1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

1980 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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1981

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1980 World Champions
500cc – Kenny Roberts (Yamaha)
350cc - Jon Ekerold (Yamaha)
250cc – Anton Mang (Kawasaki)
125cc – Pier Paolo Bianchi (MBA)
50cc – Eugenio Lazzarini (Iprem)

Kenny Roberts (pictured top in Assen) and Jon Ekerold (pictured in Assen) became the 1980 500cc and 350cc world champion.

Season summary

Yamaha's Kenny Roberts claimed his third successive 500cc world championship in a season shortened by the cancellations of the Venezuelan and Austrian rounds.^[1] Randy Mamola took over at Suzuki from Barry Sheene. Kawasaki returned to the 500cc class with a monocoque, four cylinder bike for Kork Ballington.^[1] Honda soldiered on with its exotic four-stroke NR500 but began to realize it was at a disadvantage against its two-stroke opposition.^[1]

There were only six rounds in the 350cc class that saw South Africa's Jon Ekerold, a true privateer, take the championship from the Kawasaki factory-sponsored Anton Mang.^[1] Mang would take the 250cc crown from defending champion Ballington while Pier Paolo Bianchi won the 125cc title.^[1] Eugenio Lazzarini won a tight battle from Swiss Stefan Dörflinger to take the 50cc championship by only 2 points.^[2]

1980 Grand Prix season calendar

The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1980:^[3][4]

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit
1	11 May	Gran Premio delle Nazioni	Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
2	18 May	Gran Premio de España	Circuito Permanente Del Jarama
3	25 May	Grand Prix de France Moto	Circuit Paul Ricard
4	15 Jun	Velika Nagrada Jugoslavije	Automotodrom Rijeka
5	28 June	Dutch TT Assen	TT Circuit Assen
6	6 July	Grand Prix of Belgium	Circuit Zolder
7	27 July	Finnish GP	Imatra Circuit
8	10 August	Marlboro British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit
9	17 August	Grand Prix ČSSR	Brno Circuit
10	24 August	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring-Nordschleife

Calendar changes

• The Venezuelan and Swedish Grand Prix was taken off the calendar due to financial problems.
• The Austrian Grand Prix, originally scheduled for April, was eventually cancelled due to snowy conditions on race week. It was the last Grand Prix to have all races cancelled until the 2018 British Grand Prix (although all free practices and qualifying took place).
• The German Grand Prix had its date moved from 6 May to 24 August and the venue was moved from the Hockenheimring to the Nürburgring-Nordschleife.
• The French Grand Prix had its date moved from 2 September to 25 May and the venue was moved from the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans to the Circuit Paul Ricard.
• The Belgian Grand Prix moved from the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps to the Circuit Zolder due to problems with the new track last year.

Results and standings

1980 Grand Prix season results

Round	Date	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Report
1	11 May	Nations Grand Prix	Misano	Eugenio Lazzarini	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Anton Mang	Johnny Cecotto	Kenny Roberts	Report
2	18 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Eugenio Lazzarini	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Kork Ballington		Kenny Roberts	Report
3	25 May	French Grand Prix	Paul Ricard		Angel Nieto	Kork Ballington	Jon Ekerold	Kenny Roberts	Report
4	15 Jun	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Rijeka	Ricardo Tormo	Guy Bertin	Anton Mang			Report
5	28 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Ricardo Tormo	Angel Nieto	Carlos Lavado	Jon Ekerold	Jack Middelburg	Report
6	6 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Zolder	Stefan Dörflinger	Angel Nieto	Anton Mang		Randy Mamola	Report
7	27 July	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		Angel Nieto	Kork Ballington		Wil Hartog	Report
8	10 August	British Grand Prix	Silverstone		Loris Reggiani	Kork Ballington	Anton Mang	Randy Mamola	Report
9	17 August	Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Brno Circuit		Guy Bertin	Anton Mang	Anton Mang		Report
10	24 August	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring-Nordschleife	Stefan Dörflinger	Guy Bertin	Kork Ballington	Jon Ekerold	Marco Lucchinelli	Report

Participants

500cc participants

Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds Yamaha Motor Japan Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OW48) 1 Kenny Roberts All Cagiva Cagiva Cagiva GP500 2 Virginio Ferrari All Riemersma Racing Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 3 4 Wil Hartog 1–2, 4–8 Venemotos Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OW48) 4 Johnny Cecotto All Jen Organs Suzuki Suzuki RG 500 5 57 Franco Uncini 1–2, 4–8 Yamaha I.M.N. Yamaha ??? 6 Boet van Dulmen All 14 8 9 7 Jack Middelburg 2–8 Team Akai with Texaco Yamaha TZ???/Yamaha OW??? 7 Barry Sheene 1–4, 7 Honda International Honda Honda NR500** 8 17 14 52 Takazumi Katayama 7 19 ??? Mick Grant 9 Marlboro Frankonia Nava Suzuki ??? 9 ??? Philippe Coulon 1–2, 5–7 Team Nava Olio Fiat Suzuki RGB500 2 10 ??? Marco Lucchinelli All 23 28 ??? Graziano Rossi 1–7 Team Kawasaki Kawasaki Kawasaki KR500 11 ??? Kork Ballington 1–3, 6–9 20 ??? Gregg Hansford 8 Team Sonauto Gauloises GPA Yamaha ??? 12 19 ??? Patrick Pons 3–7 34 Raymond Roche 1, 3–7 7 Christian Sarron All Elf Moto Racing Team 13 21 ??? Michel Frutschi 2 Ecurie Sté Pernod Suzuki 14 36 ??? Michel Rougerie 2–4, 6 Ecurie Sté Pernod/Sonauto Yamaha 20 ??? Patrick Fernandez 4–6 Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 10 15 ??? Randy Mamola All 15 40 ??? Graeme Crosby 1–5, 7–8 ??? Yamaha ??? 18 ??? Sadao Asami 1, 3, 5–6, 8 Suzuki 26 ??? Sergio Pellandini 1 27 ??? Christian Estrosi 1 GME Motul GPA 28 ??? Bernard Fau 3, 5 Team Naldoni Yamaha 36 Maurizio Massimiani 1, 5, 8 Sarome Suzuki Suzuki RG 500** 40 ??? Hiroshi Aoyama 1–4, 8 MAN 2000 ??? 44 ??? Seppo Rossi 2–3, 6 Team Gattino 45 ??? Carlo Perugini 1–3, 5–6, 8 Stimorol 61 ??? Willem Zoet 4–5 Source:[5]

Key Regular Rider Wildcard Rider Replacement Rider

Notes

• * The 500cc did not participate in rounds 4 and 9 of the championship, the Yugoslav and Czechoslovak GPs.
• ** Katayama raced with the Suzuki for the first four races until the Honda was ready.
• *** Ballington missed some races due to an injury.
• **** Pons was killed in a racing accident at the British GP.

500cc riders' standings

Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

Place	Rider	Team	Machine	NAT	ESP	FRA	NED	BEL	FIN	GBR	GER	Points
1	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha International	YZR500	1	1	1	Ret	3	2	2	4	87
2	Randy Mamola	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	3	2	5	1	4	1	5	72
3	Marco Lucchinelli	Nava Gallina-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	2	3	Ret	2	Ret	3	1	59
4	Franco Uncini	Uncini-Suzuki	RG500	2	7	Ret	3	6	3	6	7	50
5	Graziano Rossi	Nava Gallina-Suzuki	RG500	3	Ret	4	2	Ret	13	4	Ret	38
6	Wil Hartog	Riemersma Racing	RG500	Ret	Ret		19	5	1	Ret	3	31
7	Johnny Cecotto	Venemotos-Yamaha	YZR500	4	6	9	6	Ret		5	6	31
8	Graeme Crosby	Heron-Suzuki	RG500	Ret	12	5	8	4		13	2	29
9	Jack Middelburg	IMN-Yamaha	YZR500	DNS	15	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	9	8	20
10	Takazumi Katayama	Honda-HRC	RG500/NR500	6	4	6	Ret		Ret	15	12	18
11	Carlo Perugini	Team Gattina	RG500	5	10	13	Ret	7	7	Ret	9	17
12	Kork Ballington	Team Kawasaki	KR500	Ret	13	8			5	7	11	13
13	Philippe Coulon	Frankonia-Suzuki	RG500	9	8	16	Ret	11	8	8	Ret	11
14	Boet Van Dulmen	IMN-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	18	19	4	9	Ret	16	Ret	10
15	Barry Sheene	Akai-Yamaha	YZR500	7	5	Ret	Ret	DNQ		Ret		10
16	Patrick Pons	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	Ret	10	10	8	6	Ret		10
17	Patrick Fernandez	Ecurie Ste Pernod	YZR500	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	14			4
18	Michel Rougerie	Ecurie Ste Pernod	RG500	DNQ	11	7	14	Ret	15	Ret		4
19	Christian Estrosi	Team Furygan Suzuki	RG500	8	16	Ret	Ret	DNQ	Ret			3
20	Henk De Vries		RG500				9	DNQ		25		2
21	Sadao Asami	Yamaha International	YZR500	Ret	Ret	12	DNQ	15	9	Ret	15	2
22	Michel Frutschi	Elf-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	9	22	Ret	DNQ	18	Ret	Ret	2
23	Raymond Roche	Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha	YZR500	Ret	DNQ	11	DNQ	12	10	14		1
24	Gustav Reiner	Nava Kucera Racing Team	RG500	DNQ			DNQ	Ret		22	10	1
25	Bernard Fau	GME Motul GPA	YZR500	Ret	Ret	15		10	Ret	Ret		1
26	Dave Potter	Mitsui-Yamaha	YZR500				15	DNQ		10		1
27	Sergio Pellandini		RG500	10	Ret	21	DNQ	DNQ			Ret	1
	Maurizio Massimiani		YZR500	11		23		13			13	0
	Dale Singleton		YZR500			DNQ	18	Ret		11	16	0
	Franck Gross		RG500			24		Ret	11	DNQ	Ret	0
	Jeff Sayle		YZR500	DNQ		DNQ	11	Ret		Ret	Ret	0
	Willem Zoet		RG500	DNQ		18	12	14	Ret	19	Ret	0
	Gianfranco Bonera		YZR500	12		17		Ret				0
	Lennart Bäckström		RG500						12			0
	John Newbold		RG500							12		0
	Markku Matikainen		YZR500	DNQ	19	20	13	Ret	DNQ			0
	Guido Paci		RG500	13		Ret						0
	Seppo Rossi		RG500	DNQ	14	14		16	Ret	Ret	23	0
	Stuart Avant		RG500					DNQ		Ret	14	0
	Richard Hubin		YZR500	14	Ret							0
	Werner Nenning		RG500	DNQ	Ret	DNQ	Ret		16	23	18	0
	Mick Grant		RG500				16		Ret	DNQ		0
	Steve Parrish		RG500				17	DNQ		17	17	0
	Hubert Rigal		YZR500	DNQ	17	Ret	Ret	DNQ	17	Ret		0
	Kenny Blake		YZR500					17				0
	Roger Marshall		YZR500							18		0
	Max Wiener		RG500	DNQ		DNQ	DNQ		19		25	0
	Josef Hage		RG500				DNQ	DNQ			19	0
	Peter Sjöström		RG500		DNQ	DNQ		DNQ	Ret	20		0
	Peter Ammann		RG500								20	0
	Giovanni Pelletier		Morbidelli	Ret	DNQ	DNQ		DNQ			21	0
	Paul Henderson		RG500							21		0
	Wolfgang von Muralt		YZR500								22	0
	Gerhard Vogt		RG500							24		0
	Jürgen Steiner		RG500								24	0
	Michael Schmid		RG500			DNQ					26	0
	Alois Tost		YZR500								27	0
	Bruno Kölble		YZR500								28	0
	Rolf Schneider		YZR500								29	0
	Christian Sarron		YZR500	Ret	Ret							0
	Gianni Rolando		RG500	Ret	Ret	DNQ				Ret		0
	Carlo Prati		RG500	Ret				DNQ			Ret	0
	Jon Ekerold		Sol/Bimota	DNQ		DNQ	Ret			DNS	DNS	0
	Skip Aksland		YZR500		Ret							0
	Alain Nies		RG500			DNQ		Ret		DNQ		0
	Freddie Spencer		YZR500					Ret				0
	Adelio Faccioli		RG500						Ret			0
	Anton Mang		KR500						Ret			0
	Peter Sköld		RG500						Ret			0
	Kimmo Kopra		YZR500						Ret			0
	Graham Wood		YZR500							Ret		0
	Steve Manship		YZR500							Ret		0
	Elmar Renner		RG500		DNQ	DNQ					Ret	0
	Gregg Hansford		KR500								Ret	0
	Klaus Klein		RG500								Ret	0
	Virginio Ferrari		GP500								Ret	0
	Clemens Driesch		RG500								Ret	0
	Fritz Reitmaier		RG500								Ret	0
	Ron Haslam		YZR500							DNS		0
	Dennis Ireland		RG500				DNQ	DNQ		DNQ		0
	Carlos de San Antonio		RG500	DNQ	DNQ							0
	Gary Lingham		RG500	DNQ	DNQ							0
	Antonio Garcia		RG500		DNQ			DNQ				0
	Masaru Iwasaki		RG500				DNQ	DNQ				0
	Henk Twikler		RG500				DNQ	DNQ				0
	Timo Pohjola		RG500						DNQ		DNQ	0
	Fabio Biliotti		RG500	DNQ								0
	Corrado Tuzii		RG500	DNQ								0
	Didier de Radigues		RG500		DNQ							0
	Richard Schlachter		YZR500			DNQ						0
	Jacques Agopian		RG500			DNQ						0
	Børge Nielsen		RG500			DNQ						0
	Dick Alblas		RG500				DNQ					0
	Philippe Chaltin		RG500					DNQ				0
	Albert Siegers		RG500					DNQ				0
	Walter Koschine		RG500					DNQ				0
	Jean-Philippe Delers		YZR500					DNQ				0
	John Woodley		RG500							DNQ		0
	Roberto Pietri		RG500							DNQ		0
	Alex George		YZR500							DNQ		0
	Günter Riehl		Yamato								DNQ	0

350cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jon Ekerold	8	South Africa	Yamaha	63	3
2	Anton Mang	4	West Germany	Kawasaki	60	2
3	Jean-François Baldé		France	Kawasaki	38	0
4	Johnny Cecotto		Venezuela	Yamaha	37	1
5	Jeff Sayle	10	Australia	Yamaha	25	0
6	Eric Saul		France	Yamaha	24	0
7	Jacques Cornu	27	Switzerland	Yamaha	21	0
8	Massimo Matteoni	4	Italy	Yamaha	19	0
9	Walter Villa	4	Italy	Yamaha	16	0
10	Patrick Fernandez	2	France	Yamaha	12	0
11	Carlo Perugini		usa		10
12	Tony Head		usa		9
13	Carlos Lavado		Usa		8
14	Roland Freymond		Spa		7
15	Gregg Hansford		Spa		6
16	Tony Rogers		spa		6
17	Jacques Bolle		fra		6
18	Keith Huewen		Fra		6
19	Thierry Espié		Fra		6
20	Jean Louis Tournadre		Ita		5
21	Loris Reggiani		Ita		4
22	Graeme McGregor		Ita		4
23	Alan North		Irl		2
24	Pekka Nurmi		Irl		1
25	Edi Stoellinger		Irl		1

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Anton Mang	6	West Germany	Kawasaki	128	4
2	Kork Ballington	1	South Africa	Kawasaki	87	5
3	Jean-François Baldé	8	France	Kawasaki	59	0
4	Thierry Espié		France	Yamaha	53	0
5	Roland Freymond	10	Switzerland	Morbidelli	46	0
6	Carlos Lavado		Venezuela	Yamaha	29	1
7	Gianpaolo Marchetti		Italy	Yamaha	28	0
8	Jacques Cornu		Switzerland	Yamaha	26	0
9	Eric Saul		France	Yamaha	24	0
10	Patrick Fernandez	5	France	Yamaha	16	0
11	Edi Stoellinger		Spa		16
12	Hans Müller		spa		16
13	Sauro Pazzaglia		Spa		12
14	Graeme McGregor		Fra		12
15	Pier Luigi Conforti		Fra		10
16	Jean-Louis Guignabodet		Fra		9
17	Didier de Radiguès		Ita		8
18	Eero Hyvärinen		Ita		8
19	Clive Horton		Ita		7
20	Paolo Ferretti		Irl		7
21	Greame Geddes		Irl		6
22	Jaka		Irl		6
23	Steve Tonkin		Isl		5
24	Jacques Bolle		Isl		5
25	Herbert Hauf		Isl		4
26	Jsks		Swe		4
27	Reinhold Roth		Swe		4
28	Walter Villa		Swe		4
29	Charlie Williams		Fin		2
30	Martin Wimmer		Fin		2
31	Marco Papa		Fin		1
32	Jean-Louis Tournadre		Gbr		1
33	Rene Delaby		Gbr		1
34	Nam		Gbr		1
35	Tony Rogers		Aus		1
36	Nsms		Jpn		1

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Pier Paolo Bianchi	10	Italy	MBA	90	2
2	Guy Bertin	6	France	Motobécane	81	3
3	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Minarelli	78	4
4	Bruno Kneubühler	9	Switzerland	MBA	68	0
5	Hans Müller		Switzerland	MBA	64	0
6	Loris Reggiani		Italy	Minarelli	63	1
7	Iván Palazzese		Venezuela	MBA	28	0
8	Maurizio Massimiani	2	Italy	Minarelli	20	0
9	Peter Looijensteijn		Netherlands	MBA	18	0
10	Barry Smith		Australia	MBA	17	0
11	Harald Bartol		Spa		15
12	Ricardo Tormo		Spa		13
13	Stefan Dörflinger		Spa		13
14	Gianpaolo Marchetti		Fra		10
15	August Auinger		Fra		9
16	Jose Dubon		Fra		8
17	Eugenio Lazzarini		Ita		8
18	Rolf Blatter		ita		8
19	Henk Van Kessel		ita		8
20	Gert Bender		irl		6
21	Michel Galbit		Irl		6
22	Jwjwk		irl		6
23	Janos Drapal		isl		5
24	Thierry Noblesse		Isl		4
25	Matti Kinnunen		Isl		4
26	Jhonni Baeckstroem		Fin		2
27	Ajja		fin		2
28	Jean Claude Selini		Fin		2
29	Johnny Wickstroem		Swe		1
30	Hugo Vignetti		Swe		1
31	Nsms		Swe		1
32	Anton Straver		Aus		1

50cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Eugenio Lazzarini	1	Italy	Iprem[6]	74	2
2	Stefan Dörflinger	10	Switzerland	Kreidler	72	2
3	Hans Hummel		Austria	Kreidler	37	0
4	Ricardo Tormo		Spain	Kreidler	36	2
5	Henk van Kessel	7	Netherlands	Kreidler	31	0
6	Hans Spaan		Netherlands	Kreidler The Best Team	24	0
7	Theo Timmer		Netherlands	Bultaco	19	0
8	Yves Dupont		France	ABF	18	0
9	Jacques Hutteau	8	France	ABF	18	0
10	Wolfgang Müller		West Germany	Kreidler	15	0
11	Rolf Blatter		usa		14
12	Gerhard Waibel		usa		7
13	Otto Machinek		Usa		7
14	Ingo Emmerich		Spa		6
15	Giuseppe Ascareggi		Spa		4
16	Günter Schirnhofer		Spa		4
17	Daniel Mateos		Fra		3
18	Claudio Lusuardi		Fra		3
19	Enrico Cereda		Fra		2
20	Aldo Pero		Aus		1
21	Gerhard Böhl		Jpn		1