Wikipedia

1974 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1974 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 26th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Kenny Roberts (11) in action at the 1974 250cc Dutch TT

Season summary

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MV Agusta and Phil Read claimed a second successive 500cc crown. It would be the Italian firm's last world championship and their seventeenth 500cc title in a row.[1] Giacomo Agostini switched to the two-stroke Yamahas but was troubled by injuries and mechanical troubles.[1] Suzuki started to get competitive with Barry Sheene and Jack Findlay on four cylinder two-strokes.[1] MV Agusta pulled out of the 350cc class, giving Agostini a free run, taking his fourteenth world title.[1] Walter Villa took over for the deceased Renzo Pasolini and won the 250cc crown giving Harley-Davidson the title after they bought the Aermacchi factory, reworked and renamed the bikes.[1] Kent Andersson won his second championship title in the 125cc class. Kreidler continued to dominate the 50cc class with Dutchman Henk Van Kessel winning the crown.[1]

Safety continued to be an issue with most riders boycotting the rainy German round at the improved Nürburgring Nordschleife as the track had not been fitted with straw bales to accommodate automobile racing on the same day.[1] Thus, rather unknown German riders took all wins. It served as a focal point in the increasingly bitter debate about safety.[1] British rider Billie Nelson died after crashing into the crowd during the 250cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix, injuring several spectators.[2] He died later that night at a hospital.[2]

1974 Grand Prix season calendar

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Round Date Race Location 50cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Report
1 April 21   French Grand Prix Charade   Henk van Kessel   Kent Andersson   Giacomo Agostini   Phil Read Report
2 April 28   German Grand Prix Nürburgring Nordschleife   Ingo Emmerich   Fritz Reitmaier   Helmut Kassner   Helmut Kassner   Edmund Czihak Report
3 May 5   Austrian Grand Prix Salzburgring   Kent Andersson   Giacomo Agostini   Giacomo Agostini Report
4 May 19   Nations Grand Prix Imola   Henk van Kessel   Angel Nieto   Walter Villa   Giacomo Agostini   Franco Bonera Report
5 June 6   Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain   Charlie Williams   Tony Rutter   Phil Carpenter Report
6 June 29   Dutch TT Assen   Herbert Rittberger   Bruno Kneubühler   Walter Villa   Giacomo Agostini   Giacomo Agostini Report
7 July 7   Belgian Grand Prix Spa   Gerhard Thurow   Angel Nieto   Kent Andersson   Phil Read Report
8 July 21   Swedish Grand Prix Anderstorp   Henk van Kessel   Kent Andersson   Takazumi Katayama   Teuvo Lansivuori   Teuvo Lansivuori Report
9 July 28   Finnish Grand Prix Imatra   Julien van Zeebroeck   Walter Villa   John Dodds   Phil Read Report
10 August 25   Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Brno   Henk van Kessel   Kent Andersson   Walter Villa   Phil Read Report
11 September 8   Yugoslavian Grand Prix Opatija   Henk van Kessel   Kent Andersson   Chas Mortimer   Giacomo Agostini Report
12 September 22   Spanish Grand Prix Montjuich   Henk van Kessel   Benjamin Grau   John Dodds   Víctor Palomo Report

Final standings

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1974 500 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Phil Read 1 United Kingdom MV Agusta 82 4
2   Franco Bonera Italy MV Agusta 69 1
3   Teuvo Lansivuori Finland Yamaha 67 1
4   Giacomo Agostini 3 Italy Yamaha 47 2
5   Jack Findlay 5 Australia Suzuki 34 0
6   Barry Sheene United Kingdom Suzuki 30 0
7   Dieter Braun West Germany Yamaha 22 0
8   Pentti Korhonen Finland Yamaha 22 0
9   Billie Nelson United Kingdom Yamaha 21 0
10   Charlie Williams United Kingdom Yamaha 18 0
11 John Williams 18
12 Helmut Kassner 17
13 Karl Auer 17
14 Phil Carpenter 15 1
15 Edmund Czihak 15 1
16 Michel Rougerie 14
17 Werner Giger 13
18 Tony Rutter 10
19 Walter Kaletsch 10
20 Christian Leon 9
21 Udo Kochanski 8
22 Billie Guthrie 8
23 Patrick Pons 8
24 Paul Cott 6
25 Roberto Gallina 6
26 Victor Palomo 6
27 Alex George 5
28 Chas Mortimer 4
29 Paul Eickelberg 4
30 Pete McKinley 3
31 Selwyn Griffiths 2
32 Philippe Coulon 2
33 R.Jimenez 2
34 Tom Herron 2
35 Jean Paul Boinet 1
36 Geoff Barry 1
37 Philippe Gerard 1

1974 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Giacomo Agostini 1 Italy Yamaha 75 5
2   Dieter Braun 8 West Germany Yamaha 62 0
3   Patrick Pons France Yamaha 47 0
4   John Dodds 4 Australia Yamaha 31 1
5   Chas Mortimer United Kingdom Yamaha 29 0
6   Teuvo Lansivuori Finland Yamaha 27 1
7   Pentti Korhonen 10 Finland Yamaha 25 0
7   Michel Rougerie France Harley-Davidson 25 0
9   Víctor Palomo Spain Yamaha 24 1
10   Billie Nelson 5 United Kingdom Yamaha 21 0
11 Eddie Grant 18
12 Bruno Kneubühler 17
13 Tony Rutter 16
14 Helmut Kassner 15
15 Olivier Chevallier 15
16 Walter Villa 15
17 W.Stephan 12
18 Mario Lega 12
19 Christian Bourgeois 11
20 Paul Cott 10
21 Franz Weidacher 10
22 Tom Herron 10
23 Kjell Solberg 9
24 Karl Auer 9
25 Alex George 8
26 Walter Kaletsch 8
27 Werner Giger 8
28 F.V. Henderson 8
29 John Williams 7
30 Tapio Virtanen 6
31 Alfred Heck 6
32 Hans Mühlebach 5
33 Giovanni Proni 5
34 Billie Guthrie 5
35 Winfried Fries 5
36 G.Elementi 4
37 Tony Rogers 4
38 Udo Kochanski 4
39 R.Jimenez 4
40 John Newbold 4
41 Wolfgang Rubel 3
42 Ulrich Graf 3
43 Roger Nichols 3
44 G.Debrok 3
45 Phil Gurner 2
46 Nico Van Der Zanden 2
47 Adu Celso 2
48 Hans Dittberner 2
49 Armando Toracca 1
50 Noel Clegg 1

1974 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Walter Villa Italy Aermacchi Harley-Davidson 77 4
2   Dieter Braun 1 West Germany Yamaha 58 0
3   Patrick Pons 6 France Yamaha 50 0
4   Takazumi Katayama Japan Yamaha 43 1
5   Bruno Kneubühler 9 Switzerland Yamaha 43 0
6   Chas Mortimer 6 United Kingdom Yamaha 41 1
7   John Dodds 3 Australia Yamaha 38 1
8   Kent Andersson Sweden Yamaha 34 1
9   Michel Rougerie 5 France Harley-Davidson 21 0
10   Mick Grant United Kingdom Yamaha 18 0
10   Pentti Korhonen 4 Finland Yamaha 18 0
12 Charlie Williams 15
13 Helmut Kassner 15
14 Tom Herron 14
15 Hans Mühlebach 13
16 Horst Lahfeld 12
17 Rolf Minhoff 11
18 Victor Palomo 11
19 Harry Hoffman 10
20 Kenny Roberts 10
21 Tony Rutter 10
22 Fritz Reitmaier 8
23 Giovanni Proni 8
24 Matti Salonen 7
25 Olivier Chevallier 7
26 Janos Reisz 6
27 Tapio Virtanen 6
28 Pete McKinley 5
29 Alfred Heck 5
30 Armando Toracca 5
31 Jean Louis Guignabodet 4
32 Ian Richards 4
33 Reinhard Scholtis 4
34 Tierry Tchernine 4
35 H.Kittler 3
36 Gerry Mateer 3
37 Paolo Pileri 3
38 Alex George 2
39 G.Forderer 2
40 A.Van Den Broecke 2
41 Brian Warburton 2
42 John Williams 2
43 Leif Gustafsson 2
44 Jean Paul Boinet 1
45 Barry Randle 1
46 Kjell Solberg 1

1974 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Kent Andersson 1 Sweden Yamaha 87 5
2   Bruno Kneubühler Switzerland Yamaha 63 1
3   Angel Nieto 7 Spain Derbi 60 2
4   Otello Buscherini 6 Italy Malanca 60 0
5   Henk van Kessel Netherlands Bridgestone 30 0
6   Thierry Tchernine France Yamaha 25 0
7   Harald Bartol Austria Suzuki 23 0
8   Leif Gustafsson 4 Sweden Maico 23 0
9   Benjamin Grau Spain Derbi 21 1
10   Gert Bender West Germany Bender 20 0

1974 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Henk van Kessel 5 Netherlands Van Veen Kreidler 90 6
2   Herbert Rittberger West Germany Kreidler 65 1
3   Julien van Zeebroeck Belgium Kreidler 59 1
4   Gerhard Thurow 4 West Germany Kreidler 57 1
5   Rudolf Kunz 9 West Germany Kreidler 52 0
6   Ulrich Graf 7 West Germany Kreidler 44 0
7   Jan Bruins Netherlands Jamathi 27 0
8   Otello Buscherini 8 Italy Malanca 26 0
9   Stefan Dörflinger Switzerland Kreidler 25 0
10   Jan Huberts 8 Netherlands Van Veen Kreidler 25 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
  2. ^ a b "Billie Nelson at Motorsport Memorial". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
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