The 1975 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 27th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Season summary The battle for supremacy of the 500cc class between the defending champion Phil Read (MV Agusta) and Giacomo Agostini (Yamaha) was not decided until the tenth and final round of the series, where Agostini prevailed to claim a record fifteenth and final World Championship of his career. Agostini's victory on the Yamaha marked the first time in the history of Grand Prix motorcycle racing that a two-stroke machine had won the premier division. It also marked the first time that a Japanese manufacturer had won the 500cc class.
Yamaha fielded Agostini and teammate Hideo Kanaya riding Yamaha YZR500 motorcycles with an upgraded chassis that featured the revolutionary single shock absorber rear suspension they had used to win the 1973 FIM Motocross World Championship. The MV Agusta team signed Armando Toracca as Read's teammate riding the four-stroke MV 500. Suzuki continued to improve their Suzuki RG 500 with Barry Sheene claiming two Grand Prix victories in Holland and Sweden. John Newbold was Sheene's teammate on the Suzuki team. Sheene crashed heavily while practicing for the pre-season Daytona 200 and would not return to full health until mid-season.
The 1975 season began with Agostini and Kanaya taking first and second in France, relegating Read to third place. Agostini then failed to finish in Austria, as Kanaya took the victory ahead of Teuvo Länsivuori (Suzuki) with Read finishing in third place. Kanaya scored an impressive double victory in Austria where he won both the 350cc and 500cc classes to become the first Japanese competitor to win Grand Prix races in either class. Agostini then won two consecutive races in Germany and Italy, relegating Read to second place each time. Mick Grant (Kawasaki) won the fifth round at the 1975 Isle of Man TT as most of the championship contenders continued to boycott the event over safety concerns. Yamaha would recall Kanaya to Japan at mid-season for testing duties while, Gianfranco Bonera replaced Toracca on the MV Agusta team at Round 6 in hopes of offering more support for Read.
Sheene recovered from his Daytona crash to win the first 500cc victory of his career at the 1975 Dutch TT with a dramatic, last corner pass around the outside of Agostini. Both competitors received the same race time while Read finished in third place. Read won the Belgian Grand Prix then finished second to Sheene in Sweden to take the championship points lead as Agostini suffered two consecutive mechanical failures. Agostini recovered to win the Finnish Grand Prix and retake the points lead as Read's motorcycle failed to finish the race. Going into the final round in Czechoslovakia, Read needed to win the race with Agostini placing no higher than eighth in order to win the championship. Read did win the final race however, Agostini finished in second place to clinch the World Championship for the Yamaha team. Read placed second in the final standings while Agostini's Yamaha teammate Kanaya, came in third despite only competing during the first half of the season.
Read actually grossed more points overall than Agostini during the season but fell victim to FIM scoring rules at the time which only recognized a competitor's best six results. Read's loss marked the end of MV Agusta's streak of 17 consecutive 500 Class World Championships dating back to . The company's focus had turned to the aviation industry after the death of Count Domenico Agusta in February 1971. 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. The last remaining manufacturer to compete with four-stroke machinery, the MV Agusta team withdrew from the World Championships after the 1975 season.
Agostini's string of seven consecutive 350cc World Championships came to an end in 1975 when he finished second to teenage prodigy Johnny Cecotto. Cecotto was relatively unknown at the beginning of the season but soon rose to prominence at the season-opening round in France, where he won the 250cc Grand Prix, then defeated Agostini by 20 seconds to win the 350cc Grand Prix. Cecotto had secured only enough budget to compete in the first few rounds of the World Championships however, after his spectacular debut, he secured additional financial sponsorship to compete in all 10 rounds. Yamaha also provided Agostini's 1974 Yamaha TZ350 for Cecotto to use for the remainder of the season. Cecotto relegated Agostini to second place in France, Italy and Finland while Agostini only managed to defeat Cecotto once in Spain. The nineteen-year-old Cecotto became the youngest-ever FIM World Champion at the time. His record stood until when Loris Capirossi won the 125cc World Championship at the age of 17.
Walter Villa won five Grand Prix races to claim his second consecutive 250cc World Championship for the Harley-Davidson-Aermacchi team. His Harley-Davidson teammate Michel Rougerie won two races and finished the championship in second place. Just as Phil Read had done in the 500 Class, Rougerie scored more points than his teammate Villa, but he also fell victim to FIM scoring rules which only recognized a competitor's best six results. Johnny Cecotto won two Grand Prix races and was leading in three other races but failed to finish in each of them. He placed fourth in the championship, just two points behind Dieter Braun.
In the 125cc division, the Morbidellis of Pileri and Bianchi dominated, finishing first and second in six of the ten events. Angel Nieto claimed his fourth world title for Kreidler in the 50cc class.
1975 Grand Prix season calendar Round Date Race Location 50cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Report1 March 30 French Grand Prix Paul Ricard Kent Andersson Johnny Cecotto Johnny Cecotto Giacomo Agostini Report2 April 20 Spanish Grand Prix Jarama Angel Nieto Paolo Pileri Walter Villa Giacomo Agostini Report3 May 4 Austrian Grand Prix Salzburgring Paolo Pileri Hideo Kanaya Hideo Kanaya Report4 May 11 German Grand Prix Hockenheimring Angel Nieto Paolo Pileri Walter Villa Johnny Cecotto Giacomo Agostini Report5 May 18 Nations Grand Prix Imola Angel Nieto Paolo Pileri Walter Villa Johnny Cecotto Giacomo Agostini Report6 June 6 Isle of Man TTSnaefell Mountain Chas Mortimer Charlie Williams Mick Grant Report7 June 28 Dutch TT Assen Angel Nieto Paolo Pileri Walter Villa Dieter Braun Barry Sheene Report8 July 6 Belgian Grand Prix Spa Julien van Zeebroeck Paolo Pileri Johnny Cecotto Phil Read Report9 July 20 Swedish Grand Prix Anderstorp Eugenio Lazzarini Paolo Pileri Walter Villa Barry Sheene Report10 July 27 Finnish Grand Prix Imatra Angel Nieto Michel Rougerie Johnny Cecotto Giacomo Agostini Report11 August 24 Czechoslovak Grand Prix Brno Leif Gustafsson Michel Rougerie Otello Buscherini Phil Read Report12September 21 Yugoslavian Grand Prix Opatija Angel Nieto Dieter Braun Dieter Braun Pentti Korhonen ReportSources:
Participants 500cc participants TeamConstructorMotorcycleNo.RiderRounds MV Agusta MV Agusta MV Agusta 4C 012 Phil Read 1–4, 6–8, 10 24 Gianfranco Bonera 6, 8–9 411820 Armando Toracca 1–2 Suzuki Suzuki 13658 Teuvo Länsivuori 1–3, 6, 9–10 Suzuki GB Suzuki Suzuki RG 500 76912 Barry Sheene 6–8 ??? 901427 John Newbold 4, 6–7 Yamaha Yamaha 248 Giacomo Agostini 1–4, 6–10 32211 Hideo Kanaya 1–4 Arwidson 5227 Pentti Korhonen 8 ??? 51052 Jack Findlay 2–4, 6–9 6 Charlie Williams 5 Suzuki 975 Stan Woods 3–4 Yamaha 1012726910 Karl Auer 1–2, 6, 10 Gerald Brown 10288 John Williams 5–8 Kawasaki/GB Kawasaki 10298811 Mick Grant 5 ??? Suzuki 18 Armando Toracca 4 Yamaha 192411 Chas Mortimer 5, 9–10 Hermetite Ltd 206312461415 Alex George 1–4, 7, 10 ??? Harley-Davidson 21 Michel Rougerie 1 Yamaha 23 Peter McKinley 1 26 Christian Léon 3 König 38102836 Horst Lahfeld 2, 9 Yamaha 441227 Steve Ellis 9 Gauloises 4638 Olivier Chevallier 10 645110 Patrick Pons 1 ??? 48146 Dieter Braun 2–3, 8 König König 69 Christian Léon 7 ??? Yamaha 93 Thierry Tchernine 2, 4, 7 ??? Billie Guthrie 5 ??? Steve Tonkin 5 Source:Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider
Final standings
Scoring system Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. Only the best of four results were counted in the Sidecars championship, while in the 50cc class, only the best of five results were counted. In the 125cc, 250cc, 350cc and 500cc championships, the best of six results were counted.
(key)
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 Place Rider Team Machine FRA AUT GER NAC MAN HOL BEL SWE FIN CZE Pts1 Giacomo Agostini Yamaha Motor NV YZR500 1 Ret 1 1 2 Ret Ret 1 2 842 Phil Read MV Agusta MV500 3 3 2 2 3 1 2 Ret 1 76 (96)3 Hideo Kanaya Yamaha Motor NV YZR500 2 1 4 3 454 Teuvo Länsivuori Suzuki RG500 Ret 2 3 5 2 Ret 405 John Williams Gerald Brown YZR500 Ret Ret 2 7 5 3 Ret Ret 36 6 Barry Sheene Suzuki GB RG500 Ret Ret 1 Ret 1 Ret Ret 30 Alex George Hermetite Racing International YZR500 9 9 8 6 Ret Ret 4 11 Ret 3 308 John Newbold Suzuki GB RG500 Ret 12 7 4 2 Ret 24 Armando Toracca MV Agusta MV500 4 4 Ret 4 2410 Jack Findlay Suzuki RG500 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 3 9 3 Ret 23 Chas Mortimer Sarome Racing YZR500 Ret DNS 3 Ret Ret 4 6 23 12 Karl Auer Racing Team NO YZR500 8 7 Ret 9 Ret 4 17 13 Dieter Braun Mitsui Maschinen YZR500 Ret 6 6 Ret 5 16 14 Mick Grant Boyer-Kawasaki GB H1R-RW 1 15 15 Gianfranco Bonera MV Agusta MV500 6 Ret 4 Ret 13 16 Stan Woods RG500 Ret 5 5 12 17 Horst Lahfeld König Motorenbau König 500 Ret 5 Ret Ret 6 Ret 11 18 Christian Léon König Motorenbau König 500 7 Ret Ret 6 9 19 Billie Guthrie YZR500 4 820 Patrick Pons Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha YZR500 5 Ret 16 Ret Ret 6 Steve Tonkin YZR500 5 6 Steve Ellis YZR500 14 Ret Ret 16 5 6 Olivier Chevallier Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha YZR500 Ret 14 5 6 Tierry Tchernine YZR500 10 8 Ret 9 625 Pentti Korhonen Arwidson Yamaha YZR500 Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 5 Pete McKinley YZR500 6 5 Geoff Barry EC Oakley Yamsel Ret 6 528 Charlie Williams YZR500 11 Ret 7 18 Ret Ret 4 Michel Rougerie Aermacchi-Harley Davidson RR500 7 Ret Ret 4 Alan North Aermacchi-Harley Davidson RR500 Ret Ret 7 4 Gerard Choukroun YZR500 7 4 Thierry Van Der Veken YZR500 7 4 Marcel Ankoné Ankoné Racing RG500 11 11 7 434 Tom Herron YZR500 8 21 Ret 14 3 Tony Rutter YZR500 8 14 3 Hans Stadelmann YZR500 Ret 8 3 Francis Holleberg YZR500 8 3 Edmar Ferreira Carvalho Racing YZR500 8 Ret 3 Johnny Bengtsson YZR500 8 3 Hans Braumandl YZR500 15 8 341 Helmut Kassner YZR500 13 13 13 9 11 Ret Ret 2 Adu Celso Carvalho Racing YZR500 12 Ret 9 2 Bernard Fau YZR500 Ret 9 Ret 2 Bjorn Hasli YZR500 17 9 2 Børge Nielsen YZR500 Ret 9 246 Kjell Solberg YZR500 10 1 Rudolph Keller YZR500 DNS 10 1 Les Kenny YZR500 17 Ret 10 1 Peter Van Der Wal YZR500 10 1 Jean-François Baldé YZR500 10 1 Pekka Nurmi Silja Line Racing YZR500 20 10 1 Seppo Kangasniemi YZR500 10 1 Anssi Resko YZR500 10 154 Edmund CzihakZweiradYZ634A 18 190 Place Rider Team Machine FRA AUT GER NAC MAN HOL BEL SWE FIN CZE PtsSources:
350cc standings