1952 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1952 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the fourth 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 18 May, with Swiss Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 5 October.

Umberto Masetti won his second and final 500cc World Championship title in 1952.

Geoff Duke (pictured in 1951) successfully defended his 350cc World Championship title.

Enrico Lorenzetti won his only world championship in the 250cc class.

1952 Grand Prix season calendar

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Circuit	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Sidecars 500cc winner	Report
1	18 May	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten		Fergus Anderson	Geoff Duke	Jack Brett	Milani / Pizzocri	Report
2	13 June	Isle of Man TT	Snaefell Mountain	Cecil Sandford	Fergus Anderson	Geoff Duke	Reg Armstrong		Report
3	28 June	Dutch TT	Assen	Cecil Sandford	Enrico Lorenzetti	Geoff Duke	Umberto Masetti		Report
4	6 July	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps			Geoff Duke	Umberto Masetti	Oliver / Price	Report
5	20 July	German Grand Prix	Solitude	Werner Haas	Rudi Felgenheier	Reg Armstrong	Reg Armstrong	Smith / Clements	Report
6	16 August	Ulster Grand Prix	Clady	Cecil Sandford	Maurice Cann	Ken Kavanagh	Cromie McCandless		Report
7	14 September	Nations Grand Prix	Monza	Emilio Mendogni	Enrico Lorenzetti	Ray Amm	Leslie Graham	Merlo / Magri	Report
8	5 October	Spanish Grand Prix	Montjuïc	Emilio Mendogni			Leslie Graham	Oliver / Dobelli	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 counted.

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

500cc final standings

Pos	Rider	Machine	SUI	MAN	HOL	BEL	GER	ULS	NAC	ESP	Pts
1	Umberto Masetti	Gilera	Ret		1	1	Ret	Ret	2	2	28
2	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta	Ret	2	7	Ret	4	Ret	1	1	25
3	Reg Armstrong	Norton	Ret	1	4	Ret	1	Ret	6	5	22
4	Rod Coleman	AJS	5	4	5	5	Ret	2	Ret		15
5	Jack Brett	AJS / Norton	1	Ret	9	4	Ret	4	7		14
6	Ken Kavanagh	Norton		32	3		2	Ret		3	14
7	Geoff Duke	Norton	Ret	Ret	2	2					12
8	Nello Pagani	Gilera	4		6	6			3	4	12
9	Cromie McCandless	Norton / Gilera		6				1			9
10	Ray Amm	Norton	6	3	Ret	3			Ret	9	9
11	Carlo Bandirola	MV Agusta	3		Ret	Ret	Ret		4	Ret	7
12	Bill Doran	AJS	2								6
13	Bill Lomas	AJS / MV Agusta		5		Ret	Ret	3	Ret	Ret	6
14	Sid Lawton	Norton / AJS	8	12	Ret		3	Ret		6	5
15	Auguste Goffin	Norton				7	5		Ret	Ret	2
16	Peter Carter	Norton		10				5			2
17	Giuseppe Colnago	Gilera						17	5	Ret	2
18	Hans Baltisberger	BMW					6			Ret	1
19	John Surtees	Norton						6			1
20	Libero Liberati	Gilera	7		8				8	16	0
21	Siegfried Wünsche	BMW / DKW					11			7	0
22	Tony McAlpine	Norton		13	Ret		7		Ret		0
23	Roy Evans	Norton		14				7			0
24	George Brown	Norton		7				Ret			0
25	Robin Sherry	Norton / AJS		Ret		8		Ret	9		0
26	Ken Mudford	Norton		8	10						0
27	Karl Rührschneck	Norton					8			Ret	0
28	Fernando Aranda	Gilera								8	0
=	William Campbell	Norton						8			0
30	Lous van Riswijk	Matchless / Norton			11	9					0
31	Siegfried Fuss	Norton					9				0
=	John Guirke	Norton						9			0
=	Alain Lawton	Norton								9	0
=	Willy Lips	Norton	9								0
=	Albert Moule	Norton		9							0
36	Rudi Knees	Norton					10			11	0
37	John Grace	Norton		16						10	0
38	Jack Bailey	Norton		Ret				10			0
=	Friedel Schön	Horex	10				Ret				0
40	Francis Basso	Norton				10					0
=	Martino Giani	MV Agusta							10		0
42	Humphrey Ranson	Norton		17	Ret	11					0
43	Enrico Galante	Norton							11		0
=	Malcolm Templeton	AJS						11			0
=	Vic Willoughby	Norton		11							0
=	Hans Wirz	Triumph	11								0
47	Bill Beevers	Norton	12	Ret							0
48	Francesco Guglielminetti	MV Agusta							12		0
=	Herbert Ranson	Norton								12	0
=	Geoff Read	Norton			12						0
=	Edouard Texidor	Norton				12					0
=	Harry Turner	Norton						12			0
53	Javier de Ortueta	Norton							13	Ret	0
54	Piet Bakker	BMW			13						0
=	Massimo Forster	Gilera	13								0
=	Ewald Kluge	DKW								13	0
=	Douglas Sides	Velocette						13			0
58	Carletto Bellotti	Moto Guzzi	14								0
=	Harry Lindsay	Triumph								14	0
=	Reg MacDonald	AJS						14			0
=	Drikus Veer	Triumph			14						0
62	Rally Dean	Norton		Ret	Ret			15			0
63	Siegfried Vogel	Norton								15	0
=	Don Williams	Norton		15							0
65	Robert Ferguson	AJS		16							0
66	John Dickson	Velocette						18			0
=	Charlie Salt	BSA		18							0
68	Robin Fitton	Norton						19			0
=	Cyril Stevens	Norton		19							0
70	Fonsie McGovern	Norton						20			0
=	Frank Norris	Norton		20							0
72	Arthur Wheeler	Norton		21	Ret			Ret			0
73	J. O. Kerrigan	Triumph						21			0
74	Ken Swallow	Norton		22							0
75	Syl Anderton	Norton		23							0
76	Les Dear	Norton		24							0
77	Sven Sørensen	Norton		25							0
78	Howard Grindley	Norton		26							0
79	Jack Varlow	Norton		27							0
80	Harry Stephen	Norton		28							0
81	Leo Starr	AJS		29							0
82	Dennis Lashmar	Norton		30							0
83	David Stevenson	AJS		31							0
84	Leslie Harris	Norton	Ret	33							0
85	Leslie Barrett	Norton		34							0
86	John Fisher	AJS		35							0
87	Joe Glazebrook	Norton		36							0
88	Jack Harding	Norton		37							0
89	Eric Hardy	AJS		38							0
90	Ivor Wagar	Triumph		39							0
91	Bob McDonald	AJS		40							0
92	Charlie Gray	AJS		41							0
–	Phil Heath	Vincent / Norton		Ret			Ret		Ret	Ret
–	Bob Matthews	Norton / Matchless	Ret		Ret					Ret	0
–	Alfredo Milani	Gilera	Ret		Ret	Ret					0
–	Ernie Ring	Matchless		Ret	Ret	Ret					0
–	Charles Bruguiere	Norton				Ret				Ret	0
–	Georges Burgaff	Norton							Ret	Ret	0
–	Werner Gerber	Horex	Ret				Ret				0
–	Dean Hollier	Norton		Ret	Ret						0
–	Sidney Mason	Norton	Ret		Ret						0
–	Bill Petch	Norton					Ret			DNS	0
–	Emilio Soprani	Gilera							Ret	DNS	0
–	Jost Albisser	Rudge	Ret								0
–	Syd Barnett	Norton		Ret							0
–	Edgar Barth	Norton					Ret				0
–	Felice Benasedo	Moto Guzzi					Ret				0
–	David Bennett	Norton	Ret								0
–	Wilf Billington	Norton		Ret							0
–	George Brockerton	Bitza						Ret			0
–	Louis Carter	Norton						Ret			0
–	Jacques Collot	Norton								Ret	0
–	Firmin Dauwe	Norton					Ret				0
–	Lodovico Facchinelli	Gilera							Ret		0
–	Archie Fenn	Norton		Ret							0
–	Peter Fernando	Norton		Ret							0
–	Cees Fokke-Bosch	Norton			Ret						0
–	Tito Forconi	MV Agusta							Ret		0
–	Sid Franklen	AJS		Ret							0
–	Roy Godwin	Norton		Ret							0
–	Ernst Gross	BMW					Ret				0
–	Bill Hall	Norton		Ret							0
–	Ernst Hoske	Horex					Ret				0
–	Robert King	Norton		Ret							0
–	John Maloney	Vincent		Ret							0
–	Alex Mayer	Norton								Ret	0
–	Tommy McEwan	Norton		Ret							0
–	Gerhard Mette	BMW					Ret				0
–	Stan Miller	Norton		Ret							0
–	Eric Oliver	Norton								Ret	0
–	Ashley Parry	Norton		Ret							0
–	Roland Pike	BSA		Ret							0
–	Arthur Pollitt	Norton		Ret							0
–	Mark Prudence	Norton		Ret							0
–	Bob Rowbottom	AJS		Ret							0
–	Cecil Sandford	BSA		Ret							0
–	Simon Sandys-Winsch	Velocette			Ret						0
–	Lodewijk Simons	Norton			Ret						0
–	Henk Steman	Norton			Ret						0
–	Norman Stewart	Norton		Ret							0
–	Les Tedder	AJS		Ret							0
–	Roy Walker	BSA		Ret							0
–	Dick Ward	Velocette		Ret							0
–	Leonard Williams	Velocette		Ret							0
–	Tommy Wood	Norton				Ret					0
–	Gerhard Pohlers	BMW								DNS	0
Pos	Rider	Bike	SUI	MAN	HOL	BEL	GER	ULS	NAC	ESP	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	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Geoff Duke	United Kingdom	Norton	32	4
2	Reg Armstrong	Ireland	Norton	24	1
3	Ray Amm	Southern Rhodesia	Norton	21	1
4	Rod Coleman	New Zealand	AJS	20	0
5	Ken Kavanagh	Australia	Norton	16	1
6	Jack Brett	United Kingdom	AJS	12	0
7	Bill Lomas	United Kingdom	AJS	9	0
8	Sid Lawton	United Kingdom	AJS	7	0
9	Robin Sherry	United Kingdom	AJS	4	0
10	Ernie Ring	Austria	AJS	3	0
11	Ewald Kluge	Germany	DKW	2	0
=	Auguste Goffin	Belgium	Norton	2	0
13	Leslie Graham	United Kingdom	Velocette	1	0
=	Mike O'Rourke	Ireland	AJS	1	0
=	George Brown	United Kingdom	AJS	1	0
=	Roland Schnell	Germany	Horex	1	0

250cc Standings

Place	Rider	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Enrico Lorenzetti	Italy	Moto Guzzi	28	2
2	Fergus Anderson	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	24	2
3	Leslie Graham	United Kingdom	Velocette	11	0
4	Maurice Cann	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	10	1
5	Rudi Felgenheier	Germany	DKW	8	1
6	Bruno Ruffo	Italy	Moto Guzzi	7	0
7	Werner Haas	Germany	NSU	6	0
=	Heinrich Thorn-Prikker	Germany	Moto Guzzi	6	0
=	Alano Montanari	Italy	Moto Guzzi	6	0
10	Herman Gablenz	Germany	Horex	4	0
=	Sid Lawton	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	4	0
=	Arthur Wheeler	United Kingdom	Moto Guzzi	4	0
13	Ewald Kluge	Germany	DKW	3	0
=	Ronald Mead	United Kingdom	Velocette	3	0
=	Gotthilf Gehring	Germany	Moto Guzzi	3	0
16	Roberto Colombo	Italy	NSU	2	0
=	Bill Webster	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
=	Nino Grieco	Italy	Parilla	2	0
=	Benny Rood	United Kingdom	Velocette	2	0
20	Bruno Francisci	Italy	Moto Guzzi	1	0
=	Ray Petty	United Kingdom	Norton	1	0
=	Sieb Postma	Netherlands	Moto Guzzi	1	0

125cc

Riders' standings

Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts
1	Cecil Sandford	MV Agusta	1^F	1^F	3	1^F		3	28 (32)
2	Carlo Ubbiali	Mondial	2	2	2		2		24
3	Emilio Mendogni	Morini					1	1^F	16
4	Leslie Graham	MV Agusta					3	2	10
5	Luigi Zinzani	Morini		3	6		4	6	9
6	Werner Haas	NSU			1^F				8
7	Angelo Copeta	MV Agusta	5	5	4				7
8	Bill Lomas	MV Agusta				2			6
9	Guido Sala	MV Agusta		4			5^F		5
10	Len Parry	Mondial	3						4
10	Charlie Salt	MV Agusta				3			4
12	Cromie McCandless	Mondial	4						3
12	Romolo Ferri	Morini						4	3
14	Hubert Luttenberger	NSU			5		6		3
15	Hermann Paul Müller	Mondial						5	2
16	Frank Burman	EMC-Puch	6						1
16	Lo Simons	Mondial		6					1
Pos.	Rider	Bike	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	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	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts
1	MV Agusta	1	1	3	1	3	2	30 (38)
2	Mondial	2	2	2		2	5	24 (26)
3	Morini		3	6		1	1	21
4	NSU			1		6		9
5	EMC-Puch	6						1
Pos.	Constructor	MAN	NED	GER	ULS	NAT	ESP	Pts

References

Haefliger, Werner. FIM MotoGP Results 1949–2023 Guide (2024 ed.). pp. 12–13. 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". Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2010-07-06.