The 1984 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 36th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season summary Defending champion Freddie Spencer was the pre-season favorite to win the championship however, teething problems with Honda's new V4 and early season injuries squelched his hopes to repeat. In spite of his problems, Spencer still took five wins. Eddie Lawson lived up to his nickname of Steady Eddie with four wins and four second places to secure his first 500cc world championship on a Yamaha. Randy Mamola also had three wins to finish second on a factory backed Honda.
Yamaha also claimed the 250 crown with Frenchman Christian Sarron taking the honors ahead of a strong challenge from Real-Rotax mounted Manfred Herweh. Angel Nieto would win a thirteenth world championship with six wins in a row before sitting out the final two races. Stefan Dörflinger would be the first ever 80cc champion after the class displacement was increased from 50cc.
1984 Grand Prix season calendar The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1984: RoundDateGrand PrixCircuit 1 24 March †† Technics Motorcycle Grand Prix Kyalami 2 15 April Gran Premio delle Nazioni Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica 3 6 May Marlboro Gran Premio de España Circuito Permanente Del Jarama 4 20 May Großer Preis von Österreich Salzburgring 5 27 May Großer Preis von Deutschland Nürburgring 6 11 June Grand Prix de France Moto Circuit Paul Ricard 7 17 June Yu Grand Prix Automotodrom Rijeka 8 30 June †† Dutch TT Assen TT Circuit Assen 9 8 July Johnson GP of Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 10 5 August Marlboro British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit 11 12 August Swedish TT Scandinavian Raceway 12 2 September Grand Prix San Marino Autodromo Internazionale del MugelloSources:
†† = Saturday race
Calendar changes The French Grand Prix was moved back, from 3 April to 11 June. The French Grand Prix moved from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to the Paul Ricard circuit. The Spanish Grand Prix was moved forward, from 22 to 6 May.
Results 1984 Grand Prix season results Round Date Race Location 80cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 500cc winner Report 1 24 March South African Grand Prix Kyalami Patrick Fernandez Eddie Lawson Report 2 15 April Italian Grand Prix Misano Pier Paolo Bianchi Ángel Nieto Fausto Ricci Freddie Spencer Report 3 6 May Spanish Grand Prix Jarama Pier Paolo Bianchi Ángel Nieto Sito Pons Eddie Lawson Report 4 20 May Austrian Grand Prix Salzburgring Stefan Dörflinger Christian Sarron Eddie Lawson Report 5 27 May German Grand Prix Nürburgring Stefan Dörflinger Ángel Nieto Christian Sarron Freddie Spencer Report 6 11 June French Grand Prix Paul Ricard Ángel Nieto Anton Mang Freddie Spencer Report 7 17 June Yugoslavian Grand Prix Rijeka Stefan Dörflinger Manfred Herweh Freddie Spencer Report 8 30 June Dutch TT Assen Jorge Martínez Ángel Nieto Carlos Lavado Randy Mamola Report 9 8 July Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps Stefan Dörflinger Manfred Herweh Freddie Spencer Report 10 5 August British Grand Prix Silverstone Ángel Nieto Christian Sarron Randy Mamola Report 11 12 August Swedish Grand Prix Anderstorp Fausto Gresini Manfred Herweh Eddie Lawson Report 12 2 September San Marino Grand Prix Mugello Gerhard Waibel Maurizio Vitali Manfred Herweh Randy Mamola ReportSources:
Participants and standings 500cc participants TeamConstructorMotorcycleNo.RiderRounds Honda Racing Corporation Honda Honda NSR500Honda NS500 1 Freddie Spencer 2, 4–9 Honda NS500 5 Takazumi Katayama 6, 8, 10–12 Honda NS500 9 Ron Haslam All R.M. Promotions Inc. Honda Honda NSR500Honda NS500 3 Randy Mamola 3–12 Marlboro Team Agostini Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OW76) 4 Eddie Lawson All 185153 Virginio Ferrari 1–2, 4–12 Marlboro 28 Tadahiko Taira 8-9 Heron Team Suzuki Harris Suzuki Suzuki XR45 7 Barry Sheene All ??? 45195235 Rob McElnea 2, 4–6, 10–12 57 Mick Grant 10 Cagiva Motor Italia S.p.A. Cagiva Cagiva C9 8 Marco Lucchinelli 1–4, 8 23 Hervé Moineau 6–9, 12 H.B. Suzuki G.P. Team Suzuki Suzuki XR45 10 Franco Uncini 1–5, 10–12 15 Sergio Pellandini 1–11 Honda Total Honda Honda NS500 11 Raymond Roche All Toshiba Suzuki RG500 12 Boet van Dulmen 1–6, 9–12 45 Rob Punt 2–12 David Attwood Honda ?? 16 Keith Huewen 2–6, 8–12 Team Elf/Chevallier Johnson Chevallier-Honda NS500 17 Didier de Radiguès All 3031 Christian le Liard 1, 3–5, 8–12 Honda Britain Racing Team Honda Honda RS500 185333 Wayne Gardner 2, 8–11 51 Roger Marshall 10 Dieter Braun Team Suzuki RG500 21 Klaus Klein ??? ??? 22 Lorenzo Ghiselli 2, 4–12 Frankonia-Suzuki 25 Wolfgang von Muralt 2–12 Römer Racing Team Honda Honda RS500 26 Reinhold Roth All 62 Christoph Bürki ??? ??? Honda ??? 30 Massimo Broccoli 1–10, 12 Yashica/Contax Suzuki/Yamaha ???/??? 32 Brett Hudson 1, 3–6, 8–9 Olymp-Hemden Racing Honda RS500 34 Gustav Reiner 1–3, 5, 8–9, 11–12 ??? 35 Fabio Biliotti 3–12 Mitsui Yamaha Yamaha Yamaha TZ500 Harris 37 Steve Parrish 2, 5, 8–12 RG500 Suzuki ??? 38 Leandro Becheroni 2–12 Suzuki/Honda 53 Paolo Ferretti 4–7, 10–12 Honda 56 Louis-Luc Maisto ??? Bill Smith Racing Honda RS500 11327 Chris Guy 1–5, 8 Source:Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
250cc participants TeamConstructorMotorcycleNo.RiderRounds Venemotos Racing Team Yamaha ??? 1 Carlos Lavado All 18 Iván Palazzese 1–3, 5–9, 11–12 Team Sonauto Gauloises 2 Christian Sarron All 32 Jean-Michel Mattioli All ?? Thierry Rapicault 2, 4, 6, 8–12 HB Team 250 3 Anton Mang All ??? Chevallier 4 Hervé Guilleux 1–6 Chevallier/??? 5 Thierry Espié 1–3, 5–12 Mitsui-Yamaha Racing Team Yamaha 6 Martin Wimmer All Massa Real GmbH Real-Rotax 7 Manfred Herweh All Pernod Pernod 8 Jean-François Baldé 1–6, 8–12 10 Jacques Bolle 1–6, 8–12 Team Parisienne-Elf Yamaha 9 Jacques Cornu All Honda Honda RS500 15 Roland Freymond All ??? Yamaha ??? 12 Patrick Fernandez All Marlboro Team Roberts 14 Alan Carter 1, 3–12 5529 Wayne Rainey All ??? 16 Thierry Rapicault 2, 4, 6, 8–12 Yamaha/Honda ???/??? 17 Jean-Louis Guignabodet 1–3, 5, 8, 10–12 JJ Cobas Cobas ??? 20 Carlos Cardús 2–3, 6-7, 9–12 Team Hugin-Total Yamaha 21 Stéphane Mertens 1–5, 7–12 23 Richard Hubin 1, 3–12 ??? 22 Fausto Ricci 2–6, 12 Yamaha/ES ???/??? 24 Harald Eckl 1–2, 4–12 Yamaha ??? 28 Teruo Fukuda 2–5, 7–12 Cobas Motorcycles Cobas-Rotax 30 Sito Pons All Römer Racing Team Römer/??? ???/??? 31 Karl Grässel 1–2, 8–9 Yamaha ??? 39 Manfred Obinger ??? Dalmac Racing 333667 Donnie Mcleod 2–12 ??? 34 Mario Rademeyer 1–6, 9–10, 12 Kawasaki 36 Loris Reggiani 3–5, 7, 12Yamaha 37 Siegfried Minich 4–5, 7–12 Yamaha/??? ???/??? 49 René Délaby 2–4, 7–10 MBA ??? 5135 Guy Bertin 4–11 EMC 53 Andy Watts 10 Yamaha ??? Roland Freymond All Chevallier ??? Jean-Michel Mattioli All MBA ??? Maurizio Vitali 2, 12 Source:Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
500cc riders' standings
Scoring system Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. A rider has to finish the race to earn points. All races counted towards the final standings.
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
Place Rider Team Machine RSA NAT ESP AUT GER FRA YUG NED BEL GBR SWE RSM Points1 Eddie Lawson Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini YZR500 1 2 1 1 2 2 4 3 4 2 1 41422 Randy Mamola HRC-Honda NS500 2 3 3 3 2 1 2 1 Ret 11113 Raymond Roche Total-Honda NS500 2 3 3 6 5 Ret 3 2 3 Ret 2 2994 Freddie Spencer HRC-Honda NS500 DNS 1 2 1 1 1 Ret 1875 Ron Haslam HRC-Honda NS500 Ret 6 4 4 4 4 5 4 5 3 Ret 3776 Barry Sheene Heron-Suzuki RG500 3 Ret 7 10 10 5 7 Ret 9 5 Ret Ret347 Wayne Gardner Honda Britain Racing NS500 4 5 7 6 3 DNS338 Boet van Dulmen Toshiba-Suzuki RG500 7 7 5 8 9 Ret Ret 19 7 9259 Didier de Radiguès Team Elf/Chevallier Johnson Chevallier NS500 4 12 Ret Ret Ret 6 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 52410 Virginio Ferrari Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini YZR500 Ret 8 DNS 14 7 22 9 Ret Ret 4 6 Ret2211 Rob McElnea Heron-Suzuki RG500 11 5 Ret Ret 7 5 62112 Sergio Pellandini HB Gallina-Suzuki RG500 5 14 Ret 9 Ret 9 8 Ret 8 Ret Ret DNS1613 Takazumi Katayama HRC-Honda NS500 DNS 8 8 4 Ret1414 Franco Uncini HB Gallina-Suzuki RG500 Ret 5 Ret 11 6 DNS 11 Ret 81415 Reinhold Roth Römer Racing Team RS500 11 9 8 7 Ret 8 12 9 Ret 12 Ret Ret1416 Tadahiko Taira Marlboro Yamaha-Agostini YZR500 6 61017 Massimo Broccoli RS500 6 10 Ret 16 12 7 Ret Ret Ret 25 DNQ 141018 Gustav Reiner Olymp-Hemden Racing RS500 Ret 13 6 DNS Ret 7 10 Ret Ret1019 Keith Huewen David Attwood RS500 19 10 13 8 14 13 Ret 13 9 21620 Leandro Becheroni RG500 Ret Ret Ret 15 21 Ret 20 Ret Ret Ret 7421 Christian Le Liard Team Elf/Chevallier Johnson Chevallier NS500 8 Ret Ret 19 DNS 15 Ret 10 Ret Ret422 Wolfgang Von Muralt Frankonia-Suzuki RG500 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret 14 13 Ret 8 Ret423 Fabio Biliotti RS500 DNQ 9 12 14 12 Ret Ret 18 18 Ret 12224 Roger Marshall Honda Britain Racing RS500 9225 Chris Guy Bill Smith Racing RS500 9 24 11 20 22 23226 Eero Hyvärinen RG500 Ret Ret 10 17 10 13227 Armando Errico 10128 Brett Hudson RG500/YZR500 10 20 Ret 23 Ret 21 22129 Herve Moineau Cagiva GP500 Ret 10 Ret Ret DNS Ret1 Steve Parrish Mitsui-Yamaha YZR500 17 11 12 16 16 Ret 200 Dave Petersen RG500 11 13 Ret 140 Paolo Ferretti RG500/NS500 DNQ 18 21 Ret 11 27 13 160 Mark Salle Royal Cars Suzuki RG500 11 19 140 Lorenzo Ghiselli RG500 Ret 21 16 16 Ret 19 15 29 Ret 110 Walter Magliorati RG500 Ret Ret 20 Ret 18 110 Roger Burnett Men Only Salon RG500 Ret 110 Attilio Riondato RG500 21 12 Ret 19 15 DNS0 Frank Gross RS500 DNQ Ret Ret 18 Ret Ret 120 Dimitris Papandreou YZR500 12 DNQ Ret0 Peter Linden RS500 120 Klaus Klein Dieter Braun Team RG500 13 Ret 14 15 Ret Ret 20 Ret Ret DNS0 Rob Punt Toshiba-Suzuki RG500 18 15 17 13 Ret 19 Ret Ret 23 Ret Ret0 Henk van der Mark RS500 17 13 Ret Ret Ret0 Peter Skold RG500 22 13 Ret 190 Karl Truchsess RG500 Ret 14 Ret0 Anders Andersson RG500 140 Louis-Luc Maisto RS500 DNQ 18 22 Ret 15 16 Ret 26 Ret DNQ0 Marco Gentile YZR500 Ret 20 17 Ret Ret 150 Gary Lingham RG500 15 Ret 190 Paul Iddon David Brown Racing RG500 150 Kjeld Sorensen RG500 150 Christoph Bürki Römer Racing Team RG500 28 16 170 Peter Sjostrom RG500 Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret0 Paul Lewis RG500 16 Ret Ret0 Oscar La Ferla RG500 160 Marco Papa RS500 20 17 19 29 Ret0 Maurice Coq 170 Henk de Vries RG500 24 170 Mick Grant Heron-Suzuki RG500 170 Esko Kuparinen RG500 170 Claude Arciero RS500 Ret Ret 18 Ret0 Alessandro Valesi RG500 Ret 180 Fabio Marchesani RG500 180 Timo Pohjola YZR500 180 Jose Parra RG500 190 Trevor Nation RG500 DNS 200 Yashuhiko Gomibuchi RG500 DNQ 200 Børge Nielsen RG500 26 Ret 22 DNQ 21 DNQ0 Georg Jung RG500 210 Graham Wood DTR/Fowler’s of Bristol YZR500 210 Maarten Duyzers RG500 220 Simon Buckmaster RG500 220 Manfred Fischer Juchem 23 25 DNQ0 Alan Irwin RG500 23 300 Massimo Brutti RG500 23 DNQ0 Josef Ragginger RG500 Ret 23 DNQ0 Mile Pajic RS500 24 Ret0 Josef Doppler RG500 DNQ 240 Franco Randazzo RS500 250 Bohumil Staša RG500 250 Hartmut Muller RG500 270 Wolfgang Schwarz RS500 280 Marco Lucchinelli Cagiva GP500 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS Ret0Sources: † denotes the death of a rider
250cc standings