The 1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 18th 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 8 May, 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 ...

and ended with

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Gran ...

on 17 October.

Season summary

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 ...

stepped up their racing program with a new four-cylinder 500cc bike, as well as bikes in the four smaller classes. Despite Honda's increased efforts, Suzuki would claim the 50cc title with

Hans-Georg Anscheidt Hans-Georg Anscheidt (born 23 December 1935 at Königsberg) is a retired German Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle road racing List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions, World Champion. He won three consecutive Fédé ...

winning the championship from Honda's

Luigi Taveri Luigi Taveri (19 September 1929 – 1 March 2018) was a Swiss professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1954 to 1966. Taveri is notable for being a three-time 125cc ...

at the last race of the season in Japan.

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 ...

would battle Honda all season for the 125 crown, each factory taking five wins, with Honda's Taveri taking the title from Yamaha's

Bill Ivy William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany. The Early Years Ivy started racing motorbikes at Brands Hat ...

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycl ...

, having left the MV Agusta team to ride for Honda, stormed to the 250 crown, winning the first eight races of the season, as

Phil Read Phillip William Read, (1 January 1939 – 6 October 2022) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championships ...

struggled with Yamaha's new v-four race bike. Hailwood would make it a double when he also claimed the 350 class ahead of MV Agusta's Giacomo Agostini. Honda's plan was for Jim Redman to lead their 500 class campaign before he retired. All started well with Redman winning the first two races of the year however, Honda's hopes were dashed when he crashed in the rain in Belgium and broke his wrist. This gave Agostini the championship lead, which he held despite Hailwood taking three of the last six races. Honda took some consolation by winning all five constructor's titles for a clean sweep.

1966 Grand Prix season calendar

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best of four were counted on 50cc championships, best of five in 350cc and 500cc championships, best of six in 125cc and 250cc championships, while in the Sidecars, only the best of three races were counted.

500cc final standings

350cc Standings

250cc Standings

125cc Standings

50cc Standings

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{DEFAULTSORT:1966 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season