1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 20th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of ten Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 21 April, with German Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix on 15 September. As the sidecar race was cancelled at the Nations Grand Prix, it was announced that a replacement race would be held at Hockenheimring in October alongside the German national championship.^[1]

Season summary[]

With the departure of Honda from the Grand Prix scene, MV Agusta proceeded to dominate the larger classes with Giacomo Agostini winning every race in the 500 and 350 classes.^[2] The 250 crown went to Phil Read amidst a controversy between Yamaha teammates. Read was supposed to take the 125 title while leaving the 250 crown for Bill Ivy. After Read captured the 125 title, he ignored team orders and went after the 250 title as well.^[2] As a result, Yamaha would discharge Read and he would never regain a place on the factory team.^[2] Hans-Georg Anscheidt would capture his third consecutive 50cc championship for Suzuki.

1968 Grand Prix season calendar[]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	21 April	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Sudschleife	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Fath /
2	5 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Salvador Cañellas	Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini
3	14 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Barry Smith	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	/Horst Schneider	Report
4	29 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Paul Lodewijkx	Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	/
5	7 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini	/
6	14 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Phil Read	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
7	21 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit		Phil Read	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
8	4 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Phil Read	Phil Read		Giacomo Agostini	Fath /
9	17 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Bill Ivy	Bill Ivy	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
10	15 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza		Bill Ivy	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini

Standings[]

Scoring system[]

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

500cc final standings[]

Pos Rider Machine MAN Pts 1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 48 (80) 2 Jack Findlay Matchless / Ret 2 Ret 2 2 3 2 2 5 Ret 34 (36) 3 Gyula Marsovszky Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 4 5 Ret Ret Ret 11 3 6 Ret Ret 10 4 Alberto Pagani Linto Ret Ret 2 Ret 4 9 5 Robin Fitton Norton 4 2 9 6 Peter Williams Arter-Matchless 3 Ret 4 7 7 5 20 9 9 7 Derek Woodman Seeley Ret 9 Ret 3 Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret 8 8 John Cooper Seeley / Norton Ret 3 6 4 Ret Ret 8 9 Dan Shorey Norton 2 Ret Ret 10 6 Ret Ret 7 10 Angelo Bergamonti Paton Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 7 11 Kel Carruthers Norton / Ret 6 5 5 Ret Ret 8 6 6 7 12 Brian Ball Seeley-Matchless / Matchless 2 18 6 13 Renzo Pasolini Benelli 2 6 14 John Dodds Norton Ret 3 Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret 5 8 6 15 Billie Nelson Paton / Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret 5 4 7 Ret Ret 5 16 John Hartle / MV Agusta Ret Ret 9 11 9 Ret 3 4 17 Norton 3 4 18 Percy Tait Triumph Ret 4 3 19 Bill Smith Matchless / Paton 4 Ret Ret 3 20 4 3 21 Bohumil Stasa ČZ 5 Ret 13 Ret 2 22 Paton 5 2 = Matchless 5 2 24 Rodney Gould Norton / Triumph 6 Ret 8 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 1 25 Ron Chandler Matchless / Seeley-Matchless 7 6 9 Ret Ret 10 1 26 Norton / Matchless / Seeley Ret 6 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 27 Godfrey Nash Norton Ret 6 Ret Ret 1 28 / Matchless Ret 7 9 0 29 Norton 12 7 12 12 11 0 30 Malcolm Uphill Manning-Norton Ret 7 Ret 0 31 7 0 32 Matchless / Norton / 8 Ret 12 10 0 33 Keith Turner Matchless 15 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 0 34 Bo Granath Matchless / Seeley Ret 14 14 8 Ret Ret 0 35 Higley-Matchless Ret Ret 8 0 36 Monark 8 0 37 Norton 10 9 13 19 14 0 38 Matchless 13 14 9 0 39 Norton 9 0 = Jawa 9 0 41 Norton 10 12 0 42 Matchless 10 0 = Matchless 10 0 44 Matchless / 18 15 15 11 0 45 Honda 11 0 = Norton 11 0 = Yamaha 11 0 = Norton 11 0 = John Williams Matchless 11 0 50 Matchless 12 0 = Matchless 12 0 = Norton 12 0 = Norton 12 0 54 Matchless Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 0 55 BMW 13 0 = Norton 13 0 = Matchless 13 0 = Matchless 13 0 = Seeley 13 0 60 Matchless 14 0 = Norton 14 0 = Norton 14 0 63 Ret 15 0 64 Norton 15 0 65 Norton 16 16 0 66 BMW 16 0 67 Matchless 17 0 = Matchless 17 0 = Norton 17 0 70 Norton 18 0 71 Norton 19 Ret 0 72 Matchless 19 0 73 Norton 20 0 74 Norton 21 0 = Matchless 21 0 76 Matchless 22 0 77 Triumph 23 0 78 Norton 24 0 79 Norton 25 0 80 BSA 26 0 81 Matchless 27 0 82 Norton 28 0 83 Aermacchi / 29 Ret 0 84 Matchless 30 0 85 Norton 31 Ret 0 86 32 0 87 Matchless 33 0 88 Matchless 34 0 89 Norton 35 0 90 Vincent HRD 36 0 91 Norton 37 0 - Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 - František Šťastný Jawa Ret Ret Ret 0 - Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Silvio Grassetti Bianchi Ret Ret 0 - Norton Ret Ret 0 - Seeley Ret Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Aermacchi Ret 0 - Alan Barnett Ret 0 - BMW Ret 0 - Velocette Ret 0 - ČZ Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - BSA- Ret 0 - BMW Ret 0 - Bianchi Ret 0 - Salvador Cañellas Bultaco Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Petty-Norton Ret 0 - BSA Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Triton Ret 0 - Mike Hailwood Benelli Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless- Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Triumph Ret 0 - Triumph Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Ret 0 - Jawa Ret 0 - Hughes-Triumph Ret 0 - BMW Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Oakley-Matchless Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Petty-Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Honda Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Gilberto Milani Linto Ret 0 - Ginger Molloy Bultaco Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Matchless- Ret 0 - Tony Rutter Norton Ret 0 - Lyster-Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Bruno Spaggiari Ducati Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Kirby-Matchless Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Triumph Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Norton Ret 0 - Matchless Ret 0 - Bianchi Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike MAN Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) 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

350cc Standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini		Italy	MV Agusta	32	7
2	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	18	0
3	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Aermacchi	17	0
4	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	12	0
=	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	12	0
6	Derek Woodman		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	9	0
7	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	8	0
8	Bohumil Stasa		Czechoslovakia	ČZ	7	0
9	Bill Smith		United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Gilberto Milani		Italy	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Brian Steenson		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Benelli	4	0
13	Billie Nelson		United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
14	Dan Shorey		United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
=	John Cooper		United Kingdom		2	0
=			West Germany	Aermacchi	2	0
=	Bruno Spaggiari		Italy	Ducati	2	0
18	Jack Findlay		Australia	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Kawasaki	1	0

250cc Standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	5
2	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	46	5
3	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	32	0
4	Rodney Gould		United Kingdom	Yamaha	21	0
5	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	19	0
6	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	10	0
7	Santiago Herrero		Spain	Ossa	8	0
8	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	6	0
9	Malcolm Uphill		United Kingdom	Suzuki	5	0
=	László Szabó		Hungary	MZ	5	0
=	Jack Findlay		Australia	Bultaco	5	0
12			Spain	Ossa	3	0
=			Rhodesia	Yamaha	3	0
14			Spain	Bultaco	2	0
=	Gilberto Milani		Italy	Aermacchi	2	0
16			West Germany	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Bill Smith		United Kingdom	Yamaha	1	0
=	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Bultaco	1	0
=			United Kingdom	Suzuki	1	0

125cc Standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	40	6
2	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	34	2
3	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	15	0
4	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	12	0
5	Salvador Cañellas		Spain	Bultaco	11	1
6	László Szabó		Hungary	MZ	11	0
=	Dieter Braun		West Germany	MZ-Neckermann	11	0
8	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	10	0
9	Günter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	8	0
10	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Honda	6	0
11	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Bultaco	5	0
12			West Germany	MZ-Neckermann	4	0
=	Jan Huberts		Netherlands	MZ	4	0
14			West Germany	Honda	3	0
=			East Germany	MZ	3	0
=	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Kawasaki	3	0
17	Kent Andersson		Sweden	MZ	2	0
=			Rhodesia	Montesa	2	0
=			East Germany	MZ	2	0
=	Lothar John		West Germany	MZ	2	0
=			East Germany	MZ	2	0
=			East Germany	MZ	2	0
23			Spain	Bultaco	1	0
=			United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	Giuseppe Visenzi		Italy	Montesa	1	0
=			Hungary	MZ	1	0

50cc Standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	30	3
2	Paul Lodewijkx		Netherlands		17	1
3	Barry Smith		Australia	Derbi	15	1
4	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	10	0
5	Rudolf Kunz		West Germany	Kreidler	6	0
=			United Kingdom	Honda	6	0
=			West Germany	Kreidler	6	0
8			United Kingdom	Honda	4	0
=	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Kreidler	4	0
10			West Germany	Kreidler	3	0
=			United Kingdom	Honda	3	0
=	Jan de Vries		Netherlands	Kreidler	3	0
13	Cees van Dongen		Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
=			Spain	Derbi	2	0
=			United Kingdom	Honda	2	0
=	Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
=			Netherlands		2	0
18			Yugoslavia	Tomos	1	0
=			Spain	Derbi	1	0
=			United Kingdom	Honda	1	0

References[]

• 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.