The 1976 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 25 April 1976 at the Circuit Bugatti Le Mans.

500cc classification Pos. No. Rider Team Manufacturer Time/Retired Points 1 7 Barry Sheene Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki 51'45.330 15 2 55 Johnny Cecotto Team Venemotos Yamaha +3.840 12 3 33 Marco Lucchinelli Gallina Corse Suzuki +19.290 10 4 4 Tepi Länsivuori Life Racing Team Suzuki +49.850 8 5 1 Giacomo Agostini Team API Marlboro MV Agusta +55.650 6 6 43 Victor Palomo Swaep Motor Racing Yamaha +1'27.660 5 7 56 Stuart Avant Colemans Suzuki +1'28.240 4 8 13 Dieter Braun Suzuki +1'47.880 3 9 12 Karl Auer Racing Team NO Yamaha +1 lap 2 10 51 Boet van Dulmen Laponder Racing Yamaha +1 lap 1 11 19 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha +1 lap 12 45 Steve Parrish Dave More Yamaha +1 lap 13 11 Chas Mortimer Takazumi Katayama Sarome Team Yamaha +1 lap 14 25 Gilles Husson Yamaha +1 lap 15 6 Alex George Hermetite Racing International Yamaha +1 lap 16 44 Edmar Ferreira Goias Swaep Motor Yamaha +1 lap 17 48 René Guili Suzuki +2 laps 18 30 Johnny Bengtsson Stigefetts Motor Suzuki +2 laps 19 41 Helmut Kassner Suzuki +2 laps 20 36 Jules Nies Suzuki +3 laps Ret ?? Jack Findlay Jack Findlay Racing Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Phil Read Team Life International Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Thierry Tchernine Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Christian Estrosi Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Jean-Paul Boinet Ecurie Jean Murit Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Marcel Ankoné Nimag Suzuki Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Pentti Korhonen Yamaha Retired Ret ?? Risto Makinen Yamaha Retired Ret ?? Roberto Gallina Gallina Corse Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Adu Celso-Santos Yamaha Retired Ret ?? Philippe Coulon Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Nico Cereghini Life Racing Team Suzuki Retired Ret ?? John Williams Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki Accident Ret ?? Eddie Roberts Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Pat Hennen Colemans Suzuki Retired Ret ?? Max Wiener Racing Team NO Yamaha Retired DNS Michel Rougerie Suzuki Did not start Sources:

350 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 73 Walter Villa Harley-Davidson 30 52:45.01 4 15 2 1 Johnny Cecotto Yamaha 30 +17.91 3 12 3 24 Jean-François Baldé Yamaha 30 +30.07 7 10 4 70 Takazumi Katayama Yamaha 30 +37.05 2 8 5 44 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 30 +42.33 8 6 6 49 Paolo Tordi Yamaha 30 +44.73 6 5 7 42 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 30 +57.12 5 4 8 3 Pentti Korhonen Yamaha 30 +1:04.88 3 9 9 Tom Herron Yamaha 30 +1:09.72 2 10 65 John Dodds Yamaha 30 +1:16.94 1 11 52 Pekka Nurmi Yamaha 30 +1:40.94 12 28 Alain Vial Yamaha 30 +1:42.52 13 81 Claude Benelhadj Yamaha 30 +1:56.00 14 46 Jean-Louis Olivier Yamaha 29 +1 lap 15 32 Christian Bourgeois Yamaha 29 +1 lap 16 47 Hervé Moineau Yamaha 29 +1 lap 17 62 John Weeden Yamaha 29 +1 lap 18 60 Alan North Yamaha 25 +5 laps North, Parrish, Kunz and Coulon retired but were classified as finishers. 19 61 Steve Parrish Yamaha 25 +5 laps 20 22 Franz Kunz Yamaha 24 +6 laps 21 13 Philippe Coulon Yamaha 23 +7 laps Ret Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 Ret Patrick Pons Yamaha 9 Ret Christian Huguet Yamaha 10 36 starters in total

Footnotes

250 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 1 Walter Villa Harley Davidson 30 54:41.62 1 15 2 90 Gianfranco Bonera Harley Davidson 30 +42.14 6 12 3 19 Pentti Korhonen Yamaha 30 +48.71 5 10 4 49 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 30 +49.92 8 8 5 18 Gérard Choukron Yamaha 30 +1:03.05 6 6 59 Pekka Nurmi Yamaha 30 +1:08.01 5 7 5 Patrick Pons Yamaha 30 +1:08.18 4 8 36 Philippe Bouzanne Yamaha 30 +1:09.42 3 9 21 Jean-Claude Hogrel Yamaha 30 +1:09.57 2 10 46 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 30 +1:11.52 9 1 11 65 John Dodds Yamaha 30 +1:24.28 12 6 Chas Mortimer Yamaha 30 +1:29.55 13 32 Denis Boulom Yamaha 30 +1:29.80 14 74 Paolo Tordi Yamaha 30 +1:35.87 15 63 Jaime Samaranch Yamaha 30 +1:36.17 16 34 Gilbert Lavelle Yamaha 30 +1:36.84 17 53 Christian Huguet Yamaha 30 +1:45.48 18 48 Christian Sarron Yamaha 29 +1 lap 10 19 54 Thiérry Noblesse Yamaha 29 +1 lap 20 8 Leif Gustafsson Yamaha 28 +2 laps Gustafsson, Herron and Moineau retired but were classified as finishers. 21 13 Tom Herron Yamaha 25 +5 laps 22 23 Hervé Moineau Yamaha 23 +7 laps Ret Pat Evans Yamaha 2 Ret Raymond Roche Yamaha 3 Ret Tapio Virtanen MZ 4 Ret Franz Kunz Yamaha 7 36 starters in total

Footnotes

50 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 5 Herbert Rittberger Kreidler 15 34:04.21 6 15 2 4 Rudolf Kunz Kreidler 15 +0.19 4 12 3 6 Stefan Dörflinger Kreidler 15 +3.57 7 10 4 25 Pierre Audry ABF 15 +4.88 2 8 5 12 Aldo Pero Kreidler 15 +1:07.39 6 6 11 Theo Timmer Yamathi 15 +1:17.45 5 7 28 Yves le Tourmelin Scrab-Ty 15 +1:21.14 4 8 2 Eugenio Lazzarini Morbidelli 15 +1:22.42 5 3 9 23 Benjamin Laurent Kreidler 15 +1:52.42 2 10 14 Ulrich Graf Kreidler 15 +1:54.27 1 11 38 Jacques Hutteau Scrab 15 +2:07.53 12 24 Raymond Duriez Kreidler 15 +2:13.68 13 42 J. Zweisldo Kreidler 14 +1 lap 14 33 Joaquin Gali Derbi 14 +1 lap 15 36 Günter Schirnhöfer Kreidler 14 +1 lap 16 44 Giuido Delys Kreidler 13 +2 laps 17 26 Pierre Harlay Kreidler 13 +2 laps 18 16 Cees van Dongen Morbidelli 12 +3 laps van Dongen retired but was classified as a finisher. 8 19 29 Patrick de Wulf Kreidler 12 +3 laps Ret Ángel Nieto Bultaco 1 Ret Jean-Paul Fargues ABF 3 Ret Nico Polane Morbidelli 9 Ret Julien van Zeebroeck Kreidler 10 32 starters in total

Footnotes

Sidecar classification Pos No. Rider Passenger Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 3 Rolf Biland Ken Williams Yamaha 25 47:53.53 4 15 2 32 Alain Michel Bernard Garcia Yamaha 25 +4.13 2 12 3 11 Helmut Schilling Rainer Gundel Aro-Fath 24 +1 lap 5 10 4 21 Bruno Holzer Charly Meierhans LCR-Yamaha 24 +1 lap 6 8 5 9 Amedeo Zini Andrea Fornaro König 24 +1 lap 6 6 34 Hanspeter Hubacher Kurt Huber Yamaha 24 +1 lap 5 7 27 Ted Janssen Eric Schmitz Yamaha 24 +1 lap 4 8 22 Siegfried Schauzu Clifton Lorentz Aro-Fath 23 +2 laps 3 9 15 Dick Greasley Cliff Holland Chell Yamaha 23 +2 laps 2 10 14 Heinz Luthringhauser Lorenzo Puzo BMW 23 +2 laps 1 11 2 Werner Schwärzel Andreas Huber König 22 +3 laps Schwärzel and Huber retired but were classified as finishers. 1 12 25 Yves Trolliet P. Muller König 22 +3 laps Ret Klaus Enders Wolfgang Kalauch Heukerot 3 Ret Hans Prugl Horst Kussberger König 7 Ret Hermann Schmid Jean Petit Yamaha 7 24 starters in total

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References