View source for 50 cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing

[[Image:ZweiRadMuseumNSU Kreidler Rennmaschine.JPG|thumb|300px|1963 50 cc [[Kreidler]] Renn-Florett]]

The '''50 [[Cubic centimetre|cc]]''' class was the ultra-lightweight class in [[Grand Prix motorcycle racing]], and formed part of the [[Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme|Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)]] World Championships from 1962 until 1983; when the class was replaced by [[80 cc]].

==History and development of the class==
The relative low cost and increasing availability of 50 cc motorcycles in the post-war period, spawned a number of club [[Motorcycle sport#Tarmac|road racing]] events for this size of machine in the early 1950s. With the earliest events being held in Italy<ref name="Classic Racer100">{{cite journal | last =Dobson  | first =Peter  | author-link =Peter Dobson (journalist)|date=Spring 1987  | title =Moped Racer| journal =Classic Racer| volume =1  | issue =17  | pages = 51  }}</ref> and in the UK.<ref name="Classic Racer200">{{cite journal | last =Woolley  | first =Brian  | author-link =Brian Woolley|date=Summer 1986  | title =Early 50 cc racing| journal =Classic Racer| volume =1  | issue =14  | pages = 30–32  }}</ref> The potential of this class for providing entertaining but affordable racing was soon recognised with several national championships and in 1961 the FIM introduced The Coupe d' Europe, a series of international events for 50 cc machines, each with a minimum duration and run to established Grand Prix rules and regulations.<ref name="Motorcycle Enthusiast300">{{cite journal | last =Walker  | first =Mick  | author-link =Mick Walker (motorcycling)|date=March 1987  | title =Classic Archives - racing 25 years ago| journal =Motorcycle Enthusiast| pages = 36–37  }}</ref> The series attracted a variety of entries, but the dominating force were the works [[Kreidler]] team bikes. Based on a standard Kreidler Florett road bike, their single [[Cylinder (engine)|cylinder]] Kreidler Renn-Floretts featured lightweight frames, a special [[cylinder head]] and barrel, twin 16&nbsp;mm Bing [[carburettor]]s feeding the engine through [[rotary valve]]s and improved suspension and brakes. By the end of the season, with the addition of rudimentary streamlining and the increase of carburettor size to 17&nbsp;mm, the {{convert|9|hp|abbr=on}} four-speed [[two-stroke]] bikes could top over 85&nbsp;mph.<ref name="Kreidler, Strassen-Rennmaschinen von 1959-65 100">{{cite web
| url = http://www.zweitakte.de/modelle/renn/Kreidler/werksrenner_65.htm
| title = Kreidler Racers 1959-65
| access-date = 9 February 2007
| publisher = zweitakte.de (German language)
}}</ref>

==The 1961 Coupe d’Europe==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-style="background:#cccccc;"
|-valign="top"
! Round
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
|-valign="top"
! Date
| 30 April
| 7 May
| 14 May
| 4 June
| 9 July
| 20 August
| 16 September
| 15 October
|-valign="top"
! Location
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} Circuit de [[Mouscron]]
| {{flagicon|West Germany}} St Wendel, [[Saarland]] 
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Hockenheimring]]
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Zolder]]
| {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[Opatija Circuit|Opatija]]
| {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[Circuit Park Zandvoort|Zandvoort]]
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} Circuit du Heysel, [[Brussels]]
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Zaragoza]]
|-valign="top"
! Event
| 3me Prix De Mouscron
| 
| [[German motorcycle Grand Prix|Grosser Preis von Deutschland]]
| 3me Prijs Zolder-Centrum
| 
| 
| 
| X Premio Internacional Fiestas del Pilar
|-valign="top"
! Winner
| {{flagicon|Belgium}} [[Pierrot Vervroegen]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]
| {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[Miro Zelnik]]
| {{flagicon|Germany}} Hans-Georg Anscheidt
| {{flagicon|Germany}} Hans-Georg Anscheidt
| {{flagicon|Germany}} Hans-Georg Anscheidt
| {{flagicon|Germany}} [[Wolfgang Gedlich]]
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[César Gracía]]
|-valign="top"
! Machine
| [[Itom]]
| [[Kreidler]]
| [[Tomos]] D5
| Kreidler
| Kreidler
| Kreidler
| Kreidler
| [[Ducson]]
|}

==World Championship Status==

:''See [[1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1962 Season]], [[1963 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1963 Season]], [[1964 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1964 Season]], [[1965 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1965 Season]], [[1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1966 Season]], [[1967 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1967 Season]]''

In [[1962 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1962]], the FIM followed up the success of the Coupe d’ Europe by giving the 50 cc class [[List of Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champions|World Championship]] status. As well as the works entries of existing European manufacturers like Kreidler and Tomos, this development also attracted entries from Japanese manufacturers with both [[Honda Racing Corporation|Honda]] and [[Suzuki]] entering full work's teams. The Spanish [[Derbi]] factory also entered a single work's bike for the [[Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix|Spanish Grand Prix]].

The Kreidlers were now fitted with three speed [[Overdrive (mechanics)|overdrive]]s controlled from the [[twistgrip]], which coupled to the standard four-speed [[Sequential manual transmission|gearbox]] gave twelve gears to help keep the engines at maximum power. Engine development also increased power to {{convert|10|hp|abbr=on}} at 11,000 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]]. The Kreidlers development would be hampered however by the factory's insistence that the race bikes remained fundamentally based upon their standard road machines.<ref name="Classic Racer500">{{cite journal | last =Dobson  | first =Peter  | author-link =Peter Dobson (journalist)|date=Summer 1990  | title =GP Kreidler | journal = Classic Racer| volume =1  | issue =30  | pages = 39  }}</ref>  Suzuki and Honda knew no such limitations.

Honda's commitment to [[four-stroke]] engines dated back to 1951 with the launch of its Dream E-Type<ref name="Honda Worldwide, History 200">{{cite web
| url = http://world.honda.com/history/limitlessdreams/dreametype/text/02.html
| title = E-Type, The early days of the Honda four-stroke (1951)
| access-date = 11 February 2007
| publisher = world.Honda.com
| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070129081832/http://world.honda.com/history/limitlessdreams/dreametype/text/02.html| archive-date= 29 January 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>
[[Image:Kreidler, Bedrich Fendrich, CSSR - 1976-08-28.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Bedrich Fendrich practicing for the 1976 German GP on his [[Kreidler]]]]
prior to this all Honda's bikes were two-strokes. The change and long-term commitment to the more sophisticated four-stroke technology came either directly from founder Soichiro Honda<ref name="Honda Worldwide, History 200" /> or indirectly due to pressure from managing director Takeo Fujisawa, who was said to be appalled by the noise and smoke that two-stroke engines produced and the additional hassle that Honda customers faced by having to mix oil with their fuel.<ref>Oxley, Matt (2001): ''The Challenge & Dream of Honda 500 Grand Prix Motor Cycle Wins''. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p.38</ref> 
Honda began their first 50 cc GP season with the [[Honda RC110|RC110]], announced at the Japanese Motor Show in 1961. Powered by a single cylinder, four-valve engine, and with gear driven double overhead cams, giving about {{convert|9|hp|abbr=on}} at 14,000 rpm. It was introduced with a five-speed gearbox, but by the time of the opening GP in Spain, the bikes were upgraded to six gears. Even so, they were badly outperformed. Rider [[Tommy Robb (motorcyclist)|Tommy Robb]] suggested that more gears might be the answer and was amazed to find a week later at the French GP that the gearbox had been expanded to eight speeds. This still wasn't enough to compensate for the machine's relative lack of power and three weeks later at the [[1962 Isle of Man TT|Isle of Man TT]], nine gears were fitted and the rev limit increased to 17,000 rpm with output now up to around 10&nbsp;hp.<ref>Oxley, Matt (2001): ''The Challenge & Dream of Honda 500 Grand Prix Motor Cycle Wins''. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p.39</ref> In that season, the machine's designation was changed to [[Honda RC110|RC111]], but Honda's records are unclear as to what precise change in the development this signified or when it was used.<ref>Oxley, Matt (2001): ''The Challenge & Dream of Honda 500 Grand Prix Motor Cycle Wins''. Hazleton Publishing Ltd. p.146</ref>

In contrast, the Suzuki team were committed to two-stroke technology and their single cylinder RM62 machine featured rotary valve induction and an 8-speed transmission and produced about {{convert|10|hp|abbr=on}} at 12,000 rpm. [[Ernst Degner]] who had defected from the East German [[MZ Motorrad- und Zweiradwerk|MZ]] team to Suzuki the previous year, brought with him the secrets of MZ's two-stroke tuning success which undoubtedly helped him and the Suzuki team to secure the inaugural 50 cc World Championship.

==The Japanese withdraw==
After the withdrawal of Honda (and Bridgestone) after the 1966 season, Suzuki was the only Japanese firm entered in the 1967 50 cc category, winning each and every GP, often with a one-lap advantage on its closest competitors. At the end of [[1967 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1967]], cost-saving technological restrictions were introduced by the FIM, to be applied as from 1969. It led Suzuki to retire as well, leaving factory machines and parts to Hans-Georg Anscheidt and Stuart Graham for the [[1968 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1968]]. Spanish rider [[Angel Nieto]] came to the fore, and between [[1969 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1969]] and [[1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1976]], won the championship six times. His season long battle for the [[1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season|1972]] championship with Dutchman [[Jan de Vries (motorcyclist)|Jan de Vries]], being perhaps the closest fought championship in any form of [[Motorcycle sport|motor racing]]. By the end of the season both riders were tied with equal points, an equal number of wins and an equal number of second-place finishes and the championship winner was determined by adding together and comparing the times for the six races in which the pair had been placed. Nieto was calculated to have won the title by 21½ seconds from his rival.

==50 cc GP World Champions ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year!!Champion!!Country!!Motorcycle!!Second place!!Country!!Motorcycle!!Third place!!Country!!Motorcycle
|-
|1962||[[Ernst Degner]]||{{GER}}||[[Suzuki]]||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Jan Huberts]]||{{NED}}||Kreidler
|-
|1963||[[Hugh Anderson (motorcyclist)|Hugh Anderson]]||{{NZL}}||Suzuki||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Ernst Degner]]||{{DDR}}||Suzuki
|-
|1964||[[Hugh Anderson (motorcyclist)|Hugh Anderson]]||{{NZL}}||Suzuki||[[Ralph Bryans]]||{{IRL}}||[[Honda]]||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1965||[[Ralph Bryans]]||{{IRL}}||[[Honda]]||[[Hugh Anderson (motorcyclist)|Hugh Anderson]]||{{NZL}}||[[Suzuki]]||[[Luigi Taveri]]||{{SUI}}||[[Honda]]
|-
|1966||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||Suzuki||[[Ralph Bryans]]||{{IRL}}||[[Honda]]||[[Luigi Taveri]]||{{SUI}}||[[Honda]]
|-
|1967||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||Suzuki||[[Yoshimi Katayama]]||{{JPN}}||[[Suzuki]]||[[Stuart Graham (motorcyclist)|Stuart Graham]]||{{GBR}}||[[Suzuki]]
|-
|1968||[[Hans-Georg Anscheidt]]||{{GER}}||Suzuki||[[Paul Lodewijkx]]||{{NED}}||[[Jamathi]]||[[Barry Smith (motorcyclist)|Barry Smith]]||{{AUS}}||[[Derbi]]
|-
|1969||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||[[Derbi]]||[[Aalt Toersen]]||{{NED}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Barry Smith (motorcyclist)|Barry Smith]]||{{AUS}}||[[Derbi]]
|-
|1970||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||Derbi||[[Aalt Toersen]]||{{NED}}||[[Jamathi]]||[[Rudolf Kunz]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1971||[[Jan de Vries (motorcyclist)|Jan de Vries]]||{{NED}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||[[Derbi]]||[[Jos Schurgers]]||{{NED}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1972||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}|| [[Derbi]] ||[[Jan de Vries (motorcyclist)|Jan de Vries]]||{{NED}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Theo Timmer]]||{{NED}}||[[Jamathi]]
|-
|1973||[[Jan de Vries (motorcyclist)|Jan de Vries]]||{{NED}}||Kreidler||[[Bruno Kneubuhler]]||{{SUI}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Theo Timmer]]||{{NED}}||[[Jamathi]]
|-
|1974||[[Henk van Kessel]]||{{NED}}||Kreidler||[[Herbert Rittberger]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Julien van Zeebroeck]]||{{BEL}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1975||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||Kreidler||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||[[Piovatici]]||[[Julien van Zeebroeck]]||{{BEL}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1976||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||[[Bultaco]]||[[Herbert Rittberger]]||{{GER}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Ulrich Graf (motorcyclist)|Ulrich Graf]]||{{SUI}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1977||[[Angel Nieto]]||{{ESP}}||Bultaco||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Ricardo Tormo]]||{{ESP}}||[[Bultaco]]
|-
|1978||[[Ricardo Tormo]]||{{ESP}}||Bultaco||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Patrick Plisson]]||{{FRA}}||[[ABF (motorcycle)|ABF]]
|-
|1979||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||Kreidler||[[Rolf Blatter]]||{{SUI}}||[[Kreidler]]||[[Patrick Plisson]]||{{FRA}}||[[ABF (motorcycle)|ABF]]
|-
|1980||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||Kreidler||[[Stefan Dörflinger]]||{{SUI}}||Kreidler||[[Hans Hummel]]||{{AUT}}||[[Kreidler]]
|-
|1981||[[Ricardo Tormo]]||{{ESP}}||Bultaco||[[Theo Timmer]]||{{NED}}||[[Bultaco]]||[[Stefan Dörflinger]]||{{SUI}}||Kreidler
|-
|1982||[[Stefan Dörflinger]]||{{SUI}}||Krauser||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||[[Garelli Motorcycles|Garelli]]||[[Claudio Lusuardi]]||{{ITA}}||[[Villa]]
|-
|1983||[[Stefan Dörflinger]]||{{SUI}}||Kreidler||[[Eugenio Lazzarini]]||{{ITA}}||[[Garelli Motorcycles|Garelli]]||[[Claudio Lusuardi]]||{{ITA}}||[[Villa]]
|}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=35em}}
{{Grand Prix motorcycle racing}}

[[Category:Grand Prix motorcycle racing]]