1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Kenny Roberts (pictured top in Assen) and Jon Ekerold (pictured in Assen) became the 1980 500cc and 350cc world champion.

Season summary

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Yamaha's Kenny Roberts claimed his third successive 500cc world championship in a season shortened by the cancellations of the Venezuelan and Austrian rounds.[1] Randy Mamola took over at Suzuki from Barry Sheene. Kawasaki returned to the 500cc class with a monocoque, four cylinder bike for Kork Ballington.[1] Honda soldiered on with its exotic four-stroke NR500 but began to realize it was at a disadvantage against its two-stroke opposition.[1]

There were only six rounds in the 350cc class that saw South Africa's Jon Ekerold, a true privateer, take the championship from the Kawasaki factory-sponsored Anton Mang.[1] Mang would take the 250cc crown from defending champion Ballington while Pier Paolo Bianchi won the 125cc title.[1] Eugenio Lazzarini won a tight battle from Swiss Stefan Dörflinger to take the 50cc championship by only 2 points.[2]

1980 Grand Prix season calendar

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The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 1980:[3][4]

Round Date Grand Prix Circuit
1 11 May   Gran Premio delle Nazioni Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
2 18 May   Gran Premio de España Circuito Permanente Del Jarama
3 25 May   Grand Prix de France Moto Circuit Paul Ricard
4 15 Jun   Velika Nagrada Jugoslavije Automotodrom Rijeka
5 28 June   Dutch TT Assen TT Circuit Assen
6 6 July   Grand Prix of Belgium Circuit Zolder
7 27 July   Finnish GP Imatra Circuit
8 10 August   Marlboro British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit
9 17 August   Grand Prix ČSSR Brno Circuit
10 24 August   Großer Preis von Deutschland Nürburgring-Nordschleife

Calendar changes

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Results and standings

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1980 Grand Prix season results

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Round Date Race Location 50cc winner 125cc winner 250cc winner 350cc winner 500cc winner Report
1 11 May   Nations Grand Prix Misano   Eugenio Lazzarini   Pier Paolo Bianchi   Anton Mang   Johnny Cecotto   Kenny Roberts Report
2 18 May   Spanish Grand Prix Jarama   Eugenio Lazzarini   Pier Paolo Bianchi   Kork Ballington   Kenny Roberts Report
3 25 May   French Grand Prix Paul Ricard   Angel Nieto   Kork Ballington   Jon Ekerold   Kenny Roberts Report
4 15 Jun   Yugoslavian Grand Prix Rijeka   Ricardo Tormo   Guy Bertin   Anton Mang Report
5 28 June   Dutch TT Assen   Ricardo Tormo   Angel Nieto   Carlos Lavado   Jon Ekerold   Jack Middelburg Report
6 6 July   Belgian Grand Prix Zolder   Stefan Dörflinger   Angel Nieto   Anton Mang   Randy Mamola Report
7 27 July   Finnish Grand Prix Imatra   Angel Nieto   Kork Ballington   Wil Hartog Report
8 10 August   British Grand Prix Silverstone   Loris Reggiani   Kork Ballington   Anton Mang   Randy Mamola Report
9 17 August   Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Brno Circuit   Guy Bertin   Anton Mang   Anton Mang Report
10 24 August   German Grand Prix Nürburgring-Nordschleife   Stefan Dörflinger   Guy Bertin   Kork Ballington   Jon Ekerold   Marco Lucchinelli Report

Participants

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500cc participants

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Team Constructor Motorcycle No. Rider Rounds
Yamaha Motor Japan Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OW48) 1   Kenny Roberts All
Cagiva Cagiva Cagiva GP500 2   Virginio Ferrari All
Riemersma Racing Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 3
4
  Wil Hartog 1–2, 4–8
Venemotos Racing Team Yamaha Yamaha YZR500 (OW48) 4   Johnny Cecotto All
Jen Organs Suzuki Suzuki RG 500 5
57
  Franco Uncini 1–2, 4–8
Yamaha I.M.N. Yamaha ??? 6   Boet van Dulmen All
14
8
9
7
  Jack Middelburg 2–8
Team Akai with Texaco Yamaha TZ???/Yamaha OW??? 7   Barry Sheene 1–4, 7
Honda International Honda Honda NR500** 8
17
14
52
  Takazumi Katayama 7
19
???
  Mick Grant 9
Marlboro Frankonia Nava Suzuki ??? 9
???
  Philippe Coulon 1–2, 5–7
Team Nava Olio Fiat Suzuki RGB500 2
10
???
  Marco Lucchinelli All
23
28
???
  Graziano Rossi 1–7
Team Kawasaki Kawasaki Kawasaki KR500 11
???
  Kork Ballington 1–3, 6–9
20
???
  Gregg Hansford 8
Team Sonauto Gauloises GPA Yamaha ??? 12
19
???
  Patrick Pons 3–7
34   Raymond Roche 1, 3–7
7   Christian Sarron All
Elf Moto Racing Team 13
21
???
  Michel Frutschi 2
Ecurie Sté Pernod Suzuki 14
36
???
  Michel Rougerie 2–4, 6
Ecurie Sté Pernod/Sonauto Yamaha 20
???
  Patrick Fernandez 4–6
Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki Suzuki RGB500 10
15
???
  Randy Mamola All
15
40
???
  Graeme Crosby 1–5, 7–8
??? Yamaha ??? 18
???
  Sadao Asami 1, 3, 5–6, 8
Suzuki 26
???
  Sergio Pellandini 1
27
???
  Christian Estrosi 1
GME Motul GPA 28
???
  Bernard Fau 3, 5
Team Naldoni Yamaha 36   Maurizio Massimiani 1, 5, 8
Sarome Suzuki Suzuki RG 500** 40
???
  Hiroshi Aoyama 1–4, 8
MAN 2000 ??? 44
???
  Seppo Rossi 2–3, 6
Team Gattino 45
???
  Carlo Perugini 1–3, 5–6, 8
Stimorol 61
???
  Willem Zoet 4–5
Source:[5]
Key
Regular Rider
Wildcard Rider
Replacement Rider
Notes
  • * The 500cc did not participate in rounds 4 and 9 of the championship, the Yugoslav and Czechoslovak GPs.
  • ** Katayama raced with the Suzuki for the first four races until the Honda was ready.
  • *** Ballington missed some races due to an injury.
  • **** Pons was killed in a racing accident at the British GP.

500cc riders' standings

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Scoring system

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers. A rider has to finish the race to earn points.

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1
Place Rider Team Machine NAT
 
ESP
 
FRA
 
NED
 
BEL
 
FIN
 
GBR
 
GER
 
Points
1   Kenny Roberts Yamaha International YZR500 1 1 1 Ret 3 2 2 4 87
2   Randy Mamola Heron-Suzuki RG500 Ret 3 2 5 1 4 1 5 72
3   Marco Lucchinelli Nava Gallina-Suzuki RG500 Ret 2 3 Ret 2 Ret 3 1 59
4   Franco Uncini Uncini-Suzuki RG500 2 7 Ret 3 6 3 6 7 50
5   Graziano Rossi Nava Gallina-Suzuki RG500 3 Ret 4 2 Ret 13 4 Ret 38
6   Wil Hartog Riemersma Racing RG500 Ret Ret 19 5 1 Ret 3 31
7   Johnny Cecotto Venemotos-Yamaha YZR500 4 6 9 6 Ret 5 6 31
8   Graeme Crosby Heron-Suzuki RG500 Ret 12 5 8 4 13 2 29
9   Jack Middelburg IMN-Yamaha YZR500 DNS 15 Ret 1 Ret Ret 9 8 20
10   Takazumi Katayama Honda-HRC RG500/NR500 6 4 6 Ret Ret 15 12 18
11   Carlo Perugini Team Gattina RG500 5 10 13 Ret 7 7 Ret 9 17
12   Kork Ballington Team Kawasaki KR500 Ret 13 8 5 7 11 13
13   Philippe Coulon Frankonia-Suzuki RG500 9 8 16 Ret 11 8 8 Ret 11
14   Boet Van Dulmen IMN-Yamaha YZR500 Ret 18 19 4 9 Ret 16 Ret 10
15   Barry Sheene Akai-Yamaha YZR500 7 5 Ret Ret DNQ Ret 10
16   Patrick Pons Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha YZR500 Ret Ret 10 10 8 6 Ret 10
17   Patrick Fernandez Ecurie Ste Pernod YZR500 Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 14 4
18   Michel Rougerie Ecurie Ste Pernod RG500 DNQ 11 7 14 Ret 15 Ret 4
19   Christian Estrosi Team Furygan Suzuki RG500 8 16 Ret Ret DNQ Ret 3
20   Henk De Vries RG500 9 DNQ 25 2
21   Sadao Asami Yamaha International YZR500 Ret Ret 12 DNQ 15 9 Ret 15 2
22   Michel Frutschi Elf-Yamaha YZR500 Ret 9 22 Ret DNQ 18 Ret Ret 2
23   Raymond Roche Sonauto Gauloises-Yamaha YZR500 Ret DNQ 11 DNQ 12 10 14 1
24   Gustav Reiner Nava Kucera Racing Team RG500 DNQ DNQ Ret 22 10 1
25   Bernard Fau GME Motul GPA YZR500 Ret Ret 15 10 Ret Ret 1
26   Dave Potter Mitsui-Yamaha YZR500 15 DNQ 10 1
27   Sergio Pellandini RG500 10 Ret 21 DNQ DNQ Ret 1
  Maurizio Massimiani YZR500 11 23 13 13 0
  Dale Singleton YZR500 DNQ 18 Ret 11 16 0
  Franck Gross RG500 24 Ret 11 DNQ Ret 0
  Jeff Sayle YZR500 DNQ DNQ 11 Ret Ret Ret 0
  Willem Zoet RG500 DNQ 18 12 14 Ret 19 Ret 0
  Gianfranco Bonera YZR500 12 17 Ret 0
  Lennart Bäckström RG500 12 0
  John Newbold RG500 12 0
  Markku Matikainen YZR500 DNQ 19 20 13 Ret DNQ 0
  Guido Paci RG500 13 Ret 0
  Seppo Rossi RG500 DNQ 14 14 16 Ret Ret 23 0
  Stuart Avant RG500 DNQ Ret 14 0
  Richard Hubin YZR500 14 Ret 0
  Werner Nenning RG500 DNQ Ret DNQ Ret 16 23 18 0
  Mick Grant RG500 16 Ret DNQ 0
  Steve Parrish RG500 17 DNQ 17 17 0
  Hubert Rigal YZR500 DNQ 17 Ret Ret DNQ 17 Ret 0
  Kenny Blake YZR500 17 0
  Roger Marshall YZR500 18 0
  Max Wiener RG500 DNQ DNQ DNQ 19 25 0
  Josef Hage RG500 DNQ DNQ 19 0
  Peter Sjöström RG500 DNQ DNQ DNQ Ret 20 0
  Peter Ammann RG500 20 0
  Giovanni Pelletier Morbidelli Ret DNQ DNQ DNQ 21 0
  Paul Henderson RG500 21 0
  Wolfgang von Muralt YZR500 22 0
  Gerhard Vogt RG500 24 0
  Jürgen Steiner RG500 24 0
  Michael Schmid RG500 DNQ 26 0
  Alois Tost YZR500 27 0
  Bruno Kölble YZR500 28 0
  Rolf Schneider YZR500 29 0
  Christian Sarron YZR500 Ret Ret 0
  Gianni Rolando RG500 Ret Ret DNQ Ret 0
  Carlo Prati RG500 Ret DNQ Ret 0
  Jon Ekerold Sol/Bimota DNQ DNQ Ret DNS DNS 0
  Skip Aksland YZR500 Ret 0
  Alain Nies RG500 DNQ Ret DNQ 0
  Freddie Spencer YZR500 Ret 0
  Adelio Faccioli RG500 Ret 0
  Anton Mang KR500 Ret 0
  Peter Sköld RG500 Ret 0
  Kimmo Kopra YZR500 Ret 0
  Graham Wood YZR500 Ret 0
  Steve Manship YZR500 Ret 0
  Elmar Renner RG500 DNQ DNQ Ret 0
  Gregg Hansford KR500 Ret 0
  Klaus Klein RG500 Ret 0
  Virginio Ferrari GP500 Ret 0
  Clemens Driesch RG500 Ret 0
  Fritz Reitmaier RG500 Ret 0
  Ron Haslam YZR500 DNS 0
  Dennis Ireland RG500 DNQ DNQ DNQ 0
  Carlos de San Antonio RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Gary Lingham RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Antonio Garcia RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Masaru Iwasaki RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Henk Twikler RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Timo Pohjola RG500 DNQ DNQ 0
  Fabio Biliotti RG500 DNQ 0
  Corrado Tuzii RG500 DNQ 0
  Didier de Radigues RG500 DNQ 0
  Richard Schlachter YZR500 DNQ 0
  Jacques Agopian RG500 DNQ 0
  Børge Nielsen RG500 DNQ 0
  Dick Alblas RG500 DNQ 0
  Philippe Chaltin RG500 DNQ 0
  Albert Siegers RG500 DNQ 0
  Walter Koschine RG500 DNQ 0
  Jean-Philippe Delers YZR500 DNQ 0
  John Woodley RG500 DNQ 0
  Roberto Pietri RG500 DNQ 0
  Alex George YZR500 DNQ 0
  Günter Riehl Yamato DNQ 0

350cc standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Jon Ekerold 8 South Africa Yamaha 63 3
2   Anton Mang 4 West Germany Kawasaki 60 2
3   Jean-François Baldé France Kawasaki 38 0
4   Johnny Cecotto Venezuela Yamaha 37 1
5   Jeff Sayle 10 Australia Yamaha 25 0
6   Eric Saul France Yamaha 24 0
7   Jacques Cornu 27 Switzerland Yamaha 21 0
8   Massimo Matteoni 4 Italy Yamaha 19 0
9   Walter Villa 4 Italy Yamaha 16 0
10   Patrick Fernandez 2 France Yamaha 12 0
11 Carlo Perugini 10
12 Tony Head 9
13 Carlos Lavado 8
14 Roland Freymond 7
15 Gregg Hansford 6
16 Tony Rogers 6
17 Jacques Bolle 6
18 Keith Huewen 6
19 Thierry Espié 6
20 Jean Louis Tournadre 5
21 Loris Reggiani 4
22 Graeme McGregor 4
23 Alan North 2
24 Pekka Nurmi 1
25 Edi Stoellinger 1

250cc standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Anton Mang 6 West Germany Kawasaki 128 4
2   Kork Ballington 1 South Africa Kawasaki 87 5
3   Jean-François Baldé 8 France Kawasaki 59 0
4   Thierry Espié France Yamaha 53 0
5   Roland Freymond 10 Switzerland Morbidelli 46 0
6   Carlos Lavado Venezuela Yamaha 29 1
7   Gianpaolo Marchetti Italy Yamaha 28 0
8   Jacques Cornu Switzerland Yamaha 26 0
9   Eric Saul France Yamaha 24 0
10   Patrick Fernandez 5 France Yamaha 16 0
11 Edi Stoellinger 16
12 Hans Müller 16
13 Sauro Pazzaglia 12
14 Graeme McGregor 12
15 Pier Luigi Conforti 10
16 Jean-Louis Guignabodet 9
17 Didier de Radiguès 8
18 Eero Hyvärinen 8
19 Clive Horton 7
20 Paolo Ferretti 7
21 Greame Geddes 6
22 R.Sibille 6
23 Steve Tonkin 5
24 Jacques Bolle 5
25 Herbert Hauf 4
26 A.Gouin 4
27 Reinhold Roth 4
28 Walter Villa 4
29 Charlie Williams 2
30 Martin Wimmer 2
31 Marco Papa 1
32 Jean-Louis Tournadre 1
33 Rene Delaby 1
34 F.Marcheggiani 1
35 Tony Rogers 1
36 H.Tomic 1

125cc standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Pier Paolo Bianchi 10 Italy MBA 90 2
2   Guy Bertin 6 France Motobécane 81 3
3   Angel Nieto 1 Spain Minarelli 78 4
4   Bruno Kneubühler 9 Switzerland MBA 68 0
5   Hans Müller Switzerland MBA 64 0
6   Loris Reggiani Italy Minarelli 63 1
7   Iván Palazzese Venezuela MBA 28 0
8   Maurizio Massimiani 2 Italy Minarelli 20 0
9   Peter Looijensteijn Netherlands MBA 18 0
10   Barry Smith Australia MBA 17 0
11 Harald Bartol 15
12 Ricardo Tormo 13
13 Stefan Dörflinger 13
14 Gianpaolo Marchetti 10
15 August Auinger 9
16 Jose Dubon 8
17 Eugenio Lazzarini 8
18 Rolf Blatter 8
19 Henk Van Kessel 8
20 Gert Bender 6
21 Michel Galbit 6
22 P.Herouard 6
23 Janos Drapal 5
24 Thierry Noblesse 4
25 Matti Kinnunen 4
26 Jhonni Baeckstroem 2
27 S.Janssen 2
28 Jean Claude Selini 2
29 Johnny Wickstroem 1
30 Hugo Vignetti 1
31 Z.Ljeljak 1
32 Anton Straver 1

50cc standings

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Place Rider Number Country Machine Points Wins
1   Eugenio Lazzarini 1 Italy Iprem[6] 74 2
2   Stefan Dörflinger 10 Switzerland Kreidler 72 2
3   Hans Hummel Austria Kreidler 37 0
4   Ricardo Tormo Spain Kreidler 36 2
5   Henk van Kessel 7 Netherlands Kreidler 31 0
6   Hans Spaan Netherlands Kreidler The Best Team 24 0
7   Theo Timmer Netherlands Bultaco 19 0
8   Yves Dupont France ABF 18 0
9   Jacques Hutteau 8 France ABF 18 0
10   Wolfgang Müller West Germany Kreidler 15 0
11   Rolf Blatter 14
12   Gerhard Waibel 7
13  Otto Machinek 7
14   Ingo Emmerich 6
15   Giuseppe Ascareggi 4
16   Günter Schirnhofer 4
17   Daniel Mateos 3
18   Claudio Lusuardi 3
19   Enrico Cereda 2
20  Aldo Pero 1
21  Gerhard Böhl 1

References

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  • Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5
  • "The Official MotoGP website". Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  1. ^ a b c d e Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
  2. ^ "Results and Statistics". MotoGP.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2010-07-06.
  3. ^ "Grand Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden 1980". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
  4. ^ "1980 World Motorcycle Championship". 15 January 2018.
  5. ^ "500cc Grand Prix entry list for 1983". Motorcycle Racing Online.
  6. ^ (in English) Iprem : 50cc Roadracing Story - The Iprem was a rebadged Van Veen-Kreidler