1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

Season summary

Yamaha's Kenny Roberts claimed his third successive 500cc world championship in a season shortened by the cancellations of the Venezuelan and Austrian rounds. Randy Mamola took over at Suzuki from Barry Sheene. Kawasaki returned to the 500cc class with a monocoque, four cylinder bike for Kork Ballington. Honda soldiered on with its exotic four-stroke NR500 but began to realize it was at a disadvantage against its two-stroke opposition.

There were only six rounds in the 350cc class that saw South Africa's Jon Ekerold, a true privateer, take the championship from the Kawasaki factory-sponsored Anton Mang. Mang would take the 250cc crown from defending champion Ballington while Pier Paolo Bianchi won the 125cc title. Eugenio Lazzarini won a tight battle from Swiss Stefan Dörflinger to take the 50cc championship by only 2 points.