1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Phil Read (8) finished second at the 1970 Dutch TT

The 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 22nd 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 3 May, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 27 September.

Season summary[]

With no other manufacturers competing in the 500cc class the MV Agusta team continued to dominate as Giacomo Agostini won his fifth consecutive 500cc world championship.^[1] Kawasaki began to sell the Kawasaki H1R to privateer racing teams.^[2] The H1R was the first multi-cylinder two stroke racing motorcycle to be sold commercially.^[2] Ginger Molloy rode one of the Kawasakis to a second place finish behind Agostini in the championship.^[1]

Life was a bit tougher for Agostini in the 350 class as Kel Carruthers and Renzo Pasolini on Benellis and Rod Gould on a factory Yamaha gave him a battle on more than one occasion.^[1] Gould would take the 250 title for Yamaha, battling Carruthers for the entire season.^[1] German Dieter Braun would give Suzuki the 125 crown while Derbi mounted Angel Nieto claimed the 50cc class for the second year in a row.

There were six fatalities among the competitors at the Isle of Man TT races, including world championship contender Santiago Herrero, making 1970 the deadliest year in the history of the event.^[3]^[4]

1970 Grand Prix season calendar[]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	3 May	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Angel Nieto	John Dodds	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	/
2	17 May	French Grand Prix	Le Mans Bugatti	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	Enders /	Report
3	24 May	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija Circuit	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Santiago Herrero	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		Dieter Braun	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders /	Report
5	27 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	/
6	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould		Giacomo Agostini	/
7	12 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Aalt Toersen	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
8	19 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit	Aalt Toersen	Gilberto Parlotti	Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini		Enders /
9	2 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Dave Simmonds	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders /
10	15 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Angel Nieto		Kel Carruthers	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Enders /
11	13 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Jan de Vries	Angel Nieto	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini
12	27 September	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Salvador Cañellas	Angel Nieto	Kent Andersson	Angelo Bergamonti	Angelo Bergamonti

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		FRA		MAN								Pts
1	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		90
2	Ginger Molloy	Bultaco / Kawasaki	5	2	7		4	16	15	2	2	6	2	62
3	Angelo Bergamonti	Aermacchi / MV Agusta		4	2		2					2	1	59
4	Tommy Robb	Seeley	3	11		Ret	10	3	10	5	Ret		4	36
5	Alberto Pagani	Linto		3	Ret		3	Ret	Ret	3		Ret	Ret	30
6	Alan Barnett	Seeley-Matchless	2	7		Ret			4		Ret			24
7		Kawasaki		8			Ret	2	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	24
8	Jack Findlay	Seeley-Matchless / Seeley-Suzuki	Ret	Ret	4	4	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	24
9	Martti Pesonen	Yamaha	7		5	Ret	Ret	8		8	7		7	24
10	Peter Williams	Matchless				2	7				5			22
11	Roberto Gallina	Paton			3		Ret					7	5	20
12		Kawasaki	Ret			Ret			3		6		6	20
13	Gyula Marsovszky	Linto / Kawasaki	11	6	8		9	Ret	Ret	Ret		4	Ret	18
14		Kawasaki	Ret	9				13	7	4		Ret		14
15	John Dodds	Linto	Ret	Ret			Ret	Ret	2	Ret		Ret	Ret	12
16		Kawasaki		Ret								3		10
=	Bill Smith	Kawasaki / Yamaha				3					Ret			10
=	Percy Tait	Triumph / Seeley-Matchless						Ret			3			10
19		Moto Guzzi											3	10
20	Dave Simmonds	Kawasaki	Ret	12	6		12	12	8	Ret			9	10
21		Münch- / Seeley-	4	16			Ret		Ret					8
22		Matchless			Ret			4	Ret					8
23		Kawasaki			9							5		8
=	John Williams	Matchless				5					9			8
25	Godfrey Nash	Norton /	Ret	Ret			Ret	11	9	6				7
26	Billie Nelson	Paton	9				Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret		7
27	Ernst Hiller	Kawasaki	8				Ret	7	Ret					7
28		Honda / Matchless	Ret	Ret	11		Ret	5		Ret			Ret	6
29	Brian Steenson	Seeley-Matchless	15	5		Ret								6
30	Paul Smart	Seeley-Matchless				Ret	5			Ret	Ret			6
31		Honda	10	Ret	Ret		13	6		Ret		Ret	Ret	6
32	Tony Jefferies	Matchless				6					Ret			5
=		Aermacchi	6	Ret	Ret									5
34	Rob Bron	Suzuki					6							5
35		Linto / Matchless	Ret	Ret	14			10	Ret	7				5
36	Ron Chandler	Seeley-Matchless / Triumph	Ret				8	9			Ret			5
37		Matchless				7								4
38		Norton				Ret					8			3
39		Norton				8								3
=		Kawasaki										8		3
41		Seeley-Matchless				9					13			2
42		BMW	Ret			Ret				9				2
43		Kawasaki			Ret							9		2
44		Honda		Ret	10				14	10		Ret		2
45		Velocette	Ret			21			Ret				10	1
46		Paton		10										1
=		Seeley-Matchless									10			1
=		Norton-Kawasaki										10		1
=		Norton				10								1
50		Linto / Seeley		14					11					0
51	Malcolm Uphill	Suzuki				Ret	11				Ret			0
52		Seeley							Ret			11		0
53		Aermacchi									11			0
=		Norton		Ret									11	0
=		Aermacchi								11				0
=		Norton				11								0
57		Linto	12		Ret		14							0
58		Norton				14					12			0
59						12					17			0
60		Matchless								12				0
=		Jawa			12									0
62		Kawasaki	26	13										0
63		Benelli			Ret		Ret			13		Ret		0
64		Kawasaki							13	Ret				0
65		Seeley	13											0
=		Norton				13								0
=		Kawasaki			13									0
68		Matchless /				39		14	Ret					0
69		Seeley-	14	Ret										0
70		Norton									14			0
71	Ken Kay	Aermacchi				28					15			0
72		BSA				Ret	15							0
73		Norton						15						0
=		Kawasaki		15										0
=		Norton				15								0
76		Norton / Linto	16										Ret	0
77		Seeley				16								0
=		Velocette									16			0
=		Matchless							16					0
80		Aermacchi		17										0
=		Higley-Seeley				17								0
=		Matchless	17											0
=		Paton							17					0
84		Seeley				34					18			0
85	Bo Granath	Husqvarna	18	Ret		Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret			Ret	0
86		Norton				18								0
=		Matchless							18					0
88		Norton				35					19			0
89		Matchless / Norton	19		Ret					Ret				0
90		Oakley-Matchless				19								0
91		Triumph				20								0
=		Matchless	20											0
=		Norton									20			0
94		Matchless	21											0
95		Matchless	22						Ret					0
96		Norton				22								0
97		Seeley	23			Ret					Ret			0
98		Norton				23								0
99		Honda	24											0
=		Norton				24								0
101		Kettle-Norton				25								0
=		Matchless	25											0
103		Norton				26								0
104		Matchless				27								0
=		Aermacchi	27											0
106		BMW	28											0
107		Petty-Norton				29								0
=		Norton	29											0
109		Norton				30								0
=		Matchless	30											0
111		Triumph				31								0
=	Ted Janssen	Norton	31											0
113		Norton				32								0
114		Aermacchi				33								0
115		Norton				36								0
116		Norton				37								0
117		Norton				38								0
118						40								0
119		Honda				41								0
-		Kawasaki / Matchless		Ret			Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret			0
-	Keith Turner	Linto		Ret					Ret	Ret				0
-		Kawasaki	Ret								Ret			0
-		Kuhn-Seeley				Ret					Ret			0
-		Norton				Ret					Ret			0
-		Matchless / Aermacchi				Ret					Ret			0
-		Matchless / Yamaha							Ret	Ret				0
-	Renzo Pasolini	Benelli							Ret			Ret		0
-		Kawasaki	Ret	Ret										0
-		Seeley	Ret											0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Matchless				Ret								0
-		Triumph				Ret								0
-							Ret							0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-						Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-	John Cooper	Seeley				Ret								0
-		Kawasaki							Ret					0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Seeley				Ret								0
-		Linto		Ret										0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-						Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Seeley									Ret			0
-		Triumph				Ret								0
-	Mick Grant	Velocette				Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
=		Matchless		Ret										0
-		Matchless								Ret				0
-						Ret								0
-		Matchless								Ret				0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Matchless				Ret								0
-		Norton		Ret										0
=				Ret										0
-		Kuhn-Seeley				Ret								0
-		Petty-Norton				Ret								0
-		Seeley									Ret			0
-	Gilberto Milani	Aermacchi										Ret		0
-		Seeley				Ret								0
-		Paton		Ret										0
-		Matchless		Ret										0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Norton				Ret								0
=		Suzuki		Ret										0
-	Barry Sheene	Bultaco											Ret	0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Seeley				Ret								0
-	Frantisek Stastny	Jawa						Ret						0
-		Velocette		Ret										0
-		Ducati	Ret											0
-		Paton	Ret											0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Velocette				Ret								0
-		Norton									Ret			0
-		Norton				Ret								0
-		Bianchi										Ret		0
Pos	Rider	Bike		FRA		MAN								Pts

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

1970 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	90	9
2	Kel Carruthers	7	Australia	Benelli	58	0
3	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Benelli	46	0
4	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	44	0
5	Martti Pesonen		Finland	Yamaha	38	0
6	Rodney Gould		United Kingdom	Yamaha	28	0
7	Angelo Bergamonti		Italy	MV Agusta	27	1
8	Günter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	20	0
9	Alan Barnett		United Kingdom	Aermacchi	20	0
10	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Yamaha	18	0

1970 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Rodney Gould	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	102	6
2	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Yamaha	84	4
3	Kent Andersson	2	Sweden	Yamaha	67	1
4	Jarno Saarinen		Finland	Yamaha	57	0
5	Börje Jansson	5	Sweden	Yamaha	34	0
6	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	30	0
7	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
8	Santiago Herrero	3	Spain	Ossa	27	1
9	Bo Granath		Sweden	Yamaha	25	0
10	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Yamaha	24	0

1970 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Dieter Braun	2	West Germany	Suzuki	84	4
2	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	72	4
3	Börje Jansson		Sweden	Maico	62	0
4	Dave Simmonds	1	United Kingdom	Kawasaki	57	1
5	László Szabó	8	Hungary	MZ	34	0
6			West Germany	Maico	33	0
7	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Suzuki	31	0
8	John Dodds		Australia	Aermacchi	24	1
9	Gunter Bartusch		East Germany	MZ	22	0
10			Austria	Rotax	25	0

1970 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings[]

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	87	5
2	Aalt Toersen	2	Netherlands		75	3
3	Rudolf Kunz	8	West Germany	Kreidler	66	0
4	Salvador Cañellas		Spain	Derbi	63	1
5	Jan De Vries	4	Netherlands	Kreidler	60	1
6	Jos Schurgers		Netherlands	Kreidler	41	0
7		10	Netherlands		40	0
8		9	West Germany	Kreidler	17	0
9	Gilberto Parlotti	6	Italy	Tomos	15	1
10	Harald Bartol		Austria	Kreidler	11	0

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
^ ^a ^b Cathcart, Alan (2019), "Eric Offenstadt's Monocoque Triple", Classic Racer, Mortons Motorcycle Media Group Ltd, ISSN 1470-4463, But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple
^ "World's fastest way to die: The most dangerous race on the planet". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
^ "Two more deaths take Isle of Man TT Festival toll to five". express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

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.

[Motocourse:_50_Years_Of_Moto_Grand_Prix-1] Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7

[Eric_Offenstadt's_Monocoque_Triple-2] Cathcart, Alan (2019), "Eric Offenstadt's Monocoque Triple", Classic Racer, Mortons Motorcycle Media Group Ltd, ISSN 1470-4463, But for 1970 he decided to take advantage of the arrival of the world's first multi-cylinder two stroke 500 GP customer racer, the Kawasaki H1R triple

[3] "World's fastest way to die: The most dangerous race on the planet". news.com.au. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

[4] "Two more deaths take Isle of Man TT Festival toll to five". express.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2017.

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