1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1955 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the seventh F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of eight Grand Prix races in five classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 1 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Nations Grand Prix in Italy on 4 September.

Geoff Duke (pictured in 1951) won his last 500cc World Championship title in 1955.

1955 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	1 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Luigi Taveri			Reg Armstrong	Faust / Remmert	Report
2	15 May	French Grand Prix	Reims	Carlo Ubbiali		Duilio Agostini	Geoff Duke		Report
3	10 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Carlo Ubbiali	Bill Lomas	Bill Lomas	Geoff Duke	Schneider / Strauß	Report
4	26 June	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Carlo Ubbiali	Hermann Paul Müller	Bill Lomas	Geoff Duke	Faust / Remmert	Report
5	3 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Bill Lomas	Giuseppe Colnago	Noll / Cron	Report
6	16 July	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Carlo Ubbiali	Luigi Taveri	Ken Kavanagh	Geoff Duke	Faust / Remmert	Report
7	13 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		John Surtees	Bill Lomas	Bill Lomas		Report
8	4 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Carlo Ubbiali	Carlo Ubbiali	Dickie Dale	Umberto Masetti	Noll / Cron	Report

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.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	BEL	HOL	ULS	NAC	Pts
1	Geoff Duke	Gilera	Ret	1	1	1	Ret	1		3	36
2	Reg Armstrong	Gilera	1	3	2	Ret	Ret	2		2	30
3	Umberto Masetti	MV Agusta	3			4		3		1	19
4	Giuseppe Colnago	Gilera	7			5	1	Ret		4	13
5	Carlo Bandirola	MV Agusta	2	11		3	Ret			Ret	10
6	Bill Lomas	Moto Guzzi			7				1		8
7	Pierre Monneret	Gilera		10			2			Ret	6
8	John Hartle	Norton			13				2		6
9	Libero Liberati	Gilera		2						Ret	6
10	Walter Zeller	BMW				2					6
11	Bob McIntyre	Norton			5				4		5
12	Dickie Dale	Moto Guzzi	Ret						3		4
=	Ken Kavanagh	Moto Guzzi	Ret		3						4
14	Léon Martin	Gilera					3				4
15	Tito Forconi	MV Agusta	6	4			Ret			Ret	4
16	Duilio Agostini	Moto Guzzi	Ret				4				3
=	Jack Brett	Norton			4				Ret		3
18	Orlando Valdinoci	Gilera	4								3
=	Drikus Veer	Gilera						4			3
20	Bob Brown	Matchless			16		11	5			2
21	Alfredo Milani	Gilera					Ret	14		5	2
22	Peter Murphy	Matchless		Ret	Ret			Ret	5		2
23	Auguste Goffin	Norton		Ret		Ret	5				2
24	Jacques Collot	Norton		5						Ret	2
=	Nello Pagani	MV Agusta	5	Ret							2
26	Jack Ahearn	Norton			Ret	6	7	Ret	Ret		1
27	Eddie Grant	Matchless / Norton			14		16	6			1
28	John Clark	Matchless			Ret				6		1
=	Ernst Riedelbauch	BMW				Ret				6	1
=	John Storr	Norton		Ret			6				1
31	Firmin Dauwe	Norton		6							1
=	Derek Ennett	Matchless			6						1
33	Hans-Günther Jäger	Norton				7		8			0
=	Eric Jones	Norton			8				7		0
35	Florian Camathias	Norton		7					Ret		0
=	Gerold Klinger	BMW				Ret				7	0
37	Piet Bakker	Norton						7			0
38	Len Aislabie	Norton			20	Ret	8		Ret		0
39	Sven Andersson	Norton			Ret	8				Ret	0
40	William Hall	Norton						Ret		8	0
41	Marcel Beauvais	Norton		8							0
=	Alfredo Flores	Norton	8								0
=	Priem Rozenberg	BMW						8			0
44	Bob Matthews	Norton				11	9	Ret	11		0
45	Bill Collett	Matchless			23		Ret		9		0
46	Derek Powell	Matchless			9				Ret		0
=	Percy Tait	Norton			Ret				9		0
48	Jean-Pierre Bayle	Norton		9							0
=	Enrico Galante	Norton								9	0
=	Kuno Johansson	Matchless				9					0
51	Phil Heath	Norton				14	13	10	Ret		0
52	Peter Davey	Norton			10			Ret			0
=	Ernst Hiller	Matchless				10				Ret	0
=	Maurice Low	Triumph / BSA			Ret				10		0
55	Artemio Cirelli	Gilera								10	0
=	Edouard Texidor	Norton					10				0
56	Robin Fitton	Norton		Ret				11	Ret		0
=	Piet Knijnenburg	Matchless						11			0
=	Ray Travers	Norton			11						0
59	Malcolm Templeton	Matchless			30				12		0
60	John Hempleman	Norton			Ret		12		Ret		0
61	Mike O'Rourke	Norton			12						0
=	Hans-Joachim Scheel	Norton				12					0
63	Ken Tostevin	Matchless			Ret				13		0
64	Heinz Schreiber	Norton				13					0
=	Casper Swart	Norton						13			0
66	Angus Martin	Norton			40				14		0
67	Peter Davey	Norton					14				0
68	Arthur Wheeler	Matchless			17		15		Ret		0
69	Harry Pearce	Matchless			15						0
=	Karl-Heinz Scheifel	Norton				15					0
=	Gerrit Ten Kate	Norton						15			0
=	Harry Turner	Norton							15		0
73	Ralph Rensen	Norton			33				16		0
74	Frederick Cook	Matchless			18		17	Ret	Ret		0
75	Ernie Oliver	Norton							17		0
76	Dick Knox	Norton							18		0
77	Robert King	Norton			Ret				19		0
78	John Denton	Norton			19						0
79	Ken Swallow	Matchless			43				20		0
80	George Costain	Norton			21						0
=	Jimmy Hayes	AJS							21		0
82	Roy Evans	Matchless							22		0
=	Ivor Lloyd	Norton			22						0
84	Geoff Read	Norton			24						0
85	Dave Chadwick	Norton			25				Ret		0
86	Frank Perris	Matchless			26				Ret		0
87	Eric Pantilin	Norton			27						0
88	Albert Moule	BSA			28						0
89	John Surtees	Norton			29	Ret			Ret		0
90	Bob Rowbottom	Norton			31						0
91	George Catlin	Norton			32						0
92	Philip Palmer	BSA			34						0
93	Ken Tully	Norton			35						0
94	Terry Shepherd	Norton			36						0
95	Jack Bailey	Norton			37						0
96	Bill Beevers	Norton			38						0
97	Bill Roberton	Norton			39						0
98	Joe Glazebrook	Norton			41						0
99	Ray Fay	BSA			42						0
100	Ralph Wijesinghe	BSA			44						0
101	Walter Hancock	BSA			45						0
102	Willie Wilshere	Norton			46						0
103	Frank Norris	Norton			47						0
–	Tony McAlpine	BMW				Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	0
–	Keith Campbell	Norton				Ret		Ret		Ret	0
–	Chris Stormont	BSA			Ret			Ret	Ret		0
–	Francis Flahaut	Norton		Ret		Ret					0
–	Ulf Gate	Matchless			Ret					Ret	0
–	Hans Haldemann	Norton		Ret					Ret		0
–	Dick Thomson	Matchless			Ret					Ret	0
–	Fergus Anderson	Moto Guzzi					Ret				0
–	Fernando Aranda	Norton					Ret				0
–	Bruno Böhrer	Horex								Ret	0
–	Paolo Campanelli	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Roly Capner	BSA			Ret						0
–	Louis Carr	Norton			Ret						0
–	Louis Carter	Norton							Ret		0
–	Phil Carter	Matchless			Ret						0
–	Eric Cheers	Matchless			Ret						0
–	Franco Chinelli	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Javier de Ortueta	Norton					Ret				0
–	Rally Dean	Norton							Ret		0
–	Stanley Dibben	Norton	Ret								0
–	Anton Elbersen	Norton						Ret			0
–	Lodovico Facchinelli	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Luigi Folconi	Moto Guzzi								Ret	0
–	Bob Ferguson	AJS			Ret						0
–	Jack Forrest	BMW						Ret			0
–	Frank Fox	Norton			Ret						0
–	Martino Giani	Gilera								Ret	0
–	Francisco González	Norton	Ret								0
–	John Grace	Norton	Ret								0
–	Francesco Guglielminetti	Norton								Ret	0
–	Wilf Herron	Norton							Ret		0
–	Eric Houseley	Matchless						Ret			0
–	Roy Ingram	Norton			Ret						0
–	Arnold Jones	Matchless			Ret						0
–	Harald Karlsson	Norton			Ret						0
–	Rudolf Knees	Norton				Ret					0
–	George Leigh	Norton			Ret						0
–	Robert McCracken	Triumph							Ret		0
–	George Northwood	BSA			Ret						0
–	Pierre Nicholas	Norton					Ret				0
–	Tony Ovens	Norton			Ret						0
–	Harry Plews	Norton			Ret						0
–	Maurice Quincey	Norton			Ret						0
–	Gerald Robarts	Norton			Ret						0
–	Michael Roche	Norton							Ret		0
–	Charlie Salt	BSA			Ret						0
–	George Salt	Matchless			Ret						0
–	W. Stewart	Norton							Ret		0
–	Martinus van Son	Norton						Ret			0
–	John Williamson	Norton							Ret		0
–	Jackie Wood	Norton			Ret						0
–	Erich Wünsche	Norton								Ret	0
–	Georg Braun	Horex			DNS						0
–	Allen Burt	Matchless			DNS						0
–	Ricardo Galvagni	Norton				DNS					0
–	Sakari Järvimaa	Matchless			DNS						0
–	Armando Poggi	Norton				DNS					0
–	R. Siriwardena	Norton			DNS						0
–	W.H. Spence	Norton			DNS						0
–	Des Wright	BSA			DNS						0
Pos	Rider	Bike	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	BEL	HOL	ULS	NAC	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

350cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Bill Lomas	72	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	32	4
2	Dickie Dale		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	18	1
3	August Hobl		Germany	DKW	17	0
4	Ken Kavanagh		Australia	Moto Guzzi	14	1
5	Cecil Sandford		United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	13	0
6	John Surtees		United Kingdom	Norton	11	0
7	Duilio Agostini		Italy	Moto Guzzi	8	1
8	Bob McIntyre		United Kingdom	Norton	8	0
9	John Hartle		United Kingdom	Norton	7	0
10	Roberto Colombo		Italy	Moto Guzzi	7	0
11	Keith Campbell		Australia	Norton	4	0
12	Enrico Lorenzetti		Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
=	Auguste Goffin		Belgium	Velocette	3	0
14	Peter Murphy		New Zealand	AJS	3	0
=	Karl Hofmann		Germany	DKW	3	0
16	Maurice Quincey		Australia	Norton	2	0
17	Hans Bartl		Netherlands	DKW	2	0
18	Jacques Collot		France	Norton	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hermann Paul Müller	Germany	NSU	16	1
2	Cecil Sandford	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	14	0
3	Bill Lomas	United Kingdom	MV Agusta	13	1
4	Luigi Taveri	Switzerland	MV Agusta	11	1
5	Umberto Masetti	Italy	MV Agusta	11	0
6	Sammy Miller	United Kingdom	NSU	10	0
7	John Surtees	United Kingdom	NSU	8	1
=	Carlo Ubbiali	Italy	MV Agusta	8	1
9	Hans Baltisberger	Germany	NSU	6	0
=	Wolfgang Brandt	Germany	NSU	6	0
11	Arthur Wheeler	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	6	0
12	Enrico Lorenzetti	Italy	Moto Guzzi	3	0
13	Dave Chadwick	United Kingdom	RD Special	2	0
14	Bill Webster	United Kingdom	Velocette	1	0
=	Helmut Hallmeier	Germany	NSU	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts
1	Carlo Ubbiali	MV Agusta	3	1	1^F	1^F	1	1^F	32 (44)
2	Luigi Taveri	MV Agusta	1	2	2	2	NC^F		26
3	Remo Venturi	MV Agusta				3	2	2	16
4	Giuseppe Lattanzi	Mondial	4	3	3				11
5	Angelo Copeta	MV Agusta	5	5				3	8
6	Romolo Ferri	Mondial	2^F	6^F					7
7	Bill Webster	MV Agusta			5		4		5
8	Rudolf Grimas	Mondial					3		4
9	Tarquinio Provini	Mondial		4					3
9	Bill Lomas	MV Agusta			4				3
9	Karl Lottes	MV Agusta				4			3
9	August Hobl	DKW						4	3
13	Bernhard Petruschke	IFA				5			2
13	Willi Scheidhauer	MV Agusta					5		2
13	Sigfried Wünsche	DKW						5	2
16	Marcelo Cama	Montesa	6						1
16	Ross Porter	MV Agusta			6				1
16	Erhard Krumpholz	IFA				6			1
16	Erich Wünsche	MV Agusta					6		1
16	Paolo Campanelli	Mondial						6	1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts

Race key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)
Annotation	Meaning
P	Pole position
F	Fastest lap
Rider key
Colour	Meaning
Light blue	Rookie rider

Constructors' standings

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

Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	1	1	1	1	1	32 (48)
2	Mondial	2	3	3		3	6	18 (19)
3	DKW						4	3
4	IFA				5			2
5	Montesa	6						1
Pos.	Constructor	ESP	FRA	MAN	GER	NED	NAT	Pts

References

Haefliger, Werner. "Lightweight class". FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 22–24. ISBN 978-2-9701086-8-9.
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.