1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 22nd 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 3 May, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 27 September.

As of 2024, this is the most recent season the Japanese manufacturers failed to score a single win in the premier class.

Season summary

With no other manufacturers competing in the 500cc class the MV Agusta team continued to dominate as Giacomo Agostini won his fifth consecutive 500cc world championship.^[1] Kawasaki began to sell the Kawasaki H1R to privateer racing teams.^[2] The H1R was the first multi-cylinder two stroke racing motorcycle to be sold commercially.^[2] Ginger Molloy rode one of the Kawasakis to a second place finish behind Agostini in the championship.^[1]

Life was a bit tougher for Agostini in the 350 class as Kel Carruthers and Renzo Pasolini on Benellis and Rod Gould on a factory Yamaha gave him a battle on more than one occasion.^[1] Gould would take the 250 title for Yamaha, battling Carruthers for the entire season.^[1] German Dieter Braun would give Suzuki the 125 crown while Derbi mounted Angel Nieto claimed the 50cc class for the second year in a row.

There were six fatalities among the competitors at the Isle of Man TT races, including world championship contender Santiago Herrero, making 1970 the deadliest year in the history of the event.^[3]^[4]

1970 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	3 May	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Angel Nieto	John Dodds	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
2	17 May	French Grand Prix	Le Mans Bugatti	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Kalauch	Report
3	24 May	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija Circuit	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Santiago Herrero	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		Dieter Braun	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Kalauch	Report
5	27 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
6	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	Butscher / Huber	Report
7	12 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
8	19 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit	Aalt Toersen	Gilberto Parlotti	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini		Enders / Engelhardt	Report
9	2 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Dave Simmonds	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Engelhardt	Report
10	15 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Angel Nieto		Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders / Engelhardt	Report
11	13 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Jan de Vries	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
12	27 September	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Salvador Cañellas	Angel Nieto	Kent Andersson	Angelo Bergamonti	Angelo Bergamonti		Report

Scoring system

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

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	GER	FRA	YUG	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	FIN	ULS	NAC	ESP	Pts
1	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		90
2	Ginger Molloy	Bultaco / Kawasaki	5	2	7		4	16	15	2	2	6	2	62
3	Angelo Bergamonti	Aermacchi / MV Agusta		4	2		2					2	1	59
4	Tommy Robb	Seeley	3	11		Ret	10	3	10	5	Ret		4	36
5	Alberto Pagani	Linto		3	Ret		3	Ret	Ret	3		Ret	Ret	30
6	Alan Barnett	Seeley-Matchless	2	7		Ret			4		Ret			24
7	Christian Ravel	Kawasaki		8			Ret	2	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	24
8	Jack Findlay	Seeley-Matchless / Seeley-Suzuki	Ret	Ret	4	4	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	24
9	Martti Pesonen	Yamaha	7		5	Ret	Ret	8		8	7		7	24
10	Peter Williams	Matchless				2	7				5			22
11	Roberto Gallina	Paton			3		Ret					7	5	20
12	Martin Carney	Kawasaki	Ret			Ret			3		6		6	20
13	Gyula Marsovszky	Linto / Kawasaki	11	6	8		9	Ret	Ret	Ret		4	Ret	18
14	Eric Offenstadt	Kawasaki	Ret	9				13	7	4		Ret		14
15	John Dodds	Linto	Ret	Ret			Ret	Ret	2	Ret		Ret	Ret	12
16	Silvano Bertarelli	Kawasaki		Ret								3		10
=	Bill Smith	Kawasaki / Yamaha				3					Ret			10
=	Percy Tait	Triumph / Seeley-Matchless						Ret			3			10
19	Giuseppe Mandolini	Moto Guzzi											3	10
20	Dave Simmonds	Kawasaki	Ret	12	6		12	12	8	Ret			9	10
21	Karl Hoppe	Münch-URS / Seeley-URS	4	16			Ret		Ret					8
22	Karl Auer	Matchless			Ret			4	Ret					8
23	Gianpiero Zubani	Kawasaki			9							5		8
=	John Williams	Matchless				5					9			8
25	Godfrey Nash	Norton / Manx	Ret	Ret			Ret	11	9	6				7
26	Billie Nelson	Paton	9				Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret		7
27	Ernst Hiller	Kawasaki	8				Ret	7	Ret					7
28	Lewis Young	Honda / Matchless	Ret	Ret	11		Ret	5		Ret			Ret	6
29	Brian Steenson	Seeley-Matchless	15	5		Ret								6
30	Paul Smart	Seeley-Matchless				Ret	5			Ret	Ret			6
31	Terry Dennehy	Honda	10	Ret	Ret		13	6		Ret		Ret	Ret	6
32	Tony Jefferies	Matchless				6					Ret			5
=	Walter Rungg	Aermacchi	6	Ret	Ret									5
34	Rob Bron	Suzuki					6							5
35	Steve Ellis	Linto / Matchless	Ret	Ret	14			10	Ret	7				5
36	Ron Chandler	Seeley-Matchless / Triumph	Ret				8	9			Ret			5
37	Selwyn Griffiths	Matchless				7								4
38	Gerry Mateer	Norton				Ret					8			3
39	Brian Adams	Norton				8								3
=	Giovanni Perrone	Kawasaki										8		3
41	Vincent Duckett	Seeley-Matchless				9					13			2
42	Hans-Otto Butenuth	BMW	Ret			Ret				9				2
43	Paolo Campanelli	Kawasaki			Ret							9		2
44	Jean Campiche	Honda		Ret	10				14	10		Ret		2
45	Gordon Keith	Velocette	Ret			21			Ret				10	1
46	André-Luc Appietto	Paton		10										1
=	Charlie Dobson	Seeley-Matchless									10			1
=	Vasco Loro	Norton-Kawasaki										10		1
=	Steve Spencer	Norton				10								1
50	Werner Bergold	Linto / Seeley		14					11					0
51	Malcolm Uphill	Suzuki				Ret	11				Ret			0
52	Emanuele Maugliani	Seeley							Ret			11		0
53	Peter Berwick	Aermacchi									11			0
=	John Burgess	Norton		Ret									11	0
=	Jim Curry	Aermacchi								11				0
=	Keith Heckles	Norton				11								0
57	Heinrich Rosenbusch	Linto	12		Ret		14							0
58	Alan Lawton	Norton				14					12			0
59	George Fogarty	Shepherd				12					17			0
60	Jouko Ryhänen	Matchless								12				0
=	Frantisek Srna	Jawa			12									0
62	Pierre-Louis Tebec	Kawasaki	26	13										0
63	Gerhard Heukerott	Benelli			Ret		Ret			13		Ret		0
64	Sven-Olov Gunnarsson	Kawasaki							13	Ret				0
65	John Blanchard	Seeley	13											0
=	Ken Tilley	Norton				13								0
=	Alo Zanetta	Kawasaki			13									0
68	Billy Andersson	Matchless / Crescent				39		14	Ret					0
69	Ferdinand Kaczor	Seeley-URS	14	Ret										0
70	Harris Healey	Norton									14			0
71	Ken Kay	Aermacchi				28					15			0
72	Bob Heath	BSA				Ret	15							0
73	Serge Jamsin	Norton						15						0
=	Hervé Lansac	Kawasaki		15										0
=	Norman Price	Norton				15								0
76	Maurice Hawthorne	Norton / Linto	16										Ret	0
77	Peter Gibson	Seeley				16								0
=	Cambell Gorman	Velocette									16			0
=	Terry McDonald	Matchless							16					0
80	Jean-Claude Costeux	Aermacchi		17										0
=	Peter Darvill	Higley-Seeley				17								0
=	Stephen Millard	Matchless	17											0
=	Franco Trabalzini	Paton							17					0
84	Chris Neve	Seeley				34					18			0
85	Bo Granath	Husqvarna	18	Ret		Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret			Ret	0
86	Bob Biscardine	Norton				18								0
=	Arpad Juhos	Matchless							18					0
88	Roy Reid	Norton				35					19			0
89	Paul Eickelberg	Matchless / Norton	19		Ret					Ret				0
90	Geoff Barry	Oakley-Matchless				19								0
91	John Barton	Triumph				20								0
=	Nigel Palmer	Matchless	20											0
=	Harry Turner	Norton									20			0
94	Gilbert Argo	Matchless	21											0
95	Alois Maxwald	Matchless	22						Ret					0
96	Don Grant	Norton				22								0
97	Barry Randle	Seeley	23			Ret					Ret			0
98	Brian Moses	Norton				23								0
99	Willi Bertsch	Honda	24											0
=	Dave Foulkes	Norton				24								0
101	Brian Edwards	Kettle-Norton				25								0
=	Jean-Marie Grandidier	Matchless	25											0
103	Brian Swales	Norton				26								0
104	Gordon Daniels	Matchless				27								0
=	Jerry Lancaster	Aermacchi	27											0
106	Rudolf Reinhardt	BMW	28											0
107	Graham Sharp	Petty-Norton				29								0
=	Jupp Tröblinger	Norton	29											0
109	Don Harris	Norton				30								0
=	Walfried Weingartner	Matchless	30											0
111	Ron Baylie	Triumph				31								0
=	Ted Janssen	Norton	31											0
113	John Pepper	Norton				32								0
114	Len Williams	Aermacchi				33								0
115	Roger Fursman	Norton				36								0
116	Dennis Trollope	Norton				37								0
117	Carl Ward	Norton				38								0
118	Mick Potter	Metisse				40								0
119	Graham Penny	Honda				41								0
-	Theo Louwes	Kawasaki / Matchless		Ret			Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret			0
-	Keith Turner	Linto		Ret					Ret	Ret				0
-	Cliff Carr	Kawasaki	Ret								Ret			0
-	Tom Dickie	Kuhn-Seeley				Ret					Ret			0
-	John-Tom Findlay	Norton				Ret					Ret			0
-	Robert Graham	Matchless / Aermacchi				Ret					Ret			0
-	Pentti Lehtelä	Matchless / Yamaha							Ret	Ret				0
-	Renzo Pasolini	Benelli							Ret			Ret		0
-	Philippe Schreyer	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret										0
-	Stan Adams	Seeley	Ret											0
-	Tom Armstrong	Norton				Ret								0
-	Jim Ashton	Matchless				Ret								0
-	George Barnacle	Triumph				Ret								0
-	Rex Butcher	Metisse					Ret							0
-	Doug Cash	Norton				Ret								0
-	Paul Coombs	CRD				Ret								0
-	Adrian Cooper	Norton				Ret								0
-	John Cooper	Seeley				Ret								0
-	Ake Dahli	Kawasaki							Ret					0
-	Walter Dawson	Norton				Ret								0
-	Charlie Dobson	Seeley				Ret								0
-	Didier Dumesnil	Linto		Ret										0
-	Robin Duffty	Norton				Ret								0
-	Hugh Evans	CRD				Ret								0
-	Derek Filler	Norton				Ret								0
-	Denis Gallagher	Seeley									Ret			0
-	Lou Geeson	Triumph				Ret								0
-	Mick Grant	Velocette				Ret								0
-	Chris Gregory	Norton				Ret								0
=	René Guili	Matchless		Ret										0
-	Osmo Hansen	Matchless								Ret				0
-	Ray Knight	CRD				Ret								0
-	Hannu Kuparinen	Matchless								Ret				0
-	Cliff Lawson	Norton				Ret								0
-	Derek Lee	Matchless				Ret								0
-	Patrick Lefevre	Norton		Ret										0
=	Marty Lunde	Crescent		Ret										0
-	Pat Mahoney	Kuhn-Seeley				Ret								0
-	Percy May	Petty-Norton				Ret								0
-	Ray McCullough	Seeley									Ret			0
-	Gilberto Milani	Aermacchi										Ret		0
-	Malcolm Moffatt	Seeley				Ret								0
-	Mustapha Moulay	Paton		Ret										0
-	Jean-Pierre Naudon	Matchless		Ret										0
-	Garth Neveling	Norton				Ret								0
-	Derryl Pandlebury	Norton				Ret								0
-	Dick Pipes	Norton				Ret								0
-	Harry Reynolds	Norton				Ret								0
=	Jacques Roca	Suzuki		Ret										0
-	Barry Sheene	Bultaco											Ret	0
-	Roy Simmons	Norton				Ret								0
-	John Stanley	Seeley				Ret								0
-	Frantisek Stastny	Jawa						Ret						0
-	Thierry Tchernine	Velocette		Ret										0
-	Rolf Thiemig	Ducati	Ret											0
-	Franco Trabalzini	Paton	Ret											0
-	Tony Turner	Norton				Ret								0
-	Fred Walton	Velocette				Ret								0
-	Charlie Watts	Norton									Ret			0
-	John Wetherall	Norton				Ret								0
-	Benedetto Zambotti	Bianchi										Ret		0
Pos	Rider	Bike	GER	FRA	YUG	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	FIN	ULS	NAC	ESP	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

1970 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	90	9
2	Kel Carruthers	7	Australia	Benelli	58	0
3	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	46	0
4	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	44	0
5	Martti Pesonen		Finland	Yamaha	38	0
6	Rodney Gould		United Kingdom	Yamaha	28	0
7	Angelo Bergamonti		Italy	MV Agusta	27	1
8	Günter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	20	0
9	Alan Barnett		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	20	0
10	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Yamaha	18	0

1970 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Rodney Gould	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	102	6
2	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Yamaha	84	4
3	Kent Andersson	2	Sweden	Yamaha	67	1
4	Jarno Saarinen		Finland	Yamaha	57	0
5	Börje Jansson	5	Sweden	Yamaha	34	0
6	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	30	0
7	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
8	Santiago Herrero	3	Spain	Ossa	27	1
9	Bo Granath		Sweden	Yamaha	25	0
10	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Yamaha	24	0

1970 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Dieter Braun	2	West Germany	Suzuki	84	4
2	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	72	4
3	Börje Jansson		Sweden	Maico	62	0
4	Dave Simmonds	1	United Kingdom	Kawasaki	57	1
5	László Szabó	8	Hungary	MZ	34	0
6	Toni Gruber		West Germany	Maico	33	0
7	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Suzuki	31	0
8	John Dodds		Australia	Aermacchi	24	1
9	Gunter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	22	0
10	Heinz Kriwanek		Austria	Rotax	25	0

1970 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	87	5
2	Aalt Toersen	2	Netherlands	Jamathi	75	3
3	Rudolf Kunz	8	West Germany	Kreidler	66	0
4	Salvador Cañellas		Spain	Derbi	63	1
5	Jan De Vries	4	Netherlands	Kreidler	60	1
6	Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Kreidler	41	0
7	Martin Mijwaart	10	Netherlands	Jamathi	40	0
8	Ludwig Fassbender	9	West Germany	Kreidler	17	0
9	Gilberto Parlotti	6	Italy	Tomos	15	1
10	Harald Bartol		Austria	Kreidler	11	0

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
^ ^a ^b Cathcart, Alan (2019), "Eric Offenstadt's Monocoque Triple", Classic Racer, Mortons Motorcycle Media Group Ltd, ISSN 1470-4463, But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple
^ "World's fastest way to die: The most dangerous race on the planet". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
^ "Two more deaths take Isle of Man TT Festival toll to five". express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

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.

[Motocourse:_50_Years_Of_Moto_Grand_Prix-1] Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7

[Eric_Offenstadt's_Monocoque_Triple-2] Cathcart, Alan (2019), "Eric Offenstadt's Monocoque Triple", Classic Racer, Mortons Motorcycle Media Group Ltd, ISSN 1470-4463, But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple

[3] "World's fastest way to die: The most dangerous race on the planet". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

[4] "Two more deaths take Isle of Man TT Festival toll to five". express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

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