1953 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season explained

The 1953 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the fifth F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of nine Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 12 June, with Isle of Man TT and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 4 October.

1953 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	12 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Leslie Graham	Fergus Anderson	Ray Amm	Ray Amm		Report
2	27 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Werner Haas	Werner Haas	Enrico Lorenzetti	Geoff Duke		Report
3	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Fergus Anderson	Alfredo Milani	Oliver / Dibben	Report
4	19 July	German Grand Prix	Schottenring	Carlo Ubbiali	Werner Haas	Carlo Bandirola †	Walter Zeller †		Report
5	2 August	French Grand Prix	Rouen-Les-Essarts			Fergus Anderson	Geoff Duke	Oliver / Dibben	Report
6	15 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod	Werner Haas	Reg Armstrong	Ken Mudford	Ken Kavanagh	Smith / Nutt	Report
7	23 August	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten		Reg Armstrong	Fergus Anderson	Geoff Duke	Oliver / Dibben	Report
8	6 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Werner Haas	Enrico Lorenzetti	Enrico Lorenzetti	Geoff Duke	Oliver / Dibben	Report
9	4 October	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	Angelo Copeta	Enrico Lorenzetti		Fergus Anderson		Report

† After pronouncing the track unsafe before practice had begun, all the factory teams withdrew from the 350cc and 500cc classes in the proposed German Grand Prix. The event continued, but with the agreement that these two classes were only counted as an ordinary international event.^[1]

Standings

Scoring system

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

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	MAN	HOL	BEL	FRA	ULS	SUI	NAC	ESP	Pts
1	Geoff Duke	Gilera	Ret	1	Ret	1	2	1	1	DNS	38
2	Reg Armstrong	Gilera	3	2	3	2	4	3	4	Ret	24 (30)
3	Alfredo Milani	Gilera	Ret	Ret	1	3	Ret	2			18
4	Ken Kavanagh	Norton / Moto Guzzi	Ret	3	4	4	1	Ret		Ret	18
5	Ray Amm	Norton	1	Ret	2	DNS					14
6	Jack Brett	Norton	2	5	8	6	3	Ret			13
7	Dickie Dale	Gilera	Ret	Ret	6	8		7	2	3	11
8	Giuseppe Colnago	Gilera		4	Ret	5		4		4	11
9	Fergus Anderson	Moto Guzzi		Ret	7				Ret	1	8
10	Rod Coleman	AJS / Norton	4	Ret	5	7	7	5		Ret	7
11	Carlo Bandirola	MV Agusta	Ret						Ret	2	6
12	Libero Liberati	Gilera							3	Ret	4
13	Bill Doran	AJS	5	6	11						3
14	Derek Farrant	Matchless / AJS	Ret				5	6			3
15	Nello Pagani	Gilera						9	7	5	2
16	Cecil Sandford	MV Agusta							5	Ret	2
17	Ken Mudford	Norton	Ret	Ret	14		6			Ret	1
18	Tommy Wood	Norton			Ret	Ret				6	1
19	Hermann Paul Müller	Horex / MV Agusta						Ret	6		1
20	Peter Davey	Norton	6								1
21	Walter Zeller	BMW	Ret	7				8	Ret		0
22	Javier de Ortueta	Norton								7	0
=	Ted Frend	Norton	7								0
24	Robin Sherry	AJS	8	Ret	Ret						0
25	Piet Bakker	Norton		8							0
=	Louis Carter	Norton					8				0
=	Antonio Creus	Norton								8	0
=	Bruno Francisi	MV Agusta							8	DNS	0
29	Auguste Goffin	Norton			10	Ret				9	0
=	Harry Pearce	Matchless	9		Ret		10				0
31	Pierre Monneret	AJS / Gilera				12			9	Ret	0
32	Charlie Salt	BSA	16				9				0
33	Pierre Cherrier					9					0
=	Léon Martin	Gilera			9						0
35	John Storr				Ret			Ret	10		0
36	Hans Baltisberger	BMW						10		Ret	0
=	John Grace	Norton	10							Ret	0
38	Robin Fitton	Norton				10					0
=	Alfredo Flores	Norton								10	0
=	Geoff Read	Norton		10							0
41	Keith Bryen	Norton	Ret	11	18						0
42	Laurie Boulter	Norton	11								0
=	Leslie Dear	Norton					11				0
=	Enrico Galante	Norton							11		0
=	Sidney Mason	Norton				11					0
=	Heer Meyer	BMW						11			0
=	Heinz Thorn-Prikker	Moto Guzzi								11	0
48	Leo Simpson	Matchless / AJS	Ret	Ret	12	Ret			Ret		0
49	Jost Albisser	Norton				Ret		12	Ret		0
50	Felice Benasedo	Moto Guzzi							12		0
=	Ken Harwood	AJS					12				0
=	Frank Norris	Norton	12								0
=	Priem Rozenberg	Matchless		12							0
=	Siegfried Wünsche	DKW								12	0
55	Arthur Wheeler	Matchless	Ret	Ret	13		15				0
56	Jack Bailey	Norton	20				13				0
57	Joe Glazebrook	Norton	22							13	0
58	Lodweijk Simons	Matchless		13	Ret						0
59	B. Botta	Norton						13			0
=	Lodovico Facchinelli	Gilera							13		0
=	Eric Houseley	Norton	13								0
62	Ray Laurent	Norton	15	9					14		0
63	Malcolm Templeton	Matchless	14				Ret				0
=	Leonard Williams	Norton	Ret				14				0
65	Florian Camathias	BMW						14		DNS	0
66	Keith Campbell	Norton			15					DNS	0
=	Arthur Feen	Norton						15			0
=	Antonio Ronchei	Gilera							15		0
69	Charlie Gray	AJS	27				16				0
70	Roger Laurent	Norton			16						0
=	Henri Vidonne	Norton					16				0
71	Sparky Campbell	Norton	Ret	Ret			17				0
72	Charles Bruguiere	Norton		Ret	17						0
73	Eric Pantlin	Norton	17								0
=	Karl Rührschneck	Norton						17			0
75	Nick Nicholson	Norton	18								0
=	Ernie Oliver	Norton					18				0
77	Bill Beevers	Norton	19								0
=	Reg MacDonald	AJS					19				0
=	Andrè Wuyts	Norton			19						0
80	Jimmy Hayes	AJS					20				0
81	Ken Swallow	AJS / Norton	Ret				21				0
82	Les Dear	Norton	21								0
83	Rally Dean	Norton	Ret	Ret			22				0
84	George Scott	AJS	23	Ret							0
85	Robert Browne	AJS					23				0
86	Zachary Dean	Norton	35	Ret			24				0
87	Peter Carter	Matchless	24								0
88	Ray Travers	Norton	25								0
=	Stanley Williamson	Norton					25				0
90	Fred Pusey	Norton					26				0
=	Roy Walker	Norton	26								0
92	Jackie Joseph Wood	Norton					27				0
93	Eric Hardy	AJS	28								0
94	Kel Prince	AJS	29								0
95	Sid Franklen	AJS	30								0
96	Luis Gilbert	AJS	31								0
97	Llewelyn Ranson	AJS	32								0
98	John Fisher	AJS	33								0
99	Bob McDonald	AJS	34								0
100	Jack Harding	Norton	36								0
–	Tony McAlpine	Norton	Ret	Ret	Ret				Ret		0
–	Harold Clark	Matchless / Norton	Ret	Ret						Ret	0
–	Enrico Lorenzetti	Moto Guzzi		Ret	Ret					Ret	0
–	Peter Murphy	Matchless	Ret	Ret	Ret						0
–	Ernie Ring	Matchless / AJS	Ret	Ret	Ret						0
–	Friedel Schön	Horex		Ret	Ret	Ret					0
–	Barry Stormont	Norton	Ret	Ret					Ret		0
–	Fritz Kläger	Horex			Ret					Ret	0
–	Georges Monneret	Gilera / Matchless				Ret			Ret		0
–	Humphrey Ranson	Norton		Ret	Ret						0
–	Barde	Norton						Ret			0
–	Syd Barnett	Norton	Ret								0
–	Ernie Barrett	Phoenix-JAP	Ret								0
–	Francis Basso	Norton			Ret						0
–	Carletto Bellotti	Norton						Ret			0
–	George Brown	Norton	Ret								0
–	Georges Burgaff	Norton				Ret					0
–	John Clark	AJS	Ret								0
–	John Cooper	Matchless	Ret								0
–	Archie Fenn	Norton	Ret								0
–	Giulio Galbiati	Moto Guzzi							Ret		0
–	Martino Giani	MV Agusta						DNS	Ret		0
–	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta	Ret								0
–	Francesco Guglielminetti	Norton							Ret		0
–	William Hall	Norton							Ret		0
–	Phil Heath	Matchless								Ret	0
–	Robert Herbert	Triumph	Ret								0
–	August Hobl	DKW								Ret	0
–	Karl Hoffman	DKW								Ret	0
–	Kuno Johansson	Triumph	Ret								0
–	Cyril Julian	Norton	Ret								0
–	Rudolf Knees	Norton		Ret							0
–	Dick Knox	Norton					Ret				0
–	Gordon Laing	Norton			Ret						0
–	George Leigh	Norton	Ret								0
–	Umberto Masetti	Gilera		Ret							0
–	Bob Matthews	Norton		Ret							0
–	Alexander Mayer	Norton						Ret		DNS	0
–	Tommy McEwan	Matchless	Ret								0
–	Bob McIntyre	Matchless					Ret				0
–	John McKay	Triumph	Ret								0
–	George Morgan	Norton		Ret							0
–	Mike O'Rourke	Matchless	Ret								0
–	Fred Passmore	Norton	Ret								0
–	Jacques Raffeld	Norton			Ret						0
–	Bob Rowbottom	AJS	Ret								0
–	Ron Rudge	Norton	Ret								0
–	Simon Sandys-Winsch	Norton		Ret							0
–	Roland Schnell	Horex							Ret		0
–	Emilio Soprani	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Sven Sørensen	Norton	Ret								0
–	Leo Starr	Norton	Ret								0
–	Henk Steman	Matchless		Ret							0
–	Edouard Texidor	Norton			Ret						0
–	Harry Turner	Norton					Ret				0
–	Geoff Walker	Norton	Ret								0
–	Sid Willis	Norton							Ret		0
–	Vic Willoughby	Norton	Ret								0
–	Tito Forconi	MV Agusta								DNS	0
–	Juan Leal	Norton								DNS	0
–	Albert Moule	Norton	DNS								0
–	Leonard Parry	DKW								DNS	0
–	Bill Petch	Norton								DNS	0
Pos	Rider	Bike	MAN	HOL	BEL	FRA	ULS	SUI	NAC	ESP	Pts

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Fergus Anderson	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	34	3
2	Enrico Lorenzetti	Italy	Moto Guzzi	26	2
3	Ray Amm	Southern Rhodesia	Norton	18	1
4	Ken Kavanagh	Australia	Norton	18	0
5	Jack Brett	United Kingdom	Norton	12	0
6	Rod Coleman	New Zealand	AJS	9	0
7	Ken Mudford	New Zealand	Norton	8	1
8	Bob McIntyre	United Kingdom	AJS	6	0
=	Pierre Monneret	France	AJS	6	0
10	Duilio Agostini	Italy	Moto Guzzi	4	0
11	August Hobl	Germany	DKW	3	0
=	Josef Albisser	Switzerland	Norton	3	0
=	Harry Pearce	United Kingdom	Velocette	3	0
14	Bill Doran	United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
=	Derek Farrant	United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
16	Tommy Wood	United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
=	Ernie Ring	Austria	AJS	2	0
=	Leo Simpson	New Zealand	AJS	2	0
=	Malcolm Templeton	United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
20	Karl Hoffman	Germany	DKW	1	0
=	Ray Laurent	New Zealand	Norton	1	0
=	Ken Harwood	United Kingdom	AJS	1	0
=	Tony McAlpine	Australia	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Werner Haas	Germany	NSU	28	2
2	Reg Armstrong	United Kingdom	NSU	23	2
3	Enrico Lorenzetti	Italy	Moto Guzzi	22	2
4	Fergus Anderson	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	22	1
5	Alano Montanari	Italy	Moto Guzzi	19	0
6	Ken Kavanagh	Australia	Moto Guzzi	6	0
7	Siegfried Wünsche	Germany	DKW	6	0
8	August Hobl	Germany	DKW	6	0
9	Otto Daiker	Germany	NSU	6	0
10	Arthur Wheeler	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	4	0
11	Walter Reichert	Germany	NSU	3	0
12	Tommy Wood	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	3	0
13	Wolfgang Brandt	Germany	NSU	2	0
=	Sid Willis	Australia	Velocette	2	0
15	Umberto Masetti	Italy	NSU	1	0
=	Rupert Hollaus	Austria	Moto Guzzi	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts
1	Werner Haas	NSU	2	1^F	2^F	1^F	1^F		30 (36)
2	Cecil Sandford	MV Agusta	3	3		2		2	20
3	Carlo Ubbiali	MV Agusta		2	1		3	NC^F	18
4	Angelo Copeta	MV Agusta	4		4		4	1	17
5	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta	1^F						8
6	Otto Daiker	NSU			3	4			7
7	Emilio Mendogni	Morini					2		6
8	Wolfgang Brandt	NSU					5	4	5
9	Reg Armstrong	NSU			3				4
9	Rupert Hollaus	NSU						3	4
11	Luigi Zinzani	Morini		4					3
12	Arnold Jones	MV Agusta	5						2
12	Drikus Veer	Morini		5					2
12	Walter Reichert	NSU			5				2
12	Tito Forconi	MV Agusta				5			2
12	Marcelo Cama	Montesa						5	2
17	Bill Webster	MV Agusta	6						1
17	Lo Simons	MV Agusta		6					1
17	Karl Lottes	MV Agusta			6				1
17	Fron Purslow	MV Agusta				6			1
17	Paolo Campanelli	MV Agusta					6		1
17	Georg Braun	Mondial						6	1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts

Constructors' standings

Each constructor is awarded the same number of points as their best placed rider in each race.

As MV Agusta and NSU had equal number of points, identical ranks obtained in all races, and equal number of races in which they classified, their finishing time in each of the six races was added up. MV Agusta's total time is 36.1 seconds quicker than NSU's total time, and was declared the constructors' champion.

Pos.	Constructor	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	2	1	2	3	1	30 (40)
4	NSU	2	1	2	1	1	3	30 (40)
3	Morini		4			2		9
4	Montesa						5	2
5	Mondial		6				6	2
Pos.	Constructor	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts

References

Book: Haefliger, Werner . FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide . 15-17 . 978-2-9701086-8-9 . 2024.
Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949–2000. Chronosports S.A.
Web site: The Official MotoGP website . 2010-07-06 . 2012-03-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302200556/http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1953/NAT/500cc/World+Standing . dead .

Notes and References

23 July 1953. A Farcical German Grand Prix. The Motor Cycle. Ilffe & Sons Ltd. London. 91. 2624. 124.