List of 50/80cc Motorcycle World Champions

Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing, which has been divided into three classes since 1990: 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP. Classes that have been discontinued include 350cc, 50cc/80cc and sidecar.[1] The 50/80cc referred to the size of the engines of the motorcycles that raced in that class.[2] The Grand Prix Road Racing World Championship was established in 1949 by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), and is the oldest motorsport World Championship.[2] The 50cc was introduced in 1962, 13 years after the start of the first world championships. The category was replaced by 80cc in 1984 and the class was subsequently discontinued in 1989.[3]

Ángel Nieto, who won six 50cc championships

Each season consisted of five to ten Grands Prix contested on closed circuits, as opposed to public roads. Points earned in these events counted toward the drivers' and constructors' World Championships. The driver's and constructor's championship were separate championships, but were based on the same point system. The points systems used in the championship varied over the years. The first championship in 1962 awarded points from first to sixth place; a point was also awarded for the rider who completed the fastest lap. The last championship in 1989 awarded points from first to fifteenth place.[4] Results from all Grands Prix counted towards the championships; however, in some seasons only a certain number of results were counted.[5]

Ángel Nieto won the most championships during his career with six. Stefan Dörflinger won the second most championships with four, and Hans Georg Anscheidt and Jorge Martínez won the third most with three. Spanish riders won the most championships; four riders won a total of 12 championships. Swiss and German riders were second with four, while Ernst Degner won the inaugural championship in 1962. Manuel Herreros was the last champion before the class was discontinued in 1989.[6]

Champions
Key
Champion also won the 125cc Championship in that season
— Indicates that information is unavailable
  • The "Season" column refers to the season the competition was held, and wikilinks to the article about that season.
  • The "Margin" column refers to the margin of points by which the winner defeated the runner-up.

By season
50/80cc Motorcycle World Champions
Season Nationality Rider Constructor Grands Prix Poles Wins Podiums Fastest laps Points Margin
1962 West Germany Ernst Degner Suzuki 10 — 4 5 4 41 5
1963 New Zealand Hugh Anderson Suzuki 9 — 2 7 2 34 2
1964 New Zealand Hugh Anderson Suzuki 9 — 4 6 4 38 8
1965 United Kingdom Ralph Bryans Honda 8 — 3 5 1 36 4
1966 West Germany Hans Georg Anscheidt Suzuki 6 — 2 4 3 28 2
1967 West Germany Hans Georg Anscheidt Suzuki 7 — 3 6 1 30 2
1968 West Germany Hans Georg Anscheidt Suzuki 5 — 3 4 2 30 13
1969 Spain Ángel Nieto Derbi 10 — 2 6 4 76 1
1970 Spain Ángel Nieto Derbi 10 — 5 7 5 87 12
1971 Netherlands Jan de Vries Kreidler 9 — 5 7 4 75 6
1972 Spain Ángel Nieto[A] Derbi 8 — 3 6 5 69 0
1973 Netherlands Jan de Vries Kreidler 7 — 5 5 5 60 9
1974 Netherlands Henk van Kessel Kreidler Van Veen 10 4 6 8 — 90 25
1975 Spain Ángel Nieto Kreidler 8 1 6 8 — 75 14
1976 Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco 9 8 5 7 — 85 9
1977 Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco 7 4 3 7 — 87 15
1978 Spain Ricardo Tormo Bultaco 7 4 5 7 — 99 35
1979 Italy Eugenio Lazzarini Kreidler 7 4 5 5 — 75 13
1980 Italy Eugenio Lazzarini Kreidler Van Veen 6 1 2 6 — 74 2
1981 Spain Ricardo Tormo Bultaco 8 3 6 6 — 90 25
1982 Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger Kreidler 6 5 3 6 — 81 12
1983 Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger Krauser 7 4 3 6 — 81 12
1984 Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger Zündapp 8 5 4 5 — 82 7
1985 Switzerland Stefan Dörflinger Krauser 7 5 2 7 — 86 19
1986 Spain Jorge Martínez Derbi 9 5 4 7 — 94 9
1987 Spain Jorge Martínez Derbi 10 7 7 9 — 129 43
1988 Spain Jorge Martínez Derbi 7 7 6 7 — 137 40
1989 Spain Manuel Herreros Derbi 6 0 0 4 — 92 12

Multiple champions
Multiple champions of the 50/80cc class
Rider Total Seasons
Ángel Nieto 6 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977
Stefan Dörflinger 4 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985
Hans Georg Anscheidt 3 1966, 1967, 1968
Jorge Martínez 3 1986, 1987, 1988
Hugh Anderson 2 1963, 1964
Jan de Vries 2 1971, 1973
Ricardo Tormo 2 1978, 1981
Eugenio Lazzarini 2 1979, 1980

By constructor
50/80cc championships won by constructor
Constructor Total
Derbi 7
Suzuki 6
Kreidler 5
Bultaco 4
Kreidler Van Veen 2
Krauser 2
Honda 1
Zündapp 1

By nationality
50/80cc championships won by nationality
Nationality Riders Total
Spanish 4 12
Swiss 1 4
German 2 4
Dutch 2 3
Italian 1 2
New Zealander 1 2
British 1 1

Footnotes

A. ^ The points awarded in the 1962 championship were 8 points for a win, with 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point from second place to sixth place.[4]

B. ^ The points awarded to riders in the 1989 championship were 20 points for a win, with 17, 15, 13, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point from second place to fifteenth place.[4]

C. ^ Ángel Nieto and Jan de Vries finished the 1972 championship tied on 69 points. Nieto and de Vries had both won three Grands Prix and finished second three times. As a result, the championship was decided by adding up their times from the five races that the two had finished together. Nieto was declared the winner by 21.5 seconds.[7]

References

Bibliography

  • Marshall, Anne (1997). Guinness Book of Knowledge. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85112-046-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Morrison, Ian (1991). Guinness Motorcycle Fact Book. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85112-953-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Walker, Mick (2000). Mick Walker's German Racing Motorcycles. Redline Books. ISBN 978-0-9531311-2-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

General

Specific

  1. Marshall 1997, p. 289
  2. "Basics". MotoGP. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  3. "History". MotoGP. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  4. Morrison 1991, p. 14
  5. "Points". MotoGP. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  6. Teitge, Stefan. "World 80cc championship overview". Motorsport–archive. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
  7. Walker 2000, p. 117

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