The 1966 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 18th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 8 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Japanese Grand Prix on 17 October.

Season summary

Honda stepped up their racing program with a new four-cylinder 500cc bike, as well as bikes in the four smaller classes. Despite Honda's increased efforts, Suzuki would claim the 50cc title with Hans-Georg Anscheidt winning the championship from Honda's Luigi Taveri at the last race of the season in Japan. Yamaha would battle Honda all season for the 125 crown, each factory taking five wins, with Honda's Taveri taking the title from Yamaha's Bill Ivy.

Mike Hailwood, having left the MV Agusta team to ride for Honda, stormed to the 250 crown, winning the first eight races of the season, as Phil Read struggled with Yamaha's new v-four race bike. Hailwood would make it a double when he also claimed the 350 class ahead of MV Agusta's Giacomo Agostini. Honda's plan was for Jim Redman to lead their 500 class campaign before he retired. All started well with Redman winning the first two races of the year however, Honda's hopes were dashed when he crashed in the rain in Belgium and broke his wrist. This gave Agostini the championship lead, which he held despite Hailwood taking three of the last six races. Honda took some consolation by winning all five constructor's titles for a clean sweep.

1966 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	8 May	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc circuit	Luigi Taveri	Bill Ivy	Mike Hailwood				Report
2	22 May	West German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Luigi Taveri	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Jim Redman	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
3	29 May	French Grand Prix	Charade Circuit			Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood		Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
4	25 June	Dutch TT	TT Circuit Assen	Luigi Taveri	Bill Ivy	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Jim Redman	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
5	3 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Mike Hailwood		Giacomo Agostini	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
6	17 July	East German Grand Prix	Sachsenring		Luigi Taveri	Mike Hailwood	Giacomo Agostini	Frantisek Stastny		Report
7	24 July	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Masaryk Circuit		Luigi Taveri	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood		Report
8	7 August	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra Circuit		Phil Read	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood	Giacomo Agostini		Report
9	20 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Dundrod Circuit		Luigi Taveri	Ginger Molloy	Mike Hailwood	Mike Hailwood		Report
10	2 September	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Ralph Bryans	Bill Ivy	Mike Hailwood	Giacomo Agostini	Mike Hailwood	Scheidegger / Robinson	Report
11	11 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Hans-Georg Anscheidt	Luigi Taveri	Mike Hailwood	Giacomo Agostini	Giacomo Agostini		Report
12	17 October	Japanese Grand Prix	Fuji Speedway	Yoshimi Katayama	Bill Ivy	Hiroshi Hasegawa	Phil Read			Report

Standings

Scoring system

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

500cc final standings

Pos Rider Machine GER HOL BEL DDR CZE FIN ULS MAN NAC Pts 1 Giacomo Agostini MV Agusta 2 2 1 Ret 2 1 2 2 1 36 (54) 2 Mike Hailwood Honda Ret Ret Ret Ret 1 2 1 1 Ret 30 3 Jack Findlay Matchless 11 6 Ret 2 4 3 4 8 3 20 (21) 4 Frantisek Stastny Jawa-CZ 3 Ret 1 Ret Ret 3 6 Ret 17 5 Jim Redman Honda 1 1 Ret 16 6 Gyula Marsovszky Matchless 3 7 4 5 3 7 8 8 13 7 Jack Ahearn Norton 8 9 3 3 5 4 Ret 13 8 Stuart Graham Matchless 4 5 2 Ret Ret Ret 11 9 Peter Williams Matchless / AJS 9 6 7 2 7 10 Chris Conn Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 5 3 Ret 6 11 Ron Chandler Matchless Ret 6 4 5 Ret 6 12 John Cooper Norton Ret 4 Ret 7 Ret Ret 3 13 Fred Stevens Paton / Matchless / Metisse Ret 8 14 Ret Ret 8 12 12 4 3 14 John Blanchard Seeley / Matchless Ret 4 3 15 Lewis Young Matchless 5 Ret 8 Ret 9 6 Ret 3 16 Malcolm Stanton Norton 14 Ret Ret 5 10 Ret 2 17 Walter Scheimann Norton 10 Ret Ret 14 5 2 18 John Mawby Norton 5 Ret 13 2 19 Edy Lenz Matchless 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 2 20 John Dodds Norton Ret 13 6 10 Ret Ret Ret 1 21 Eric Hinton Norton Ret 6 Ret 1 22 Dan Shorey Norton 7 12 11 8 13 Ret 19 Ret 0 23 Bo Granath Matchless 7 Ret 12 9 0 24 Derek Lee Matchless Ret Ret 17 Ret 7 0 25 Joe Dunphy Norton Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 0 26 Selwyn Griffiths Matchless 7 Ret 0 27 Billie Nelson Norton 9 Ret 9 8 12 Ret 0 28 Billy McCosh Matchless 10 9 0 29 Gustav Havel Jawa-CZ Ret 11 14 11 Ret 9 Ret 0 30 Philippe Canoui Matchless Ret Ret 9 0 31 Agne Carlsson Matchless 10 Ret 10 0 32 Kel Carruthers Norton Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 13 11 Ret 0 33 Len Atlee Norton Ret 10 Ret 15 21 0 34 Billy Andersson Matchless 11 16 0 35 György Kurucz Norton 11 Ret 0 36 Giuseppe Dardanello Norton 11 0 = Robin Fitton Norton 11 0 38 Maurice Hawthorne Norton 12 18 10 0 39 David Lloyd Norton Ret 12 20 0 40 Vasco Loro Norton 12 0 41 Pentti Lehtelä Norton Ret 15 13 0 42 Jack Saunders Matchless 13 20 Ret 0 43 Karl Hoppe Matchless Ret 13 Ret 0 44 George Fogarty Matchless 13 0 45 Roly Capner Matchless 14 0 = Barry Scully Norton 14 0 47 Godfrey Nash Norton 15 0 = Charlie Sanby Norton 15 0 49 Rudi Thalhammer Seeley / Norton / Matchless Ret 16 Ret Ret 0 = Ernst Weiss Matchless Ret Ret 16 Ret 0 51 Peter Sheppard Norton 16 0 52 Roger Beaumont Norton Ret Ret Ret 17 Ret 0 53 Neville Landrebe Matchless 17 0 54 Dennis Gallagher Matchless 18 Ret 0 55 Tom Gill Matchless 19 Ret 0 56 Ray Breingan Norton 21 Ret 0 57 Stuart Morin Norton Ret Ret 22 0 58 Terence Taylor Norton 22 0 59 Brian Taggart Norton 23 0 = Carl Ward Norton 23 0 61 Byron Black Matchless 24 28 0 62 Dave Williams Norton 24 0 63 Steve Jolly Norton 25 0 64 Peter Darvill Matchless 26 0 65 Dave Duncan Matchless 27 0 66 Les Kempster Norton 29 0 67 Jim Ashton Matchless 30 0 68 Laurence Povey Norton 31 0 69 Harry Reynolds Matchless 32 0 - Ian Burne Norton Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 - Griff Jenkins Norton / Dunstall Ret Ret Ret 0 - John Denty Norton Ret Ret 0 - Owen Howard Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Derek Minter Seeley / Matchless Ret Ret 0 - Johnny Wales Norton Ret Ret 0 - Stan Adams Norton Ret 0 - Hartmut Allner BMW Ret 0 - Kent Andersson Husqvarna Ret 0 - Alain Barbaroux Norton Ret 0 - Roy Bisbey Norton Ret 0 - David Brown Norton Ret 0 - Rex Butcher Norton Ret 0 - Hans-Otto Butenuth BMW Ret 0 - Kel Carlsson Norton Ret 0 - Conway Chivers Norton Ret 0 - Guy Cooremans Norton Ret 0 - Davy Crawford Norton Ret 0 - Dave Croxford Matchless Ret 0 - Brian Dennis Velocette Ret 0 - Gianfranco Domeniconi Norton Ret 0 - Vincent Duckett Matchless Ret 0 - Mike Duff Matchless Ret 0 - Fritjof Eccarius Matchless Ret 0 - Steve Ellis Matchless Ret 0 - Ray Flack Norton Ret 0 - Toshio Fujii Norton Ret 0 - Robert Graham AJS Ret 0 - Billie Guthrie Norton Ret 0 - Albert Haddock Triumph Ret 0 - Trevor Holdsworth Norton Ret 0 - Alan Hunter Norton Ret 0 - David Johnson Norton Ret 0 - David Jones BSA Ret 0 - Jimmy Jones Norton Ret 0 - Ken Kay Matchless Ret 0 - Reay Mackay Vincent HRD Ret 0 - Tony McGurk Matchless Ret 0 - Michael McStay Norton Ret 0 - Helmut Morgenstern Norton Ret 0 - Albert Moule Norton Ret 0 - Frank Mumford Norton Ret 0 - Tauno Nurmi Norton Ret 0 - Bert Oosterhuis Norton Ret 0 - Giovanni Perrone Bianchi Ret 0 - Alan Prange Matchless Ret 0 - Norman Price Norton Ret 0 - Tom Read Norton Ret 0 - Robert Reid Norton Ret 0 - Jouko Ryhänen Matchless Ret 0 - Tony Rutter Norton Ret 0 - Alf Shaw Norton Ret 0 - John Simmonds Norton Ret 0 - Lars Skjelfoss Matchless Ret 0 - Bill Smith Matchless Ret 0 - Hans Sommerhalder Matchless Ret 0 - Adrian Spooner Norton Ret 0 - Malcolm Uphill Norton Ret 0 - Brian Walmsley Norton Ret 0 - Ron Wilson Norton Ret 0 - Tony Wood Norton Ret 0 - Derek Woodman Matchless Ret 0 - Benedetto Zambotti Norton Ret 0 Pos Rider Bike GER HOL BEL DDR CZE FIN ULS MAN NAC Pts

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) 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	Mike Hailwood		United Kingdom	Honda	48	6
2	Giacomo Agostini		Italy	MV Agusta	42	3
3	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Aermacchi	17	0
4	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	13	0
5	Gustav Havel		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	12	0
6	Alberto Pagani		Italy	Aermacchi	11	0
7	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	10	0
8	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	8	1
9	Jack Ahearn		Australia	Norton	8	0
10	Bruce Beale		Rhodesia	Honda	7	0
11	Tarquinio Provini		Italy	Benelli	6	0
=	Peter Williams		United Kingdom	AJS	6	0
=	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	6	0
14	Silvio Grassetti		Italy	Bianchi	6	0
15	Jim Redman		Rhodesia	Honda	4	0
=	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Bultaco	4	0
=	Chris Conn		United Kingdom	Norton	4	0
18	Gilberto Milani		Italy	Aermacchi	3	0
=	Stuart Graham		United Kingdom	AJS	3	0
=	Kel Carruthers		Australia	Norton	3	0
=	Byron Black		United Kingdom	Honda	3	0
22	Frantisek Bocek		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	3	0
23	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Honda-Norton	2	0
=	Kenzo Muromachi		Japan	Honda	2	0
25	John Blanchard		United Kingdom	AJS	1	0
=	Joe Dunphy		United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Husqvarna	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Mike Hailwood		United Kingdom	Honda	56	10
2	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	34	0
3	Jim Redman		Rhodesia	Honda	20	0
4	Derek Woodman		United Kingdom	MZ	18	0
5	Stuart Graham		United Kingdom	Honda	15	0
6	Heinz Rosner		East Germany	MZ	15	0
7	Jack Findlay		Australia	Bultaco	14	0
8	Frantisek Stastny		Czechoslovakia	Jawa	11	0
9	Mike Duff		Canada	Yamaha	9	0
10	Ginger Molloy		New Zealand	Bultaco	8	1
=	Hiroshi Hasegawa		Japan	Yamaha	8	1
12	Gyula Marsovsky		Switzerland	Bultaco	8	0
13	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	5	0
14	Renzo Pasolini		Italy	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Kevin Cass		Australia	Bultaco	4	0
=	Peter Inchley		United Kingdom	Villiers	4	0
=	Alberto Pagani		Italy	Aermacchi	4	0
=	Akiyasu Motohashi		Japan	Yamaha	4	0
19	Bruce Beale		Rhodesia	Honda	4	0
20	Kent Andersson		Sweden	Husqvarna	4	0
21	Selwyn Griffiths		United Kingdom	Royal Enfield	3	0
22	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Bultaco	3	0
23	Chris Anderson		United Kingdom	Yamaha	2	0
=	Jim Curry		United Kingdom	Honda	2	0
25	Günter Beer		West Germany	Honda	1	0
=	Daniel Lhéraud		France	Yamaha	1	0
=	Len Atlee		Australia	Cotton	1	0
=	Bill Smith		United Kingdom	Bultaco	1	0
=	Giuseppe Visenzi		Italy	Aermacchi	1	0

125cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Luigi Taveri		Switzerland	Honda	46	5
2	Bill Ivy		United Kingdom	Yamaha	40	4
3	Ralph Bryans		United Kingdom	Honda	32	0
4	Phil Read		United Kingdom	Yamaha	29	1
5	Hugh Anderson		New Zealand	Suzuki	15	0
6	Yoshimi Katayama		Japan	Suzuki	14	0
7	Frank Perris		United Kingdom	Suzuki	10	0
8	Akiyasu Motohashi		Japan	Yamaha	5	0
9	Mike Duff		Canada	Yamaha	4	0
=	Mitsuo Itoh		Japan	Suzuki	4	0
11	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Yamaha	3	0
12	Francesco Villa		Italy	Montesa	2	0
=	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	2	0
=	Peter Williams		United Kingdom	EMC	2	0
15	José Medrano		Spain	Bultaco	1	0
=	Herbert Mann		West Germany	MZ	1	0
=	Mike Hailwood		United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	Friedhelm Kohlar		East Germany	MZ	1	0
=	Hartmut Bischoff		East Germany	MZ	1	0
=	Walter Scheimann		West Germany	Honda	1	0
=	Yasuharu Yuzawa		Japan	Yamaha	1	0

50cc Standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Hans-Georg Anscheidt		West Germany	Suzuki	28	2
2	Ralph Bryans		United Kingdom	Honda	26	1
3	Luigi Taveri		Switzerland	Honda	26	2
4	Hugh Anderson		New Zealand	Suzuki	16	0
5	Yoshimi Katayama		Japan	Suzuki	10	1
6	Barry Smith		Australia	Derbi	3	0
=	Ernst Degner		West Germany	Suzuki	3	0
=	Mitsuo Itoh		Japan	Suzuki	3	0
9	Angel Nieto		Spain	Derbi	2	0
=	Oswald Dittrich		West Germany	Kreidler	2	0
=	Brian Gleed		United Kingdom	Honda	2	0
=	Tommy Robb		United Kingdom	Bridgestone	2	0
13	Cees van Dongen		Netherlands	Kreidler	1	0
=	Isao Morishita		Japan	Bridgestone	1	0
=	Dave Simmonds		United Kingdom	Honda	1	0
=	André Roth		Switzerland	Derbi	1	0
=	Jack Findlay		Australia	Bridgestone	1	0