	Dave Williams	BSA		Ret								0
-	Anthony Woodman	Matchless						Ret				0
-	Manfred Zeller	Norton					Ret					0
-	Dennis Ainsworth	Norton					DNS					0
-	Bernhard Bockelmann	Norton					DNQ					0
-	Hans Fohr	Matchless					DNQ					0
-	Hermann Klein	Norton					DNQ					0
-	Karl Peters	Norton					DNQ					0
-	Hans Schmidt	BMW					DNQ					0
-	Rolf Thiemig	Norton					DNQ					0
Pos	Rider	Bike	USA	MAN	HOL	BEL	GER	DDR	ULS	FIN	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

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	40	8
2	Bruce Beale	Rhodesia	Honda	24	0
3	Mike Duff	Canada	AJS	20	0
4	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	MV Agusta / MZ	12	0
5	Gustav Havel	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	10	0
6	Phil Read	United Kingdom	AJS	6	0
7	Paddy Driver	South Africa	AJS	5	0
8	Remo Venturi	Italy	Bianchi	4	0
=	Endel Kiisa	USSR	CKEB C364 Vost.	4	0
=	Stanislav Malina	Czechoslovakia	CZ	4	0
=	Isamu Kasuya	Japan	Honda	4	0
12	Derek Minter	United Kingdom	Norton	4	0
13	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	3	0
=	Alan Shepherd	United Kingdom	MZ	3	0
=	Renzo Pasolini	Italy	Aermacchi	3	0
=	Isao Yamashita	Japan	Honda	3	0
17	Derek Woodman	United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
=	Vernon Cottle	United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
19	Chris Conn	United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
=	Kuniomi Nagamatsu	Japan	Honda	2	0
=	Fred Stevens	United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
22	Joe Dunphy	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Jack Ahearn	Australia	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	5
2	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	42	3
3	Alan Shepherd	United Kingdom	MZ	23	1
4	Mike Duff	Canada	Yamaha	20	1
5	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	Benelli	15	1
6	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	11	0
7	Isamu Kasuya	Japan	Honda	10	0
8	Bruce Beale	Rhodesia	Honda	9	0
9	Tommy Robb	United Kingdom	Yamaha	7	0
10	Ron Grant	United States	Parilla	6	0
11	Alberto Pagani	Italy	Paton	6	0
12	Giacomo Agostini	Italy	Moto Morini	6	0
13	Bert Schneider	Austria	Suzuki	5	0
14	Bob Gehring	United States	Bultaco	4	0
=	Ralph Bryans	United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Hiroshi Hasegawa	Japan	Yamaha	4	0
17	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	4	0
18	George Rockett	United States	Ducati	3	0
=	Stanislav Malina	Czechoslovakia	CZ	3	0
20	Joe Dunphy	United Kingdom	Greeves	2	0
=	Hugh Anderson	New Zealand	Suzuki	2	0
=	Ernst Weiss	Switzerland	Honda	2	0
=	Roy Boughey	United Kingdom	Yamaha	2	0
=	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	MZ	2	0
25	Douglas Brown	United States	Ducati	1	0
=	Jorge Sirera	Spain	Montesa	1	0
=	Roger Mailles	France	Morini	1	0
=	Clive Hunt	United Kingdom	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Wolfgang Gast	East Germany	MZ	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	USA	ESP	FRA	MAN	NED	FRG	GDR	ULS	FIN	NAT	JPN	Pts
1	Luigi Taveri	Honda		1^F	1^F	1^F		2	2	2	1	1	2	46 (64)
2	Jim Redman	Honda		2		2	1^F	1	3		3^F	6		36 (37)
3	Hugh Anderson	Suzuki	1^F	5			5	NC^F	1^F	1^F		2^F	NC^F	35
4	Bert Schneider	Suzuki	3	4	2		4	4		5	4			22 (24)
5	Ralph Bryans	Honda				3	3			3	2	4		21
6	Ernst Degner	Suzuki										3	1	12
7	Frank Perris	Suzuki			3		6			4		5		10
8	Mitsuo Itoh	Suzuki	2											6
8	Phil Read	Yamaha					2							6
10	Walter Scheimann	Honda				5		3						6
11	Rex Avery	EMC		3										4
11	Yoshimi Katayama	Suzuki											3	4
13	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Bultaco	5		5									4
14	Isao Morishita	Suzuki	4											3
14	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Honda			4									3
14	Stanislav Malina	ČZ				4								3
14	Heinz Rosner	MZ							4					3
14	Teisuke Tanaka	Suzuki											4	3
19	Richard Thomas	Honda						5						2
19	Friedhelm Kohlar	MZ							5					2
19	Klaus Enderlein	MZ									5			2
19	Hiroki Matsushima	Yamaha											5	2
23	Bruce Beale	Honda				6			6					2
24	Gary Dickinson	Honda	6											1
24	Chris Vincent	Honda		6										1
24	Roland Föll	Honda			6									1
24	Peter Eser	Honda						6						1
24	Ramon Torras	Bultaco								6				1
24	Dieter Krumpholz	MZ									6			1
24	Akiyasu Motohashi	Yamaha											6	1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	USA	ESP	FRA	MAN	NED	FRG	GDR	ULS	FIN	NAT	JPN	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	USA	ESP	FRA	MAN	NED	FRG	GDR	ULS	FIN	NAT	JPN	Pts
1	Honda	6	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	48 (75)
2	Suzuki	1	4	2		4	4	1	1	4	2	1	44 (56)
3	Yamaha					2						5	8
4	MZ							4		5			5
5	Bultaco	5		5					6				5
6	EMC		3										4
7	ČZ				4								3
Pos.	Constructor	USA	ESP	FRA	MAN	NED	FRG	GDR	ULS	FIN	NAT	JPN	Pts

50cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hugh Anderson	New Zealand	Suzuki	38	4
2	Ralph Bryans	United Kingdom	Honda	30	3
3	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	West Germany	Kreidler	29	1
4	Isao Morishita	Japan	Suzuki	25	0
5	Mitsuo Itoh	Japan	Suzuki	19	0
6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	France	Kreidler	6	0
7	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	5	0
8	José Busquets	Spain	Derbi	3	0
9	Rudolf Kunz	West Germany	Kreidler	3	0
10	Angel Nieto	Spain	Derbi	2	0
=	Cees van Dongen	Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
=	Peter Eser	West Germany	Honda	2	0
13	Lee Allen	United States	Ducati	1	0
=	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	Kreidler	1	0
=	Naomi Taniguchi	Japan	Honda	1	0
15	Albert Beirle	West Germany	Kreidler	1	0
=	Charlie Mates	United Kingdom	Honda	1	0

References

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 55–58. ISBN 978-2-9701086-8-9.
"The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2010-07-06.