John Dodds (born 13 November 1943) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

former Grand Prix

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 ...

road racer. He competed on the Grand Prix circuit from 1966 to 1978. His best finish was a third place behind

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 ...

and

Teuvo Länsivuori Teuvo Pentti "Tepi" Länsivuori (born 9 December 1945) is a Finnish former professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1969 to 1978. His most successful seasons were in 1973 when he finished in se ...

in the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

250cc world championship.

Motorcycle racing career

Dodds won his first world championship Grand Prix at the

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

125cc West German Grand Prix held in rainy conditions at the challenging, long Nürburgring racetrack, riding a single-cylinder

Aermacchi Aermacchi was an Italian aircraft manufacturer. Formerly known as Aeronautica Macchi, the company was founded in 1912 by Giulio Macchi at Varese in north-western Lombardy as Nieuport-Macchi, to build Nieuport monoplanes under licence for the Ita ...

motorcycle. During the 1971 season, Dodds helped fellow racer Kim Newcombe develop a motorcycle using a

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

Dieter König Dieter König (19 May 1931 – 17 August 1991) raced hydroplanes and was also responsible for manufacturing the engines that powered them. During the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s his "König" engines dominated the sport. The engines were manufactured in ...

. Newcombe and the König were the first to challenge the dominance of the MV Agustas after the departure of

Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...

from Grand Prix competition at the end of the

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

season. In 1974, Dodds won the preseason invitational 500cc Mettet Grand Prix and then, claimed the

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adopt ...

world championship on a

Yamaha TZ750 The Yamaha TZ750 is a series production two-stroke race motorcycle built by Yamaha to compete in the Formula 750 class in the 1970s. '' Motorcyclist'' called it "the most notorious and successful roadracing motorcycle of the 1970s". Another jour ...

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Points system from 1950 to 1968: Points system from 1969 onwards: ( key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodds, John 1943 births Living people Australian motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders