1961 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1961 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 13th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eleven Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 23 April, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Argentine Grand Prix on 15 October.

1961 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1960

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1962

Gary Hocking, the 1961 350cc and 500cc World Champion.

Mike Hailwood (pictured in 1967) won his first out of 9 World Championship titles in the 250cc class in 1961.

Tom Phillis won the title in the 125cc class.

1961 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	23 April	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Tom Phillis	Gary Hocking			Fath / Wohlgemuth	Report
2	14 May	West German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Ernst Degner	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Frantisek Stastny	Gary Hocking	Deubel / Hörner	Report
3	21 May	French Grand Prix	Charade Circuit	Tom Phillis	Tom Phillis		Gary Hocking	Scheidegger / Burkhardt	Report
4	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Phil Read	Mike Hailwood	Deubel / Hörner	Report
5	24 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Tom Phillis	Mike Hailwood	Gary Hocking	Gary Hocking	Deubel / Hörner	Report
6	2 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Luigi Taveri	Jim Redman		Gary Hocking	Scheidegger / Burkhardt	Report
7	30 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Ernst Degner	Mike Hailwood	Gary Hocking	Gary Hocking		Report
8	12 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Kunimitsu Takahashi	Bob McIntyre	Gary Hocking	Gary Hocking		Report
9	3 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Ernst Degner	Jim Redman	Gary Hocking	Mike Hailwood		Report
10	17 September	Swedish Grand Prix	Råbelövsbanan	Luigi Taveri	Mike Hailwood	Frantisek Stastny	Gary Hocking		Report
11	15 October	Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	Tom Phillis	Tom Phillis		Jorge Kissling		Report

Standings

Scoring system

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

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

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine GER FRA MAN HOL BEL DDR ULS NAC SWE ARG Pts 1 Gary Hocking MV Agusta 1 1 Ret 1 1 1 1 Ret 1 48 (56) 2 Mike Hailwood Norton / MV Agusta 4 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 40 (55) 3 Frank Perris Norton 2 5 Ret Ret 3 3 16 4 Bob McIntyre Norton 2 3 3 14 5 Alistair King Norton 4 3 2 Ret 13 6 Bert Schneider Norton 18 Ret 3 5 4 9 7 Jorge Kissling Matchless 1 8 8 Ron Langston Matchless 5 5 4 Ret 7 9 Juan Carlos Salatino Norton 2 6 10 Paddy Driver Norton Ret Ret 6 Ret 3 5 11 Mike Duff Matchless 14 4 10 5 5 12 Hans-Günter Jäger BMW / Norton 3 8 4 13 Tom Phillis Norton 3 Ret 4 14 Antoine Paba Norton 3 4 15 John Farnsworth Matchless / Norton 38 4 9 Ret 3 16 Phil Read Norton Ret 4 Ret 3 17 Gyula Marsovszky Norton 4 Ret 3 18 Alberto Pagani Norton 4 3 = Juan Perkins Norton 4 3 20 Jack Findlay Norton DNS DNS 8 5 8 6 Ret 3 21 Ernst Hiller BMW / Matchless 5 19 Ret 11 Ret 2 22 Peter Chatterton Norton 20 5 2 23 Fritz Masserli Matchless 5 44 2 24 Eduardo Salatino Norton 5 2 25 Peter Pawson Matchless / Norton 8 Ret 7 6 1 26 Roland Föll Matchless 8 6 Ret 11 1 27 Lothar John BMW 6 10 14 9 10 1 28 Ron Miles Norton 12 6 NEL 1 29 Tom Thorp Norton 13 6 1 30 Anssi Resko Norton / Matchless 6 11 1 31 Horacio Costas Norton 6 1 = Tony Godfrey Norton 6 1 33 Karl Hoppe Norton Ret 7 11 7 0 34 Tommy Robb Matchless Ret 7 8 0 35 Roy Ingram Norton 7 10 Ret 0 36 Vernon Cottle Norton 7 21 11 12 0 37 Rudi Thalhammer Norton 11 7 0 38 Tommy Robinson Norton 7 Ret 0 39 Raphaël Orinel Norton 7 0 40 Trevor Pound Norton 8 9 0 41 Jacques Insermini Norton 12 11 Ret 8 Ret 0 42 Louis Bernagozzi Norton 8 0 43 Rudolf Gläser Norton Ret Ret 15 9 Ret 0 44 Edy Lenz Norton 45 9 0 45 Ellis Boyce Norton 9 Ret 0 46 Rene Goetz BSA 9 0 = Klaus Hamelmann Norton 9 0 48 Heinz Kauert Matchless 10 Ret 0 = Toni Schmitz Norton Ret Ret 10 0 50 Georges Comy Norton 10 0 = Fred Stevens Norton 10 0 = Roberto Vigorito Norton 10 0 53 Peter Horton Norton 11 Ret 0 = Jack Bullock Norton 11 0 55 Alf Shaw Norton 41 12 0 56 Geoffrey Tanner Norton Ret Ret 12 0 57 Dan Shorey Norton Ret 12 0 58 Joachim Claus Norton 12 0 = Bruno Hofmann Norton 12 0 = Benedetto Zambotti Gilera 12 0 61 Anton Elbersen BMW 13 0 = Sven-Olov Gunnarsson Norton 13 0 = Tommy Holmes Matchless 13 0 = Emanuele Maugliani Gilera 13 0 = Johannes Müller Norton 13 0 = Jules Nies Norton 13 0 67 Joop Vegelzang Norton 14 15 0 68 Bror-Erland Carlsson Matchless / AJS Ret 14 0 69 Alfonz Breznik Gilera 14 0 = Jimmy Jones Norton 14 0 71 John Brown Norton 15 0 = Anthony Horton Norton 15 0 = Brian Setchell Norton 15 0 74 Campbell Donaghy BSA 16 0 = Derek Powell Matchless 16 0 76 Martin Brosnan Norton 17 0 = Bill Smith Matchless 17 0 78 Dennis Craig Matchless 37 18 0 79 George Catlin Matchless 19 0 80 Billy McCosh Matchless 22 0 81 Monty Buxton Norton 23 0 82 Don Chapman Norton 24 Ret 0 83 Mike O'Rourke Norton 25 0 84 George Purvis Matchless 26 0 85 Arthur Wheeler Matchless 27 0 86 Harold Riley BSA 28 0 87 Den Jarman AJS 29 0 88 Derek Minter Norton 30 0 89 Louis Carr Norton 31 0 90 Alan Dugdale Matchless 32 0 91 Ronald Cousins Norton 33 0 92 Geoff Eccles BSA 34 0 93 Dave Wildman AJS 35 0 94 Billy Andersson AJS 36 0 95 Albert Moule Norton 39 0 96 Bill Robertson AJS 40 0 97 John Simmonds Matchless 42 0 98 Maurice Gittins Norton 43 0 - Hugh Anderson Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 - John Hartle Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 - William Van Leeuwen Norton Ret Ret Ret 0 - Hans Pesl Norton Ret Ret 0 - Chris Anderson Norton Ret 0 - R. Bennett Norton Ret 0 - Richard Brinnand Norton Ret 0 - Ralph Bryans Norton Ret 0 - Roly Capner BSA Ret 0 - Fred Chase Norton Ret 0 - Artemio Cirelli Gilera Ret 0 - Gianfranco Demeniconi Norton Ret 0 - Graham Downes Matchless Ret 0 - Peter Evans Matchless Ret 0 - Harry Grant BSA Ret 0 - Alois Huber BMW Ret 0 - Len Ireland Norton Ret 0 - Pierre James Norton Ret 0 - Vasco Loro Norton Ret 0 - Giuseppe Mantelli Gilera Ret 0 - Peter Middleton Norton Ret 0 - Gilberto Milani Norton Ret 0 - George Northwood Norton Ret 0 - Karl Recktenwald Norton Ret 0 - Ralph Rensen Norton Ret 0 - Ladislaus Richter Norton Ret 0 - Renzo Rossi Gilera Ret 0 - Derek Russell Norton Ret 0 - Walter Scheimann Norton Ret 0 - Douglas Smith Matchless Ret 0 - Graham Smith Norton Ret 0 - Lewis Young Norton Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike GER FRA MAN HOL BEL DDR ULS NAC SWE ARG 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

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Gary Hocking		Rhodesia	MV Agusta	32	4
2	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	26	2
3	Gustav Havel		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	19	0
4	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Norton	13	1
5	Bob McIntyre		United Kingdom	Bianchi	10	0
6	Rudi Thalhammer		Austria	Norton	7	0
=	Ralph Rensen		United Kingdom	Norton	7	0
8	Alistair King		United Kingdom	Bianchi	6	0
=	Mike Hailwood		United Kingdom	MV Agusta	6	0
10	Ernesto Brambilla		Italy	Bianchi	5	0
=	Alan Shepherd		United Kingdom	AJS	5	0
12	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	AJS	4	0
13	Derek Minter		United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
14	Hans Pesl		West Germany	Norton	2	0
=	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Benelli	2	0
=	Ron Langston		United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
17	Frank Perris		United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
=	Mike Duff		Canada	AJS	2	0
19	Roy Ingram		United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Bert Schneider		Austria	Norton	1	0
=	Hugh Anderson		New Zealand	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Mike Hailwood		United Kingdom	Honda	44	4
2	Tom Phillis		Australia	Honda	38	2
3	Jim Redman		Rhodesia	Honda	36	2
4	Kunimitsu Takahashi		Japan	Honda	29	1
5	Bob McIntyre		United Kingdom	Honda	14	1
6	Tarquinio Provini		Italy	Morini	10	0
7	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Benelli	10	0
8	Gary Hocking		Rhodesia	MV Agusta	8	1
9	Fumio Ito		Japan	Yamaha	7	0
10	Luigi Taveri		Switzerland	Honda	6	0
11	Alan Shepherd		United Kingdom	MZ	6	0
=	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	6	0
13	Ernst Degner		East Germany	MZ	3	0
=	Sadao Shimazaki		Japan	Honda	3	0
15	Hans Fischer		East Germany	MZ	3	0
16	Naomi Taniguchi		Japan	Honda	2	0
17	Dan Shorey		United Kingdom	NSU	1	0
=	Yoshikazu Sunako		Japan	Yamaha	1	0
=	Werner Musiol		East Germany	MZ	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos. Rider Bike ESP FRG FRA MAN NED BEL GDR ULS NAT SWE ARG Pts 1 Tom Phillis Honda 1 1F 3 1F 2F 2 3F 4F 6 1F 44 (56) 2 Ernst Degner MZ 2 1F 2F 4 1 2 1 42 (45) 3 Luigi Taveri Honda 5 5 2F 1 DSQ 6 3 1F 30 (31) 4 Jim Redman Honda 3 3 4 2 3 6 4 5 3 2 28 (37) 5 Kunimitsu Takahashi Honda 6 6 3F 1 2 3 24 6 Mike Hailwood EMC 4F 4 16 Honda 1 5 7 Alan Shepherd MZ 2 3 5 12 8 Walter Brehme MZ 3 6 5 7 9 Teisuke Tanaka Honda 2 6 10 Werner Musiol MZ 5 4 5 10 Sadao Shimazaki Honda 5 4 5 12 Hans Fischer MZ 4 3 12 Phil Read EMC 4 3 12 László Szabó MZ 4 3 15 John Grace Bultaco 5 2 15 Ulf Svensson Ducati 5 2 15 Naomi Taniguchi Honda 5 2 18 Rex Avery EMC 6 6 2 19 Ricardo Quintanilla Bultaco 6 1 19 Ralph Rensen Bultaco 6 1 19 Héctor Pochettino Bultaco 6 1 Pos. Rider Bike ESP FRG FRA MAN NED BEL GDR ULS NAT SWE ARG 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	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	GDR	ULS	NAT	SWE	ARG	Pts
1	Honda	1	5	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	48 (78)
2	MZ	2	1	2		3	4	1	2	1	4		42 (52)
3	EMC	4		4		4				6			10
4	Bultaco	5			6							6	4
5	Ducati										5		2
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRG	FRA	MAN	NED	BEL	GDR	ULS	NAT	SWE	ARG	Pts

References

• Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 41–44. 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 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2010-07-06.