1959 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season explained

The 1959 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 11th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of seven Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 17 May, with French Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 6 September.

1959 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	17 May	French Grand Prix	Charade Circuit			John Surtees	John Surtees	Scheidegger/Burkhardt	Report
2	6 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Tarquinio Provini	Tarquinio Provini	John Surtees	John Surtees	Schneider / Strauß	Report
3	14 June	German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	John Surtees	John Surtees	Camathias / Cecco	Report
4	27 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Carlo Ubbiali	Tarquinio Provini	Bob Brown †	John Surtees	Camathias / Cecco	Report
5	5 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Carlo Ubbiali	Gary Hocking †		John Surtees	Schneider / Strauß	Report
6	26 July	Swedish Grand Prix	Råbelövsbanan	Tarquinio Provini	Gary Hocking	John Surtees	Bob Brown †		Report
7	8 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit	Mike Hailwood	Gary Hocking	John Surtees	John Surtees		Report
8	6 September	Nations Grand Prix††	Monza	Ernst Degner	Carlo Ubbiali	John Surtees	John Surtees		Report

† Race did not count towards the World Championship.

†† The Nations Grand Prix also held a non-championship 175 cc race, won by the Italian, Francesco Villa.

Standings

Scoring system

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

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	FRA	MAN	GER	HOL	BEL	ULS	NAC	Pts
1	John Surtees	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	32 (56)
2	Remo Venturi	MV Agusta	2		2	3	5		2	22 (24)
3	Bob Brown	Norton	9	3	3	2	4	5	4	17 (22)
4	Geoff Duke	Norton			9		3	3	3	12
5	Gary Hocking	Norton	3		Ret	Ret	2	Ret	Ret	10
6	Bob McIntyre	Norton		5				2		8
7	Alistair King	Norton		2				6		7
8	Dickie Dale	BMW	4	Ret	Ret	4	8	7	Ret	6
9	Terry Shepherd	Norton	5	Ret				4		5
10	John Hempleman	Norton	17		5	Ret	Ret	8	5	4
11	Derek Powell	Matchless		4				14		3
12	Ken Kavanagh	Norton		DNS	4	Ret	Ret			3
13	Paddy Driver	Norton	6	6	Ret	Ret		Ret	6	3
14	Jim Redman	Norton		Ret	Ret	5	9	Ret	Ret	2
15	Bob Anderson	Norton	8	Ret		Ret	6			1
16	Ron Miles	Norton		12	12	6		11		1
17	Alois Huber	BMW			6					1
18	Tom Phillis	Norton	7	16	Ret	Ret	7	Ret		0
19	Hans-Günter Jäger	BMW	11		10	7	16		8	0
20	Ernst Hiller	BMW			8	Ret			7	0
21	Geoff Tanner	Norton	Ret		7	9	11			0
22	Alan Shepherd	Matchless		7				9		0
23	George Catlin	Matchless		8						0
=	Anton Elbersen	BMW			8					0
25	Ralph Rensen	Norton	10	9				10		0
26	Karl Untersteggaber	Norton							9	0
27	Derek Minter	Norton		Ret		Ret	10			0
=	Peter Pawson	Norton		10		Ret		Ret		0
29	Paolo Campanelli	Norton							10	0
30	Jacques Insermini	Norton	Ret						11	0
=	Brian Setchell	Norton		11						0
=	Evert Carlsson	BMW			11					0
33	Raymond Bogaerdt	Norton				Ret	12			0
34	Jacques Collot	Norton	12							0
=	Vasco Loro	Norton							12	0
=	Stephen Murray	Matchless						12		0
37	Mike Hailwood	MV Agusta / Norton		Ret			13		Ret	0
=	Alfredo Milani	Gilera				Ret	Ret		13	0
39	Guy Ligier	Norton	13							0
=	Rudolf Gläser	Norton			13					0
=	Robin Fitton	Norton	Ret					13		0
=	Bill Smith	Matchless		13						0
43	Yvon Callede	Norton			14					0
=	Ewan Haldane	Norton		14						0
=	Charly Maubert	Norton	14							0
=	Jules Nies	Matchless					14			0
47	Don Chapman	Norton		Ret				15		0
48	Maurice de Polo	Norton	15							0
=	Raymond Hanset	Norton					15			0
=	Bob Rowbottom	Norton		15						0
51	Tommy McLeod	Norton						16		0
=	Albert Montagne	Norton	16							0
53	Jean-Pierre Bayle	Norton	Ret		Ret		17			0
=	Stan Cameron	Matchless		Ret				17		0
55	Joe Wright	Norton		17						0
56	Harry Grant	Norton / Matchless		18				22		0
=	Jimmy Jones	Norton						18		0
58	William McCosh	Matchless						19		0
=	Fred Stevens	AJS		19						0
60	Martin Brosnan	Norton						20		0
=	Ed LaBelle	BMW		20						0
62	George Northwood	Norton		21						0
=	Willie White	Norton						21		0
64	Vernon Cottle	Norton		22						0
66	Frank Gordon	Norton						23		0
67	Ernie Oliver	AJS						24		0
68	Jack Shannon	BSA						25		0
69	John Brown	Norton						26		0
-	Eric Hinton	Norton		Ret				Ret	Ret	0
-	Jimmy Buchan Jr	Norton		Ret				Ret		0
-	Jack Findlay	Norton		Ret				Ret		0
-	John Hartle	MV Agusta		Ret				Ret		0
-	Llewelyn Ranson	Norton		Ret				Ret		0
-	Ernesto Brambilla	MV Agusta			Ret					0
-	Jack Brett	Norton		Ret						0
-	Jack Bullock	Matchless		Ret						0
-	Louis Carr	Norton		Ret						0
-	Eric Cheers	Norton		Ret						0
-	Artemio Cirelli	Gilera							Ret	0
-	Barry Cortvriend	Matchless		Ret						0
-	George Costain	Norton		Ret						0
-	Adolfo Covi	Norton							Ret	0
-	Dick Creith	Norton						Ret		0
-	Davy Crawford	Norton						Ret		0
-	Bruce Daniels	Norton		Ret						0
-	Bertie Farlow	Norton						Ret		0
-	Ray Fay	Norton		Ret						0
-	Peter Ferbrache	Matchless				Ret				0
-	Bob Ferguson	Norton						Ret		0
-	Ralph Fox	AJS		Ret						0
-	Joe Glazebrook	Norton		Ret						0
-	Roger Graham	Norton		Ret						0
-	Owen Greenwood	Triumph		Ret						0
-	Francesco Guglielminetti	Norton							Ret	0
-	Tom Hesketh	Norton		Ret						0
-	Tommy Holmes	BSA						Ret		0
-	Roy Ingram	Norton		Ret						0
-	Len Ireland	Norton						Ret		0
-	Den Jarman	Norton		Ret						0
-	Lothar John	BMW			Ret					0
-	Host Kassner	Norton		Ret						0
-	Luigi Marcelli	Norton							Ret	0
-	Angus Martin	Norton		Ret						0
-	Giuseppe Mantelli	Gilera							Ret	0
-	Emanuele Maugliani	Gilera							Ret	0
-	Robert McCracken	Norton						Ret		0
-	Fritz Messerli		Ret							0
-	Syd Mizen	Norton Dunstall		Ret						0
-	Albert Moule	Norton		Ret						0
-	Frank Perris	Norton				Ret				0
-	Harry Plews	AJS		Ret						0
-	Ladislaus Richter	Norton				Ret				0
-	Bill Robertson	Norton		Ret						0
-	Walter Scheimann	Norton			Ret					0
-	Toni Schmitz	Norton						Ret		0
-	Ray Spence	Norton						Ret		0
-	Don Tickle	Norton				Ret				0
-	Alan Trow	Norton		Ret						0
-	Dino Valbonesi	Gilera							Ret	0
-	Michel Valentin		Ret							0
-	Martinus van Son	Norton							Ret	0
-	Roberto Vigorito	Norton							Ret	0
-	Arthur Wheeler	AJS		Ret						0
-	Lewis Young	Norton		Ret						0
-	Benedetto Zambotti	Gilera							Ret	0
Pos	Rider	Bike	FRA	MAN	GER	HOL	BEL	ULS	NAC	Pts

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	John Surtees	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	48	6
2	John Hartle	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	16	0
3	Bob Brown	Australia	Norton	14	0
4	Gary Hocking	Rhodesia	Norton	12	0
5	Geoff Duke	United Kingdom	Norton	10	0
6	Remo Venturi	Italy	MV Agusta	6	0
7	Dickie Dale	United Kingdom	AJS	6	0
8	John Hempleman	New Zealand	Norton	6	0
9	Bob Anderson	United Kingdom	Norton	5	0
10	Alistair King	United Kingdom	Norton	4	0
=	Ernesto Brambilla	Italy	MV Agusta	4	0
12	Paddy Driver	South Africa	Norton	4	0
13	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
=	Tom Phillis	Australia	Norton	2	0
15	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Norton	2	0
16	Terry Shepherd	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Dave Chadwick	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Carlo Ubbiali	Italy	MV Agusta	28	2
2	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	MV Agusta	16	2
=	Gary Hocking	Rhodesia	MZ	16	2
4	Ernst Degner	East Germany	MZ	14	0
5	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	Mondial	13	0
6	Emilio Mendogni	Italy	Morini	10	0
7	Derek Minter	United Kingdom	Morini	7	0
8	Tommy Robb	United Kingdom	GMS-MZ	7	0
9	Horst Fügner	East Germany	MZ	6	0
10	Geoff Duke	United Kingdom	Benelli	5	0
11	Dave Chadwick	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	4	0
12	Libero Liberati	Italy	Morini	3	0
13	Horst Kassner	West Germany	NSU	2	0
=	Phil Carter	United Kingdom	NSU	2	0
=	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	MZ	2	0
16	Rudi Thalhammer	Austria	NSU	1	0
=	Dickie Dale	United Kingdom	Benelli	1	0
18	Günter Beer	West Germany	Adler	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	GER	NED	BEL	SWE	ULS	NAT	Pts
1	Carlo Ubbiali	MV Agusta	5	1^F	1^F	1	2^F		2^F	30 (38)
2	Tarquinio Provini	MV Agusta	1	2		2^F	1		5	28 (30)
3	Mike Hailwood	Ducati	3	3	3		4	1^F		20 (23)
4	Luigi Taveri	MZ	2^F							14
4	Ducati				3			3		14
5	Ernst Degner	MZ		6				3	1	13
6	Bruno Spaggiari	Ducati		5	2					8
7	Derek Minter	MZ			5	4			4	8
8	Ken Kavanagh	Ducati			6	5	5	4		8
9	Gary Hocking	MZ						2		7
9	MV Agusta							6		7
10	Horst Fügner	MZ	4		4					6
11	Werner Musiol	MZ					3			4
12	Francesco Villa	Ducati		4						3
13	Alberto Pagani	Ducati						5		2
14	Naomi Taniguchi	Honda	6							1
14	Karl Kronmüller	Ducati				6				1
14	Ulf Svensson	Ducati					6			1
14	Arthur Wheeler	Ducati						6		1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	GER	NED	BEL	SWE	ULS	NAT	Pts

Constructors' standings

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

Pos.	Constructor	MAN	GER	NED	BEL	SWE	ULS	NAT	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1		2	32 (46)
2	MZ	2	6	4	4	3	2	1	24 (31)
3	Ducati	3	3	2	3	4	1	3	22 (33)
4	Honda	6							1
Pos.	Constructor	MAN	GER	NED	BEL	SWE	ULS	NAT	Pts

References

Book: Haefliger, Werner . FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide . Lightweight class . 35-37 . 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 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120302211827/http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1959/NAT/500cc/World+Standing . 2012-03-02 . dead .