1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season explained

The 1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 17th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of thirteen Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 21 March, with United States Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on October, 24.

Season summary

Mike Hailwood easily claimed his fourth successive 500 class crown for MV Agusta, although he was beginning to show his disenchantment with the autocratic Count Agusta by accepting a 250 class ride from Honda. Newcomer Giacomo Agostini riding for MV Agusta would battle Honda's reigning champion Jim Redman for the 350 title. The outcome wouldn't be decided until the final race of the year in Japan, when Agostini's MV Agusta suffered a mechanical failure, handing the championship to Redman.

The Yamaha duo of Phil Read and Michelle Duff finished first and second in the 250 class, as Honda's Redman battled early season injuries. Hugh Anderson won six races to claim his second 125 championship for Suzuki while Honda's Ralph Bryans took the 50cc crown ahead of his Honda teammate Luigi Taveri.

1965 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	21 March	United States Grand Prix	Daytona Speedway	Ernst Degner	Hugh Anderson	Phil Read		Mike Hailwood		Report
2	25 April	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Sudschleife	Ralph Bryans	Hugh Anderson	Phil Read	Giacomo Agostini	Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
3	9 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Hugh Anderson	Hugh Anderson	Phil Read			Deubel / Hörner	Report
4	15 May	French Grand Prix	Rouen-Les-Essarts	Ralph Bryans	Hugh Anderson	Phil Read			Camathias / Ducret	Report
5	14 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Luigi Taveri	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Deubel / Hörner	Report
6	26 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Ralph Bryans	Michelle Duff	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
7	4 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	Ernst Degner		Jim Redman		Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
8	18 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Frank Perris	Jim Redman	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
9	25 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit		Frank Perris	Phil Read	Jim Redman	Mike Hailwood		Report
10	7 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Ernst Degner	Phil Read	Frantisek Stastny	Dick Creith		Report
11	22 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Hugh Anderson	Michelle Duff	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
12	5 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza		Hugh Anderson	Tarquinio Provini	Giacomo Agostini	Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
13	24 October	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit	Luigi Taveri	Hugh Anderson	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood			Report

Standings

Scoring system

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

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	USA	GER	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	CZE	ULS	FIN	NAC	Pts
1	Mike Hailwood	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	1			1	48 (64)
2	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta		2	Ret	2	2	2	2		1	2	38 (44)
3	Paddy Driver	Matchless	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	4	3	4	2	2		26
4	Fred Stevens	Matchless					5	5	5	5	3	4	15
5	Jack Ahearn	Norton		Ret	9	5	9	4	3				9
6	Dick Creith	Norton								1			8
7	Jack Findlay	Matchless		4	10	11	12	11	9	4	5	8	8
8	Joe Dunphy	Norton			2			Ret		Ret			6
9	Buddy Parriott	Norton	2										6
10	Frantisek Stastny	Jawa							6		8	3	5
11	Chris Conn	Norton			Ret	7	7			3			4
12	Derek Minter	Norton			Ret	Ret	3						4
13	Roger Beaumont	Norton	3										4
=	Michelle Duff	Matchless			3								4
=	Walter Scheimann	Norton		3									4
16	Ian Burne	Norton		Ret	4	Ret	8	6	10		Ret	10	4
17	John Cooper	RD Norton			Ret	4	Ret			Ret			3
18	Jouko Ryhänen	Matchless						Ret			4		3
19	Kenneth King	Norton	4										3
20	Edy Lenz	Norton		5	Ret	Ret		9	Ret			7	2
21	Selwyn Griffiths	Matchless			5					9			2
22	Ed LaBelle	Norton	5										2
=	Giuseppe Mandolini	Moto Guzzi										5	2
24	Gyula Marsovszky	Matchless		Ret	8	Ret	6				Ret	6	2
25	Lewis Young	Matchless		7		14	Ret	8	Ret		6		1
26	Dan Shorey	Norton		Ret	18	6	10	10	7	10		12	1
27	Billy McCosh	Matchless			6					8			1
28	Billie Nelson	Norton		6	12	Ret							1
29	Robin Fitton	Norton				Ret				6			1
30	David Lloyd	Norton	6										1
31	Eric Hinton	Norton			Ret			Ret	Ret		7		0
32	Gustav Havel	Jawa							Ret	7	Ret		0
=	Malcolm Stanton	Norton			Ret			7		Ret			0
34	Alan Dugalde	Norton			7								0
=	Fred Simone	BMW	7										0
36	Rudi Thalhammer	Norton				9			8			9	0
37	Karl Hoppe	Matchless				8							0
=	Al Johnson	BMW	8										0
=	Hans-Jürgen Melcher	Norton		8									0
40	Roy Robinson	Norton						14	11		9		0
41	Hans-Otto Butenuth	BMW		9	16								0
42	Ray Dey	Norton	9										0
43	Syd Mizen	Matchless			Ret	10	Ret						0
44	Wester Cooley	Norton	10										0
=	Hannu Kuparinen	Matchless									10		0
=	Hans Schmidt	BMW		10									0
47	Griff Jenkins	Lancefield Norton			Ret					Ret		11	0
48	Dave Croxford	Matchless			11								0
=	Carl Eshoo	Triumph	11										0
=	Manfred Gäckle	Norton		11									0
=	Pentti Lehtelä	Norton									11		0
=	Ian McGregor	Norton								11			0
53	Derek Lee	Matchless		Ret	15			16	12		13		0
54	Philippe Canoui	Norton / Matchless						15			12	Ret	0
55	Bo Granath	Matchless			Ret		Ret	12			Ret		0
56	Stuart Graham	Matchless			Ret	12	Ret						0
57	Bernhard Bockelmann	Norton		12									0
=	Bruce Carter	BSA	12										0
=	Ron Wilson	Norton								12			0
60	Ernst Weiss	Norton		14				Ret	13				0
61	Roy Ingram	Norton			Ret	13							0
=	Gordon Keith	Norton			13					Ret			0
63	Billy Andersson	AJS						13					0
=	Giuseppe Dardanello	Norton										13	0
=	Stan Friduss	Norton	13										0
=	Jimmy Jones	Norton								13			0
=	Siegfried Springenberg	Horex		13									0
68	Davy Crawford	Norton								14			0
=	Jan Hennek	Norton							14				0
=	Tony Wilmott	Norton			14								0
71	Maurice Hawtorne	Norton		Ret				Ret	15				0
72	György Kurucz	Norton						15	Ret				0
=	Alf Shaw	Norton			Ret					15			0
74	Hans Föhr	Matchless		15									0
=	John Mawby	Norton				15							0
76	Jack Saunders	Matchless			31					16			0
77	John Brown	Norton								17			0
=	Carl Ward	Norton			17								0
79	John Simmonds	Norton			19								0
80	Robert Haldane	Matchless			20					Ret			0
81	Ron Chandler	Matchless			21								0
82	Peter Richards	Norton			22								0
83	Brian Proctor	Norton			23								0
84	Tom Gill	Matchless			24								0
85	Marvin Wright	Norton			25								0
86	Bob Ritchie	Norton			26					Ret			0
87	John Rudge	Triton			27								0
88	Colin Cross	Norton			28								0
89	Abbey de Kock	Norton		Ret	29			Ret	Ret				0
90	Bill Hawthorne	BSA-Norton			30								0
-	John Denty	Norton			Ret			Ret		Ret			0
-	John Somers	Norton				Ret		Ret			Ret		0
-	Hartmut Allner	BMW		Ret					Ret				0
-	Bo Brolin	Matchless						Ret			Ret		0
-	Agne Carlsson	Matchless						Ret			Ret		0
-	Graham Dickson	Norton		Ret				Ret					0
-	Bill Ivy	Matchless			Ret	Ret							0
-	Endel Kiisa	Vostok		Ret					Ret				0
-	Ron Robinson	Norton						Ret	Ret				0
-	Bill Smith	Matchless / DKW			Ret							Ret	0
-	Dennis Ainsworth	Norton				Ret							0
-	Derek Blackmore	Norton			Ret								0
-	Stan Brassey	Norton			Ret								0
-	Rex Butcher	Norton			Ret								0
-	Heiner Butz	Norton		Ret									0
-	Louis Carr	Norton			Ret								0
-	Antonio de Simone	Norton										Ret	0
-	Arnold Dobbs	Matchless								Ret			0
-	Vincent Duckett	Matchless			Ret								0
-	Bobby Duncan	Triumph			Ret								0
-	Dean Dyess	Ducati	Ret										0
-	Klaus Enders	Norton		Ret									0
-	Karl-Heinz Ewing	Norton		Ret									0
-	Franco Farne	Ducati	Ret										0
-	Ray Flack	Norton			Ret								0
-	Fred Gailey	Norton	Ret										0
-	Andreas Georgeades	Matchless			Ret								0
-	Peter Gould	Ducati	Ret										0
-	Jack Gow	Norton			Ret								0
-	Sven-Olov Gunnarson	Norton						Ret					0
-	Albert Häring	Norton		Ret									0
-	Oliver Howe	Norton		Ret									0
-	John Hudson	Norton			Ret								0
-	Alan Hunter	Norton			Ret								0
-	Dave Jackson	Matchless	Ret										0
-	Lothar John	Norton		Ret									0
-	David Johnson	Norton			Ret								0
-	Derek Jones	BSA			Ret								0
-	Wilber Lawson	Triumph	Ret										0
-	Ivor Lloyd	Norton	Ret										0
-	Gerald MacDonald	Paton	Ret										0
-	Emanuele Maugliani	Norton										Ret	0
-	Stuart Morin	Matchless	Ret										0
-	Albert Moule	Norton			Ret								0
-	Bert Oosterhuis	Norton		Ret									0
-	Gianni Perrone	Bianchi										Ret	0
-	John Pinckney	Norton		Ret									0
-	Laurence Povey	Norton			Ret								0
-	Robert Reid	Norton								Ret			0
-	Bryan Scobie	Norton						Ret					0
-	Horst Seidl	Norton		Ret									0
-	Nikolai Sevostyanov	Vostok							Ret				0
-	John Smith	Norton					Ret						0
-	Hans Sommerhalder	Matchless			Ret								0
-	Brian Taggart	Norton								Ret			0
-	Rolf Thiemig	Norton		Ret									0
-	Franco Trabalzini	Gilera										Ret	0
-	William Walton	Norton			Ret								0
-	Monty Ward	Norton			Ret								0
-	Dave Williams	MW Norton			Ret								0
-	Anthony Woodman	Matchless		Ret									0
-	Derek Woodman	Matchless			Ret								0
-	Benedetto Zambotti	Norton										Ret	0
-	Manfred Zeller	Matchless		Ret									0
Pos	Rider	Bike	USA	GER	MAN	HOL	BEL	DDR	CZE	ULS	FIN	NAC	Pts

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

^[1]

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	38	4
2	Giacomo Agostini	Italy	MV Agusta	32	3
3	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	20	1
4	Bruce Beale	Rhodesia	Honda	15	0
5	Frantisek Stastny	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	14	1
6	Derek Woodman	United Kingdom	MZ	14	0
7	Gustav Havel	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	12	0
8	Renzo Pasolini	Italy	Aermacchi	9	0
9	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Yamaha	6	0
=	Silvio Grassetti	Italy	Benelli	6	0
11	Frantisek Bocek	Czechoslovakia	Jawa	6	0
12	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	6	0
13	Nicolaï Sevostianov	USSR	Vostok	4	0
=	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	Benelli	4	0
=	Isamu Kasuya	Japan	Honda	4	0
16	Chris Conn	United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
=	Agne Carlsson	Sweden	AJS	3	0
=	Isao Yamashita	Japan	Honda	3	0
19	Griff Jenkins	United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
=	John Cooper	United Kingdom	Norton	3	0
21	Endel Kiisa	USSR	CKEB	2	0
=	Lewis Young	United Kingdom	AJS	2	0
23	Dan Shorey	United Kingdom	Norton	2	0
24	Paddy Driver	South Africa	AJS	1	0
=	Eric Hinton	Australia	Norton	1	0
=	Bill Smith	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Yamaha	56	7
2	Michelle Duff	Canada	Yamaha	42	1
3	Jim Redman	Rhodesia	Honda	34	3
4	Heinz Rosner	East Germany	MZ	18	0
5	Derek Woodman	United Kingdom	MZ	15	0
6	Bruce Beale	Rhodesia	Honda	14	0
7	Tarquinio Provini	Italy	Benelli	11	1
8	Ramón Torras	Spain	Bultaco	10	0
9	Frank Perris	United Kingdom	Suzuki	9	0
10	Mike Hailwood	United Kingdom	Honda	8	1
11	Frantisek Stastny	Czechoslovakia	ČZ	8	0
12	Isamu Kasuya	Japan	Honda	6	0
13	Ralph Bryans	United Kingdom	Honda	6	0
14	Yoshimi Katayama	Japan	Suzuki	6	0
15	Giuseppe Visenzi	Italy	Aermacchi	5	0
16	Silvio Grassetti	Italy	Morini	4	0
=	Barry Smith	Australia	Bultaco	4	0
=	Remo Venturi	Italy	Benelli	4	0
=	Bill Ivy	United Kingdom	Yamaha	4	0
20	Ginger Molloy	New Zealand	Bultaco	4	0
21	Jean-Claude Guénard	France	Bultaco	3	0
=	Gosuke Yamashita	Japan	Honda	3	0
23	Günter Beer	West Germany	Honda	3	0
24	José Busquets	Spain	Montesa	2	0
=	Kevin Cass	Australia	Cotton	2	0
=	Rex Avery	United Kingdom	Bultaco	2	0
=	Hiroshi Hasegawa	Japan	Yamaha	2	0
28	John Buckner	United States	Yamaha	1	0
=	Gilberto Milani	Italy	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Alberto Pagani	Italy	Aermacchi	1	0
=	Alain Barbaroux	France	Aermacchi	5	0
=	Dave Williams	United Kingdom	FB-Mondial	1	0
=	Bob Coulter	United Kingdom	Bultaco	1	0

125cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hugh Anderson	New Zealand	Suzuki	56	7
2	Frank Perris	United Kingdom	Suzuki	44	2
3	Derek Woodman	United Kingdom	MZ	28	0
4	Ernst Degner	West Germany	Suzuki	23	1
5	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	14	0
6	Michelle Duff	Canada	Yamaha	12	1
7	Klaus Enderlein	East Germany	MZ	11	0
8	Ralph Bryans	United Kingdom	Honda	11	0
9	Joachim Leitert	East Germany	MZ	10	0
10	Phil Read	United Kingdom	Yamaha	8	1
11	Yoshimi Katayama	Japan	Suzuki	6	0
=	Dieter Krumpholz	East Germany	MZ	6	0
13	Bill Ivy	United Kingdom	Yamaha	6	0
14	Bruce Beale	Rhodesia	Honda	6	0
15	Ramón Torras	Spain	Bultaco	4	0
=	Heinz Rosner	East Germany	MZ	4	0
17	Roland Rentzsch	East Germany	MZ	4	0
18	Rick Schell	United States	Honda	3	0
=	Bruno Spaggiari	Italy	Ducati	3	0
20	Giuseppe Visenzi	Italy	Honda	3	0
21	Jeff Tate	United States	Honda	2	0
=	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	West Germany	MZ-Kreidler	2	0
=	Yasuhara Yuzawa	Japan	Honda	2	0
24	Bob Gehring	United States	Bultaco	1	0
=	Walter Scheimann	West Germany	Honda	1	0
=	Arthur Fegbli	Switzerland	Honda	1	0
=	Jürgen Lenk	East Germany	MZ	1	0
=	Frantisek Bocek	Czechoslovakia	ČZ	1	0
=	Tommy Robb	United Kingdom	Bultaco	1	0
=	Ginger Molloy	New Zealand	Bultaco	1	0
=	Hironori Matsushima	Japan	Yamaha	1	0

50cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Ralph Bryans	United Kingdom	Honda	36	3
2	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	Honda	32	2
3	Hugh Anderson	New Zealand	Suzuki	32	1
4	Ernst Degner	West Germany	Suzuki	26	2
5	Mitsuo Itoh	Japan	Suzuki	16	0
6	Michio Ichino	Japan	Suzuki	6	0
7	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	West Germany	Kreidler	6	0
8	José Busquets	Spain	Derbi	4	0
9	Jacques Roca	France	Derbi	4	0
10	Haruo Koshino	Japan	Suzuki	3	0
=	Charlie Mates	United Kingdom	Honda	3	0
12	Angel Nieto	Spain	Derbi	2	0
=	Ian Plumridge	United Kingdom	Derbi	2	0
14	Cees van Dongen	Netherlands	Kreidler	2	0
15	Gastón Biscia	Uruguay	Suzuki	1	0
=	Barry Smith	Australia	Derbi	1	0
=	Leslie Griffiths	United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	Akira Itoh	Japan	Honda	1	0

Notes

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/20120302224202/http://www.motogp.com/en/Results+Statistics/1965/NAT/500cc/World+Standing . dead .

Notes and References

Web site: 500cc World Standing 1965 . motogp.com . 4 March 2019.