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This article recaps the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

Contents

Season summary

500cc Season review

1976 500cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

350cc Season review

1976 350cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

250cc Season review

1976 250cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

125cc Season review

1976 125cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

50cc Season review

1976 50cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Season summary

1976 marked the beginning of the era of Suzuki domination with the Japanese firm taking 11 of the first 12 places in the premier class. Angel Nieto would take his fifth world title in the 50cc division, this time aboard a Bultaco. In the 125cc class, it was more of the same with Morbidelli taking another crown with Pier Paolo Bianchi claiming the championship. Walter Villa would claim double world championships in the 250cc and 350cc classes for Harley Davidson fighting off a strong challenge from defending champion, Johnny Cecotto in the larger class.
Barry Sheene came to the fore with a dominating championship season in the 500cc division finishing ahead of his team-mate Teuvo Länsivuori. Newcomer Marco Lucchinelli impressed as well on a Suzuki but injuries curtailed his performance. Pat Hennen would win the first ever 500cc Grand Prix victory for an American rider when he triumphed at the Finnish Grand Prix.
1976 marked the end of an era as it would be the last time the Isle of Man TT would appear on the Grand Prix calendar. Once the most prestigious race of the year, the event had been increasingly boycotted by the top riders. The TT finally succumbed to pressure for increased safety in racing events. The season also marked the end of another era with 15 time world champion Giacomo Agostini winning his last Grand Prix at the season-ending round at the Nürburgring. As Ago had chosen the MV Agusta for this challenging track, this win was also the last ever for a 500cc four-stroke engine.

500cc Season review

Round	Race	Location	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	French Grand Prix	Le Mans	Barry Sheene	Suzuki	Report
2	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring	Barry Sheene	Suzuki	Report
3	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Barry Sheene	Suzuki	Report
4	Isle of Man TT	Isle of Man	Tom Herron	Yamaha	Report
5	Dutch TT	Assen	Barry Sheene	Suzuki	Report
6	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	John Williams	Suzuki	Report
7	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Barry Sheene	Suzuki	Report
8	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Pat Hennen	Suzuki	Report
9	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Brno	John Newbold	Suzuki	Report
10	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	Report

1976 500cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Barry Sheene	7	United Kingdom	Suzuki	72	5
2	Teuvo Lansivuori	4	Finland	Suzuki	48	0
3	Pat Hennen	40	United States	Suzuki	46	1
4	Marco Lucchinelli		Italy	Suzuki	40	0
5	John Newbold	8	Britain	Suzuki	31	1
6	Philippe Coulon		Switzerland	Suzuki	28	0
7	Giacomo Agostini	1	Italy	MV Agusta	26	1
8	Jack Findlay	10	Australia	Suzuki	25	0
9	John Williams	5	United Kingdom	Suzuki	24	1
10	Phil Read	2	United Kingdom	Suzuki	22	0

350cc Season review

Round	Race	Location	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	French Grand Prix	Le Mans	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
2	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring	Johnny Cecotto	Yamaha	Report
3	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Johnny Cecotto	Yamaha	Report
4	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha	Report
5	Isle of Man TT	Isle of Man	Chas Mortimer	Yamaha	Report
6	Dutch TT	Assen	Giacomo Agostini	MV Agusta	Report
7	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
8	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Brno	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
9	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
10	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Kork Ballington	Yamaha	Report

1976 350cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Walter Villa		Italy	Harley-Davidson	76	4
2	Johnny Cecotto	1	Venezuela	Yamaha	65	2
3	Chas Mortimer	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	54	1
4	Tom Herron	9	United Kingdom	Yamaha	47	1
5	John Dodds		Australia	Yamaha	34	0
6	Victor Palomo		Spain	Yamaha	29	0
7	Takazumi Katayama		Japan	Yamaha	28	0
8	Bruno Kneubühler		Switzerland	Yamaha	28	0
9	Olivier Chevallier		France	Yamaha	27	0
10	Franco Uncini		Italy	Yamaha	27	1

250cc Season review

Round	Race	Location	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	French Grand Prix	Le Mans	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
2	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
3	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Dieter Braun	Yamaha	Report
4	Isle of Man TT	Isle of Man	Tom Herron	Yamaha	Report
5	Dutch TT	Assen	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
6	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
7	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Takazumi Katayama	Yamaha	Report
8	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
9	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Brno	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
10	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson	Report
11	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Franco Bonera	Harley-Davidson	Report

1976 250cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Walter Villa	1	Italy	Harley-Davidson	90	7
2	Takazumi Katayama		Japan	Yamaha	73	1
3	Franco Bonera		Italy	Harley-Davidson	61	1
4	Tom Herron		United Kingdom	Yamaha	47	1
5	Pentti Korhonen		Finland	Yamaha	47	0
6	Dieter Braun		West Germany	Yamaha	42	0
7	Chas Mortimer	6	United Kingdom	Yamaha	31	0
8	Bruno Kneubühler	9	Switzerland	Yamaha	29	0
9	Olivier Chevallier		France	Yamaha	25	0
10	Victor Palomo		Spain	Yamaha	25	0

125cc Season review

Round	Race	Location	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
2	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
3	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
4	Dutch TT	Assen	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
5	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report
6	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
7	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report
8	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Anton Mang	Morbidelli	Report
9	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	Report

1976 125cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Pier Paolo Bianchi	2	Italy	Morbidelli	90	7
2	Angel Nieto		Spain	Bultaco	67	1
3	Paolo Pileri	1	Italy	Morbidelli	64	0
4	Henk Van Kessel	7	Netherlands	Condor	46	0
5	Anton Mang		West Germany	Morbidelli	32	1
6	Jean-Louis Guignabodet	2	France	Morbidelli	27	0
7	Eugenio Lazzarini	5	Italy	Morbidelli	26	0
8	Gert Bender		West Germany	Bender	25	0
9	Stefan Dörflinger		Switzerland	Morbidelli	23	0
10	Julien Van Zeebroeck		Belgium	Morbidelli	18	0

50cc Season review

Round	Race	Location	Winning rider	Winning team	Report
1	French Grand Prix	Le Mans	Herbert Rittberger	Kreidler	Report
2	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report
3	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Opatija	Ulrich Graf	Kreidler	Report
4	Dutch TT	Assen	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report
5	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Herbert Rittberger	Kreidler	Report
6	Swedish Grand Prix	Anderstorp	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report
7	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra	Julien Van Zeebroeck	Kreidler	Report
8	West German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report
9	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuich	Angel Nieto	Bultaco	Report

1976 50cc Roadracing World Championship final standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Angel Nieto	1	Spain	Bultaco	85	5
2	Herbert Rittberger	5	West Germany	Kreidler	76	2
3	Ulrich Graf		Switzerland	Kreidler	69	1
4	Eugenio Lazzarini	2	Italy	Morbidelli	53	0
5	Rudi Kunz	4	West Germany	Kreidler	34	0
6	Julien Van Zeebroeck	9	Belgium	Kreidler	26	1
7	Stefan Dörflinger	6	Switzerland	Kreidler	25	0
8	Rolf Blatter		Switzerland	Kreidler	25	0
9	Hans Hummel	9	Austria	Kreidler	20	0
10	Pierre Audry		France	ABF	15	0