1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1951 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the third F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eight Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 April, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix on 9 September. As of 2024, this is the most recent season the premier class was won by a non-Japanese or non-Italian constructor.

1951 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1950

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1952

Geoff Duke, the 1951 350cc and 500cc World Champion.

1951 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	8 April	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	Guido Leoni		Tommy Wood	Umberto Masetti	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
2	27 May	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten		Dario Ambrosini	Leslie Graham	Fergus Anderson	Frigerio / Ricotti	Report
3	8 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Cromie McCandless	Tommy Wood	Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke		Report
4	1 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
5	7 July	Dutch TT	Assen	Gianni Leoni		Bill Doran	Geoff Duke		Report
6	14 July	French Grand Prix	Albi		Bruno Ruffo	Geoff Duke	Alfredo Milani	Oliver / Dobelli	Report
7	18 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Clady	Cromie McCandless †	Bruno Ruffo	Geoff Duke	Geoff Duke		Report
8	9 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Carlo Ubbiali	Enrico Lorenzetti	Geoff Duke	Alfredo Milani	Milani / Pizzocri	Report

† The race saw only four competitors and was not counted as a round of the World Championship.

Standings

Scoring system

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

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine ESP SUI MAN BEL HOL FRA ULS NAC Pts 1 Geoff Duke Norton Ret 1 1 1 5 1 4 35 2 Alfredo Milani Gilera Ret Ret 2 2 1 4 1 31 3 Umberto Masetti Gilera 1 9 Ret 4 3 2 21 4 Bill Doran AJS 2 Ret Ret 2 6 6 14 5 Nello Pagani Gilera Ret Ret 5 10 3 8 3 10 6 Reg Armstrong AJS 2 Ret 4 Ret Ret 9 7 Fergus Anderson Moto Guzzi Ret 1 Ret Ret 7 8 8 Enrico Lorenzetti Norton / Moto Guzzi Ret 3 8 3 9 Ret 8 9 Tommy Wood Norton 2 11 14 16 6 10 Ken Kavanagh Norton Ret 2 Ret 6 11 Johnny Lockett Norton Ret 6 4 10 5 11 6 12 Carlo Bandirola MV Agusta 5 4 Ret Ret 9 5 13 Sante Geminiani Moto Guzzi Ret Ret 3 Ret 13 4 14 Arciso Artesiani MV Agusta 3 Ret Ret Ret 4 = Cromie McCandless Norton 3 4 16 Tommy McEwans Norton 4 3 = Roger Montané Norton 4 3 18 Jack Brett Norton 7 5 6 Ret 8 3 19 Bruno Ruffo Moto Guzzi Ret 5 2 20 Manliff Barrington Norton 5 2 = Benoit Musy Moto Guzzi 5 2 22 Len Perry Norton 9 12 6 Ret 1 23 Willy Lips Norton 6 1 = Ashley Len Parry Norton 6 1 = Ernesto Vidal Gilera 6 1 26 Arthur Wheeler Norton Ret 7 14 11 Ret 0 27 Hans Baltisberger Norton 7 0 = Eric Briggs Norton 7 0 = Louis Carter Norton 7 0 = Libero Liberati Gilera 7 0 31 Albert Moule Norton 8 9 0 32 Bill Petch AJS/ Norton Ret Ret 8 Ret 15 0 33 Lous van Riswijk Triumph Ret 8 0 34 Massimo Forster Gilera 8 0 35 Väinö Hollming Norton / Moto Guzzi 9 Ret 0 36 Cees Fokke-Bosch Norton 9 0 37 Rod Coleman Norton / AJS Ret 10 11 Ret Ret 0 38 Sidney Mason Norton 10 Ret 0 39 Ken Armstrong Norton 10 0 = Phil Carter Norton 10 0 = Les Dear Norton 10 0 42 Ray Amm Norton 28 11 11 12 12 0 43 Guy Newman Norton 11 0 44 Jack Bailey Norton Ret 12 0 = Roy Evans Norton / AJS 12 Ret 0 46 Alexandre Mayer Norton 12 0 47 Harold Grindley Norton Ret 13 0 48 Dante Bianchi Moto Guzzi 13 0 = Dennis Lashmar Norton 13 0 50 Maurice Acheson AJS 14 0 = Giuseppe Colnago Gilera 14 0 = Auguste Goffin Norton 14 0 53 Bill Hall Velocette Ret 15 0 54 Jean Behra Moto Guzzi 15 0 = León Martin Gilera 15 0 = Roy Walker Velocette 15 0 57 Giulie Galbiati Moto Guzzi Ret 17 Ret 16 0 58 Felice Benasedo Moto Guzzi Ret 31 16 Ret Ret 0 59 Robert Ferguson AJS 16 0 = Sid Franklen AJS 16 0 61 Ernie Barrett AJS Ret 17 0 62 Syl Anderton Norton 17 0 = Lodovico Facchinelli Gilera 17 0 = Jack Harding AJS 17 0 65 Georges Houel Gilera Ret 18 0 66 Charlie Gray AJS 18 0 = George Brockerton Bitza 18 0 = Jaak Delsing Triumph 18 0 69 Leo Starr AJS 27 19 0 70 Ernie Thomas Velocette / Norton Ret 19 Ret 0 71 George Paterson AJS 19 0 72 Sven Sørensen Norton 20 0 = Albert Vertriest Triumph 20 0 74 Evert Carlsson Norton 21 0 = Ronald Pike BSA 21 0 76 Ray Petty Norton 22 0 77 Arnold Jones Norton 23 0 78 Achie Fenn Norton 24 0 79 Jim Kentish AJS 25 0 80 Humphrey Ranson AJS / Norton 26 Ret 0 81 Eddie Stidolph Norton 29 0 82 Max Klein AJS 30 0 83 Leslie Harris Norton 32 Ret 0 84 Ernie Braine Norton 33 0 85 John Fisher Velocette 34 0 86 Joe Chapman Rudge-Whitworth 35 0 87 Bill Maddrick Velocette 36 0 88 J. Gunn Norton 37 0 89 Bob McDonald AJS 38 0 90 Bill Beevers AJS / Norton Ret 39 0 – Leslie Graham MV Agusta / Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – Bruno Bertacchini MV Agusta Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – Bob Matthews Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – Eric Oliver Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 – Mick Featherstone AJS Ret Ret 0 – Charlie Salt BSA / Velocette Ret Ret 0 – Edouard Texidor Norton Ret Ret 0 – Javier de Ortueta Norton DNS Ret 0 – Fernando Aranda Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – Raymond Becquevort AJS Ret 0 – Gaetano Biondelli Gilera Ret 0 – Charlie Brett Norton Ret 0 – Charlie Bruguiere AJS Ret 0 – Florian Camathias BMW Ret 0 – Bernard Carter Triumph Ret 0 – Phil Carter Norton Ret 0 – Jacques Collot Norton Ret 0 – Eugéne Cordang Triumph Ret 0 – Georges Cordey Norton Ret 0 – Firmin Dauwe Norton Ret 0 – Julien Deronne Norton Ret 0 – Jacques Drion Norton Ret 0 – Roger Ergé Norton Ret 0 – Lennart Fenning Norton Ret 0 – Tito Forconi Gilera Ret 0 – Frank Fry Norton Ret 0 – Werner Gerber Norton Ret 0 – Francesco Guglielminetti Gilera Ret 0 – Eric Hardy Norton Ret 0 – Philip Heath Vincent Ret 0 – Johnny Hodgkin Vincent Ret 0 – Chris Horn Norton Ret 0 – Sid Lawton AJS Ret 0 – George Leigh Norton Ret 0 – Guido Leoni Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – Harry Lindsay Norton Ret 0 – Maurice Lockwood AJS Ret 0 – Tony McAlpine Gilera Ret 0 – Reg McDonald Velocette Ret 0 – Stan Miller Norton Ret 0 – Georges Monneret Norton Ret 0 – George Morgan Velocette Ret 0 – Ken Mudford AJS Ret 0 – Alan Mullee Norton Ret 0 – Bill Mundy Norton Ret 0 – Arthur Pollitt Norton Ret 0 – Brian Purslow BSA Ret 0 – Jacques Raffeld AJS Ret 0 – Michael Roche Triumph Ret 0 – Elio Scopigno Moto Guzzi Ret 0 – Oliver Scott Norton Ret 0 – Ralf Seymour Velocette Ret 0 – Cyril Stevens Triumph Ret 0 – Heinrich Stamm Gilera Ret 0 – Jack Varlow AJS Ret 0 – Ernest Walker Norton Ret 0 – Leonard Williams Velocette Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike ESP SUI MAN BEL HOL FRA ULS NAC Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (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

Constructors' 500cc World Championship

Pos	Constructor	Pts
1	Norton	38 (44)
2	Gilera	36 (40)
3	AJS	21 (23)
4	Moto Guzzi	18
5	MV Agusta	7
–	BMW	0
–	BSA	0
–	Rudge-Whitworth	0
–	Triumph	0
–	Velocette	0
–	Vincent	0

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Geoff Duke		United Kingdom	Norton	40	5
2	Bill Doran		United Kingdom	AJS	19	1
3	John Lockett		United Kingdom	Norton	19	0
4	Ken Kavanagh		Australia	Norton	16	0
5	Jack Brett		United Kingdom	Norton	15	0
6	Leslie Graham		United Kingdom	Velocette	14	1
7	Reg Armstrong		Ireland	AJS	11	0
8	Bill Petch		United Kingdom	AJS	10	0
9	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	Velocette	9	0
10	Tommy Wood		United Kingdom	Velocette	8	1
11	Bill Lomas		United Kingdom	Velocette	6	0
12	Rod Coleman		New Zealand	AJS	5	0
13	Mick Featherstone		United Kingdom	AJS	4	0
14	Fernando Aranda		Spain	Velocette	3	0
=	Paul Fuhrer		Switzerland	Velocette	3	0
16	Sid Mason		United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Jack Raffeld		Belgium	Velocette	2	0
=	Simon Sandys-Winsch		United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
19	Johnny Grace		Gibraltar	Norton	1	0
=	Bob Matthews		Ireland	Velocette	1	0
=	Bob Foster		United Kingdom	Velocette	1	0
=	Leonhardt Faßl		Austria	AJS	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Bruno Ruffo		Italy	Moto Guzzi	22	2
2	Tommy Wood		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	18	1
3	Dario Ambrosini		Italy	Benelli	14	1
4	Enrico Lorenzetti		Italy	Moto Guzzi	12	1
5	Gianni Leoni		Italy	Moto Guzzi	10	0
6	Maurice Cann		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	6	0
=	Arthur Wheeler		United Kingdom	Velocette	6	0
8	Fergus Anderson		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Wilf Hutt		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Alano Montanari		Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Benoit Musy		Switzerland	Moto Guzzi	3	0
12	Bill Lomas		United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Douglas Beasley		United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Bruno Francisci		Italy	Moto Guzzi	2	0
16	Fron Purslow		United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Norman Blemings		Ireland	Excelsior	1	0
=	Werner Gerber		Switzerland	Moto Guzzi	1	0
=	Nino Grieco		Italy	Parilla	1	0
=	Guido Paciocca		Italy	Moto Guzzi	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos. Rider Bike ESP MAN NED NAT Pts 1 Carlo Ubbiali Mondial 2F 2 1F 20 2 Gianni Leoni Mondial 3 1F 12 3 Cromie McCandless Mondial 1F 4 11 4 Luigi Zinzani Morini 2 3 10 5 Guido Leoni Mondial 1 8 6 Vittorio Zanzi Morini 3 4 7 7 Romolo Ferri Mondial 2 6 8 Leslie Graham MV Agusta 3 4 9 Juan Bultó Montesa 5 5 4 10 Raffaele Alberti Mondial 4 3 10 Nello Pagani Mondial 4 3 12 Franco Bertoni MV Agusta 5 2 12 Otello Spadoni Mondial 5 2 14 José Antonio Elizalde Mondial 6 1 14 José Maria Llobet Montesa 6 1 14 Emilio Mendogni Morini 6 1 14 Giuseppe Matucci MV Agusta 6 1 Pos. Rider Bike ESP MAN NED NAT Pts

Race key 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) Annotation Meaning P Pole position F Fastest lap Rider key Colour Meaning Light blue Rookie rider

Constructors' standings

Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

Pos.	Constructor	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts
1	Mondial	1	1	1	1	24 (32)
2	Morini	3		2	3	14
3	MV Agusta			3	6	5
4	Montesa	5	5			4
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	MAN	NED	NAT	Pts

References

• Haefliger, Werner. FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 9–10. ISBN 978-2-9701086-8-9.
• Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
• "The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2010-07-06.