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The 1971 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 23rd 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 9 May, with Austrian Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 26 September.

Season summary

Giacomo Agostini would claim his tenth world championship in 1971, passing Carlo Ubbiali and Mike Hailwood as the all time championship leader.^[1] Angel Nieto challenged for the 50cc and 125cc titles. A crash in the final 50cc race handed the title to Dutchman Jan de Vries but, Nieto was able to claim the 125 crown over a young Barry Sheene.^[1] Phil Read captured the 250 championship on a private Yamaha-powered Eric Cheney-designed chassis, after falling out with the Yamaha factory.^[1]^[2]

Agostini won the 350 title for the fourth year in a row but a newcomer served notice when young Finn, Jarno Saarinen, won his first Grand Prix at the Czechoslovakian round then won again in Italy.^[1] Agostini had things his way in the 500cc class, winning the first eight rounds of the eleven race series against minimal factory-sponsored opposition.^[1] For the second consecutive year a New Zealand rider finished second in the premier class – Ginger Molloy in 1970 and Keith Turner in 1971.^[1]

Jack Findlay's victory at the 1971 Ulster Grand Prix not only marked the first victory for a Suzuki motorcycle in the premier 500cc class, but also the first-ever 500cc class victory for a motorcycle powered by a two stroke engine.^[3]^[4] Kawasaki won their first 500cc class victory at the season ending Spanish Grand Prix at Jarama when Dave Simmonds won the race after Agostini sat out the event after already winning the championship.^[1] The inaugural Austrian Grand Prix was held at the new high-speed Salzburgring.

1971 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	9 May	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring	Jan de Vries	Angel Nieto	Silvio Grassetti	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Butscher / Huber	Report
2	16 May	West German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Jan de Vries	Dave Simmonds	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Auerbacher / Hahn	Report
3	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain		Chas Mortimer	Phil Read	Tony Jefferies	Giacomo Agostini	Schauzu / Kalauch	Report
4	26 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Angel Nieto	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Owesle / Kremer	Report
5	4 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Jan de Vries	Barry Sheene	Silvio Grassetti		Giacomo Agostini	Schauzu / Kalauch	Report
6	11 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring	Angel Nieto	Angel Nieto	Dieter Braun	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
7	18 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Brno	Barry Sheene	Angel Nieto	János Drapál	Jarno Saarinen		Schauzu / Kalauch	Report
8	25 July	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Angel Nieto	Barry Sheene	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
9	1 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		Barry Sheene	Rodney Gould	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini	Owesle / Rutterford	Report
10	14 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod			Ray McCullough	Peter Williams	Jack Findlay	Owesle / Rutterford	Report
11	12 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Jan de Vries	Gilberto Parlotti	Gyula Marsovsky	Jarno Saarinen	Alberto Pagani		Report
12	26 September	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Jan de Vries	Angel Nieto	Jarno Saarinen	Teuvo Länsivuori	Dave Simmonds		Report

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	AUT	GER	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	SWE	FIN	ULS	NAC	ESP	Pts
1	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		Ret		90 (120)
2	Keith Turner	Coleman-Suzuki	2	Ret	7	4	Ret	2	2	4	Ret	6	5	58 (67)
3	Rob Bron	Suzuki		2		2	4	8	Ret	3	2			57
4	Dave Simmonds	Kawasaki		Ret		3	Ret		6	2		3	1	52
5	Jack Findlay	Suzuki / Jada	4	Ret		Ret	3		10	5	1	5	6	50 (51)
6	Eric Offenstadt	Kawasaki	3	Ret		Ret	2	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		3	32
7	Tommy Robb	Hurst-Seeley / Matchless		6	15	7	Ret		3	9	3			31
8	Alberto Pagani	Linto / MV Agusta	7	5	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	7		1		29
9	Kaarlo Koivuniemi	Seeley-Matchless						5	5	Ret			2	24
10	Ron Chandler	Kawasaki		3		Ret	5		Ret		8	Ret		19
11	Frank Perris	Suzuki / Seeley / Linto			3		7		Ret	Ret		Ret		14
12	Lothar John	Yamaha	5	Ret		12	Ret	Ret	Ret	8		7		13
13	Gianpiero Zubani	Kawasaki	Ret									2		12
14	Peter Williams	Arter-Matchless			2									12
15	Bo Granath	Husqvarna				8	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	6	10	Ret	12
16	Billie Nelson	Paton	6			6	10							11
17	Ernst Hiller	Kawasaki	Ret	11		Ret	Ret	3						10
18	Maurice Hawthorne	Kawasaki	Ret	4		Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret		Ret	Ret	8
19	Hans-Rudolf Brünger	Bultaco						4					Ret	8
20	Benjamin Grau	Bultaco											4	8
=	Selwyn Griffiths	Cowles-Matchless			4									8
=	Ulfe Nilsson	Seeley-Matchless							4					8
=	Phil Read	Ducati										4		8
=	Percy Tait	Seeley-Matchless									4			8
25	Ivan Carlsson	Yamaha	Ret	Ret		11	6	Ret	Ret			Ret	9	7
26	Jim Curry	Seeley-Matchless		Ret		5	Ret							6
27	Gerry Mateer	Norton			Ret						5			6
=	Gordon Pantall	Padgett-Kawasaki			5						Ret			6
29	Karl Auer	Matchless	Ret	Ret				6				Ret		5
30	Matti Salonen	Yamaha						Ret	Ret	6				5
31	Roger Sutcliffe	Matchless			6									5
32	Hans-Otto Butenuth	BMW		7	10	Ret				Ret				5
33	Piet Van der Wal	Kawasaki				Ret	9	Ret				8		5
34	Peter Jones	Suzuki			19				Ret				7	4
35	Jean Campiche	Honda						7				Ret		4
36	Tom Herron	Seeley									7			4
=	Morgan Radberg	Monark							7					4
38	Kurt-Willy Bertsch	BMW		8										3
=	Joan Bordons	Bultaco											8	3
=	Jerry Lancaster	Yamaha					8							3
=	Charlie Sanby	Seeley-Matchless			8									3
42	Paul Eickelberg	Yamaha				9				10		Ret		3
43	Johnny Bengtsson	Kawasaki							9	Ret				2
=	Pentti Lehtelä	Yamaha						9		Ret				2
45	Tom Dickie	Cowles-Matchless			9									2
=	Horst Dzierzawa	Yamaha		9										2
=	Giuseppe Mongardi	Ducati										9		2
=	Donnie Robinson	Padgett-Yamaha									9			2
49	John Dodds	König	Ret	10		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret		1
50	Emanuele Maugliani	Seeley-Matchless											10	1
=	Rob Noorlander	Norton				10								1
=	Stan Woods	Norton									10			1
53	Brian Moses	Norton			11						16			0
54	Charlie Dobson	Seeley		Ret					Ret	Ret	11			0
55	Werner Bergold	Kawasaki	Ret	11				Ret						0
56	Larbi Habbiche	Yamaha											11	0
57	Robert Graham	Norton			Ret						12			0
58	Norman Price	Norton			12									0
59	Alan Lawton	Norton			13						13			0
60	Rolf Rott	Kawasaki		13										0
61	Derek Lee	Matchless									14			0
=	Roger Nichols	Matchless			14									0
63	Roy Reid	Seeley			32						15			0
64	Roy Bisbey	Norton			16									0
65	Geoff Barry	Oakley-Matchless / Seeley			17						Ret			0
66	Brian Scully	Scott									17			0
67	Bob Ramsey	Seeley									18			0
=	Jeff Wade	Tickle Manx Norton			18									0
69	Chris Neve	Seeley			30						19			0
70	Don Harris	Norton			20									0
71	Dave Foulkes	Norton			21									0
72	Jeff Boniface	Norton			22									0
73	Brian Edwards	Norton			23									0
74	Fred Walton	Velocette Metisse			24									0
75	Len Williams	Aermacchi			25									0
76	Tom Loughridge	Suzuki			26									0
77	Gordon Daniels	TWS Suzuki			27									0
78	Jim Ashton	Seeley			28									0
79	John Stanley	Seeley			29									0
80	Trevor Armstrong	Norton			31									0
–	Gyula Marsovszky	Linto	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		0
–	Theo Louwes	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret						0
–	Hannu Kuparinen	Suzuki	Ret			Ret		Ret		Ret				0
–	Martin Carney	Kawasaki		Ret			Ret	Ret			Ret			0
–	Cristian Ravel	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret							0
–	Alan Barnett	Aermacchi			Ret	Ret	Ret							0
–	Silvano Bertarelli	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret								Ret		0
–	Karl Hoppe	König	Ret			Ret		Ret						0
–	Börje Andersson	Honda							Ret	Ret				0
–	Vincent Duckett	Seeley			Ret						Ret			0
–	Roberto Gallina	Paton	Ret									Ret		0
–	Steve Ellis	Yamaha				Ret			Ret					0
–	Sven-Olov Gunnarsson	Kawasaki						Ret		Ret				0
–	Tony Jefferies	Arter-Matchless			Ret						Ret			0
–	Kai Kuparinen	Suzuki						Ret		Ret				0
–	Billy McCosh	Seeley			Ret						Ret			0
–	Ginger Molloy	Kawasaki	Ret	Ret										0
–	Borge Nielsen	Honda							Ret	Ret				0
–	Bill Smith	Seeley / Kawasaki			Ret						Ret			0
–	John Williams	Arter-Matchless			Ret						Ret			0
–	Brian Adams	Norton			Ret						Ret			0
–	Abe Alexander	Seeley									Ret			0
–	Tony Anderson	Matchless			Ret									0
–	Martin Ashwood	Quaife Metisse			Ret									0
–	Sergio Baroncini	Ducati										Ret		0
–	Jöram Blom	Seeley							Ret					0
–	Hans Braumandl	Matchless	Ret											0
–	Clive Brown	Norton			Ret									0
–	Paolo Campanelli	Kawasaki										Ret		0
–	Alistair Copeland	Norton			Ret									0
–	Walter Dawson	Norton			Ret									0
–	Terry Dennehy	Honda				Ret								0
–	Derek Filler	Seeley			Ret									0
–	George Fogarty	Cunningham-Suzuki			Ret									0
–	Bill Fulton	Stafford-Matchless			Ret									0
–	Denis Gallagher	Seeley									Ret			0
–	Alex George	Kawasaki			Ret									0
–	Peter Gibson	Seeley			Ret									0
–	Tony Godfrey	Tickle Manx Norton			Ret									0
–	Campbell Gorman	Seeley									Ret			0
–	Don Grant	Norton			Ret									0
–	Terry Grotefeld	Padgett-Yamaha			Ret									0
–	Billie Guthrie	Yamaha									Ret			0
–	Osmo Hansen	Linto								Ret				0
–	Morten Hauger	Honda							Ret					0
–	Harris Healey	Norton									Ret			0
–	Bob Health	BSA			Ret									0
–	Keith Heckles	Norton			Ret									0
–	Ari Heikkilä	Matchless								Ret				0
–	John Hughes	Yamaha			Ret									0
–	Albert Hund	Honda		Ret										0
–	Ted Janssen	Suzuki		Ret										0
–	Malcolm Jefery	Norton			Ret									0
–	Lasse Johansson	HM							Ret					0
–	Arpad Juhos	Aermacchi						Ret						0
–	Austin Kinsella	Matchless									Ret			0
–	Ray Knight	Hughes-Triumph			Ret									0
–	Udo Kochanski	BMW		Ret										0
–	Otto Labitzke	BMW			Ret									0
–	Horst Lahfeld	König		Ret										0
–	Vasco Loro	Yamaha										Ret		0
–	Alois Maxwald	Linto	Ret											0
–	Ray McCullough	Seeley									Ret			0
–	Ian McGregor	Norton									Ret			0
–	Stephen Murray	Seeley									Ret			0
–	Godfrey Nash	Honda							Ret					0
–	Oiva Papunen	Kawasaki							Ret					0
–	Anssi Resko	Suzuki								Ret				0
–	Walter Rungg	Aermacchi				Ret								0
–	Hasse Rutgersson	HRS							Ret					0
–	Reinhard Scholtis	Kawasaki		Ret										0
–	Alfred Schwander	Suzuki		Ret										0
–	Bruno Spaggiari	Ducati										Ret		0
–	Bo Strandell	Linto							Ret					0
–	Claus Tarum	Honda							Ret					0
–	Ken Tilley	Norton			Ret									0
–	Jupp Tröblinger	König		Ret										0
–	Dennis Trollope	Seeley			Ret									0
–	Brian Walsh	Norton			Ret									0
–	Carl Ward	Norton			Ret									0
–	Manfred Weingartner	Matchless	Ret											0
–	Max Wiener	Aermacchi	Ret											0
–	Louis With	Kawasaki							Ret					0
–	Ray Wittich	Saunders-Norton			Ret									0
–	Benedetto Zambotti	Kawasaki										Ret		0
Pos	Rider	Bke	AUT	GER	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	SWE	FIN	ULS	NAC	ESP	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third 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

1971 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	90	6
2	Jarno Saarinen		Finland	Yamaha	63	2
3	Ivan Carlsson		Sweden	Yamaha	39	0
4	Theo Bult		Netherlands	Yamaha	36	0
5	Paul Smart		United Kingdom	Yamaha	34	0
6	Werner Pfirter		Switzerland	Yamaha	33	0
7	Bo Granath	10	Sweden	Yamaha	30	0
7	László Szabó		Hungary	Yamaha	29	0
9	Tony Jefferies		United Kingdom	Yamaha	25	1
10	Teuvo Lansivuori		Finland	Yamaha	25	1

1971 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	73	3
2	Rodney Gould	1	United Kingdom	Yamaha	68	2
3	Jarno Saarinen	4	Finland	Yamaha	64	1
4	John Dodds		Australia	Yamaha	59	0
5	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	58	1
6	Gyula Marsovsky	7	Switzerland	Yamaha	57	1
7	Silvio Grassetti	10	Italy	MZ	43	2
8	Chas Mortimer	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	42	0
9	János Drapál		Hungary	Yamaha	26	1
10	Theo Bult	20	Netherlands	Yamaha	22	0

1971 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	87	5
2	Barry Sheene		United Kingdom	Suzuki	79	3
3	Börje Jansson	3	Sweden	Maico	64	0
4	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Maico	54	0
5	Chas Mortimer		United Kingdom	Yamaha	48	1
6	Dave Simmonds	4	United Kingdom	Kawasaki	48	1
7	Gert Bender		West Germany	Maico	41	0
8	Gilberto Parlotti		Italy	Morbidelli	39	1
9	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Yamaha	30	0
10	Jurgen Lenk		East Germany	MZ	27	0

1971 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jan De Vries	5	Netherlands	Kreidler	75	5
2	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Derbi	69	3
3	Jos Schurgers	6	Netherlands	Kreidler	42	0
4	Herman Meyers	10	Netherlands	Jamathi	41	0
5	Rudolf Kunz		West Germany	Kreidler	36	0
6	Aalt Toersen		Netherlands	Jamathi	24	0
7	Barry Sheene		United Kingdom	Kreidler	23	1
8	Gilberto Parlotti	9	Italy	Derbi	22	0
9	Federico van der Hoeven		Netherlands	Derbi	22	0
10	Jan Bruins		Netherlands	Kreidler	19	0

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
^ Melling, Frank (10 January 2002). "Obituary:Eric Cheney". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
^ Jack Findlay obituary - The Telegraph
^ "MotoGP Milestones". crash.net. 22 May 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2017.

Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
"The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 6 July 2010.