The 1971 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 23rd 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 9 May, with Austrian Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 26 September.
Season summary Giacomo Agostini would claim his tenth world championship in 1971, passing Carlo Ubbiali and Mike Hailwood as the all time championship leader. However, after the death of Count Domenico Agusta in February 1971, MV Agusta's focus turned to the aviation industry. The Count's passion for motorcycle racing had been the driving force behind the MV Agusta team, and without his presence, the racing team's importance within the company began to wither.
Angel Nieto challenged for the 50cc and 125cc titles however, a crash in the final 50cc race handed the title to Dutchman Jan de Vries. Nieto was able to claim the 125 crown over a young Barry Sheene. Phil Read captured the 250 championship on a private Yamaha-powered Eric Cheney-designed chassis, after falling out with the Yamaha factory. The 1971 250cc East German Grand Prix was notable for the incident that occurred after the race victory by West German rider Dieter Braun. As Das Lied der Deutschen (the West German national anthem), was being played during the winner's ceremony, the East German crowd began singing the words to the anthem. The SED officials reacted by making the East German Grand Prix open only to Eastern Bloc competitors beginning in .
Agostini's record setting winning streak ended at the 1971 Isle of Man TT when his MV Agusta broke down on the first lap of the Junior TT. From the beginning of the season to the 1971 Isle of Man TT, Agostini won every single race he contested in the 350cc and 500cc classes. By that point, he had won 58 consecutive races, including 26 in the 350cc class and 32 in the 500cc class. Agostini won the 350 title for the fourth year in a row but a newcomer served notice when young Finn, Jarno Saarinen, won his first Grand Prix at the Czechoslovak round then won again in Italy as Yamaha continued to close the performance gap to the dominant MV Agusta team.
Agostini had things his way in the 500cc class, winning the first eight rounds of the eleven race series against minimal factory-sponsored opposition. For the second consecutive year a New Zealand rider finished second in the premier class – Ginger Molloy in and Keith Turner in 1971. Jack Findlay's victory at the 1971 Ulster Grand Prix not only marked the first victory for a Suzuki motorcycle in the premier 500cc class, but also the first-ever 500cc class victory for a motorcycle powered by a two stroke engine.Jack Findlay obituary - The Telegraph Kawasaki won their first 500cc class victory at the season ending Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama when Dave Simmonds won the race after Agostini sat out the event after already winning the championship. The inaugural Austrian Grand Prix was held at the new high-speed Salzburgring.
1971 Grand Prix season calendar Round Date Grand Prix Circuit 50cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Sidecars 500cc winner Report 1 9 May Austrian Grand Prix Salzburgring Jan de Vries Angel Nieto Silvio Grassetti Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Butscher / Huber Report 2 16 May West German Grand Prix Hockenheimring Jan de Vries Dave Simmonds Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Auerbacher / Hahn Report 3 12 June Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain Chas Mortimer Phil Read Tony Jefferies Giacomo Agostini Schauzu / Kalauch Report 4 26 June Dutch TT Assen Angel Nieto Angel Nieto Phil Read Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Owesle / Kremer Report 5 4 July Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps Jan de Vries Barry Sheene Silvio Grassetti Giacomo Agostini Schauzu / Kalauch Report 6 11 July East German Grand Prix Sachsenring Angel Nieto Angel Nieto Dieter Braun Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report 7 18 July Czechoslovak Grand Prix Brno Barry Sheene Angel Nieto János Drapál Jarno Saarinen Schauzu / Kalauch Report 8 25 July Swedish Grand Prix Anderstorp Angel Nieto Barry Sheene Rodney Gould Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Report 9 1 August Finnish Grand Prix Imatra Barry Sheene Rodney Gould Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini Owesle / Rutterford Report 10 14 August Ulster Grand Prix Dundrod Ray McCullough Peter Williams Jack Findlay Owesle / Rutterford Report 11 12 September Nations Grand Prix Monza Jan de Vries Gilberto Parlotti Gyula Marsovsky Jarno Saarinen Alberto Pagani Report 12 26 September Spanish Grand Prix Jarama Jan de Vries Angel Nieto Jarno Saarinen Teuvo Länsivuori Dave Simmonds Report
Final standings
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 AUT GER MAN HOL BEL DDR SWE FIN ULS NAC ESP Pts 1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Ret 90 (120) 2 Keith Turner Coleman-Suzuki 2 Ret 7 4 Ret 2 2 4 Ret 6 5 58 (67) 3 Rob Bron Suzuki 2 2 4 8 Ret 3 2 57 4 Dave Simmonds Kawasaki Ret 3 Ret 6 2 3 1 52 5 Jack Findlay Suzuki / Jawa 4 Ret Ret 3 10 5 1 5 6 50 (51) 6 Eric Offenstadt Kawasaki 3 Ret Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 32 7 Tommy Robb Hurst-Seeley / Matchless 6 15 7 Ret 3 9 3 31 8 Alberto Pagani Linto / MV Agusta 7 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 1 29 9 Kaarlo Koivuniemi Seeley-Matchless 5 5 Ret 2 24 10 Ron Chandler Kawasaki 3 Ret 5 Ret 8 Ret 19 11 Frank Perris Suzuki / Seeley / Linto 3 7 Ret Ret Ret 14 12 Lothar John Yamaha 5 Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret 8 7 13 13 Gianpiero Zubani Kawasaki Ret 2 12 14 Peter Williams Arter-Matchless 2 12 15 Bo Granath Husqvarna 8 Ret Ret 8 Ret 6 10 Ret 12 16 Billie Nelson Paton 6 6 10 11 17 Ernst Hiller Kawasaki Ret 11 Ret Ret 3 10 18 Maurice Hawthorne Kawasaki Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 19 Hans-Rudolf Brünger Bultaco 4 Ret 8 20 Benjamin Grau Bultaco 4 8 = Selwyn Griffiths Cowles-Matchless 4 8 = Ulfe Nilsson Seeley-Matchless 4 8 = Phil Read Ducati 4 8 = Percy Tait Seeley-Matchless 4 8 25 Ivan Carlsson Yamaha Ret Ret 11 6 Ret Ret Ret 9 7 26 Jim Curry Seeley-Matchless Ret 5 Ret 6 27 Gerry Mateer Norton Ret 5 6 = Gordon Pantall Padgett-Kawasaki 5 Ret 6 29 Karl Auer Matchless Ret Ret 6 Ret 5 30 Matti Salonen Yamaha Ret Ret 6 5 31 Roger Sutcliffe Matchless 6 5 32 Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW 7 10 Ret Ret 5 33 Piet Van der Wal Kawasaki Ret 9 Ret 8 5 34 Peter Jones Suzuki 19 Ret 7 4 35 Jean Campiche Honda 7 Ret 4 36 Tom Herron Seeley 7 4 = Morgan Radberg Monark 7 4 38 Kurt-Willy Bertsch BMW 8 3 = Joan Bordons Bultaco 8 3 = Jerry Lancaster Yamaha 8 3 = Charlie SanbySeeley-Matchless 8 3 42 Paul Eickelberg Yamaha 9 10 Ret 3 43 Johnny Bengtsson Kawasaki 9 Ret 2 = Pentti Lehtelä Yamaha 9 Ret 2 = Tom Dickie Cowles-Matchless 9 2 = Horst Dzierzawa Yamaha 9 2 = Giuseppe Mongardi Ducati 9 2 = Donnie Robinson Padgett-Yamaha 9 2 49 John Dodds König Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 = Emanuele Maugliani Seeley-Matchless 10 1 = Rob Noorlander Norton 10 1 = Stan Woods Norton 10 1 Pos Rider Bke AUT GER MAN HOL BEL DDR SWE FIN ULS NAC ESP PtsBold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap
1971 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 Giacomo Agostini1 Italy MV Agusta9062 Jarno Saarinen Finland Yamaha6323 Ivan Carlsson Sweden Yamaha3904 Theo Bult Netherlands Yamaha3605 Paul Smart United Kingdom Yamaha3406 Werner Pfirter Switzerland Yamaha3307 Bo Granath10 Sweden Yamaha3007 László Szabó Hungary Yamaha2909 Tony Jefferies United Kingdom Yamaha25110 Teuvo Lansivuori Finland Yamaha251
1971 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 Phil Read United Kingdom Yamaha7332 Rodney Gould1 United Kingdom Yamaha6823 Jarno Saarinen4 Finland Yamaha6414 John Dodds Australia Yamaha5905 Dieter Braun West Germany Yamaha5816 Gyula Marsovsky7 Switzerland Yamaha5717 Silvio Grassetti10 Italy MZ4328 Chas Mortimer6 United Kingdom Yamaha4209 János Drapál Hungary Yamaha26110 Theo Bult20 Netherlands Yamaha220
1971 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 Angel Nieto1 Spain Derbi8752 Barry Sheene United Kingdom Suzuki7933 Börje Jansson3 Sweden Maico6404 Dieter Braun West Germany Maico5405 Chas Mortimer United Kingdom Yamaha4816 Dave Simmonds4 United Kingdom Kawasaki4817 Gert Bender West Germany Maico4108 Gilberto Parlotti Italy Morbidelli3919 Kent Andersson Sweden Yamaha30010 Jurgen Lenk East Germany MZ270
1971 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins1 Jan De Vries5 Netherlands Kreidler7552 Angel Nieto1 Spain Derbi6933 Jos Schurgers6 Netherlands Kreidler4204 Herman Meyers10 Netherlands Jamathi4105 Rudolf Kunz West Germany Kreidler3606 Aalt Toersen Netherlands Jamathi2407 Barry Sheene United Kingdom Kreidler2318 Gilberto Parlotti9 Italy Derbi2209 Federico van der Hoeven Netherlands Derbi22010 Jan Bruins Netherlands Kreidler190
References
Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A.