The 1970 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 22nd 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 3 May, with West German Grand Prix and ended with

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

on 27 September.

Season summary

With no other manufacturers competing in the 500cc class the MV Agusta team continued to dominate as Giacomo Agostini won his fifth consecutive 500cc world championship. Kawasaki began to sell the

Kawasaki H1R The Kawasaki H1R was racing motorcycle manufactured by Kawasaki which competed in the 500 cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Based on the Kawasaki H1 street motorcycle, it was powered by a two stroke, three cylinder engine set acros ...

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

racing teams. The H1R was the first multi-cylinder two stroke racing

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

to be sold commercially.

Ginger Molloy Ginger Molloy (born 25 December 1937) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. He competed from 1965 to 1970 in the Grand Prix world championship. Growing up in Huntly, Molloy played rugby league for Huntly United along ...

rode one of the Kawasakis to a second place finish behind Agostini in the championship. Life was a bit tougher for Agostini in the 350 class as

Kel Carruthers Kelvin Carruthers (born 3 January 1938) is an Australian former world champion Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and racing team manager.

and

Renzo Pasolini Renzo Pasolini (18 July 1938 – 20 May 1973), nicknamed "Paso", was an Italian professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1964 to 1972. Although he never won a world cham ...

on Benellis and Rod Gould on a factory

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

gave him a battle on more than one occasion. Gould would take the 250 title for Yamaha, battling Carruthers for the entire season. German

Dieter Braun Dieter Braun (born 2 February 1943 in Ulm, Bavaria) is a former road racer of Grand Prix solo motorcycles from Germany. He won the 1970 FIM 125cc World Championship for Suzuki. In 1973, he rode a Yamaha TZ 250 to the 250 cc FIM world ch ...

would give Suzuki the 125 crown while

Derbi Derbi is a manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and recreational all-terrain vehicles produced by Nacional Motor S.A.U., a Spanish subsidiary of Piaggio & Co. SpA. History Derbi's origins began with a little bicycle workshop in the v ...

mounted

Angel Nieto In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

claimed the 50cc class for the second year in a row. There were six fatalities among the competitors at the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

races, including world championship contender

Santiago Herrero Santiago Herrero (9 May 1943 – 10 June 1970) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was Spain's most promising international motorcycle racer until he died from injuries sustained while competing in the Isle of Man T ...

, making 1970 the deadliest year in the history of the event.

1970 Grand Prix season calendar

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.

500cc final standings

1970 350 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

1970 250 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

1970 125 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

1970 50 cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{DEFAULTSORT:1970 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season