As of round 17 Race · updated 10/13/2026, 07:18 PM (Japan time)

Riders

Kork Ballington

Nationality: South Africa
Number: 8
Born: April 10, 1951(age 75)
Birthplace: Harare

Photos (6)

2011
PekePON · CC BY-SA 3.0
2011
PekePON · CC BY-SA 3.0
2011
PekePON · CC BY-SA 3.0
2011
Rikita · CC BY-SA 3.0
2012
Joel59 · CC BY-SA 3.0
2018
Matti Blume · CC BY-SA 4.0

Freely licensed photos from Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo for its source page (photographer, licence). The year is when it was taken.

Birth date and place from the official rider profile

Career

Made a Grand Prix debut in 350cc at Mugello in 1976.

In 350cc (1976): 1 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1976–1977): 3 starts, 0 wins, 1 podiums. In 350cc (1977): 1 starts, 0 wins, 1 podiums. In 250cc (1977): 2 starts, 0 wins, 1 podiums. In 350cc (1977): 1 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1977): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 350cc (1977–1978): 2 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 250cc (1978): 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 350cc (1978): 3 starts, 2 wins, 3 podiums. In 250cc (1978): 2 starts, 0 wins, 2 podiums. In 350cc (1978): 2 starts, 2 wins, 2 podiums. In 250cc (1978): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 350cc (1978): 2 starts, 1 wins, 2 podiums. In 250cc (1978–1979): 2 starts, 0 wins, 2 podiums. In 350cc (1979): 2 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 250cc (1979): 3 starts, 3 wins, 3 podiums. In 350cc (1979): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 250cc (1979): 4 starts, 2 wins, 3 podiums. In 350cc (1979): 2 starts, 2 wins, 2 podiums. In 250cc (1979): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 500cc (1980): 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1980): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 500cc (1980): 1 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1980): 2 starts, 2 wins, 2 podiums. In 500cc (1980): 1 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1980): 1 starts, 0 wins, 1 podiums. In 500cc (1980): 1 starts, 0 wins, 0 podiums. In 250cc (1980): 1 starts, 1 wins, 1 podiums. In 500cc (1981–1982): 11 starts, 0 wins, 1 podiums.

First podium: Nürburgring 1976 (250cc). First win: Silverstone 1977 (250cc). World champion: 1978 250cc, 1978 350cc, 1979 250cc, 1979 350cc.

In all, 59 Grand Prix starts, 22 wins and 34 podiums (within the official results database).

Written automatically from the official results database (no opinions about the rider)

Starts with no race result

The official records keep only the qualifying order and the starting grid for these races; the race result is missing (the official site has none either).

Year	Event	Class	Grid
1981	NATIONS GRAND PRIX	500cc	6
1981	YUGOSLAVIAN GRAND PRIX	500cc	12
1981	BELGIUM GRAND PRIX	500cc	12
1981	British GP	500cc	12

Note: these totals are incomplete. The official data has no result for 1 races in seasons and classes this rider raced in; they are not counted: 1976 350cc (TT)

Season by season

250cc350cc500cc ★ Champion

The strip shows each year's team (team colour). Tap for team and machine

Scope: official results DB, 1976–1982 (the rider's racing years); excludes 1 races with no official result data

Totals

250cc1976–1980 ★ 2 titles (1978, 1979)

Win rate44.7%

Podium rate68.4%

Average finish (when classified)avg P2.5

416 pts · Poles 8

12 of these races have no result in the official data; their results come from the Italian Wikipedia.

350cc1976–1979 ★ 2 titles (1978, 1979)

Win rate50.0%

Podium rate64.3%

Average finish (when classified)avg P2.9

299 pts · Poles 1

11 of these races have no result in the official data; their results come from the Italian Wikipedia.

500cc1980–1982

Win rate0.0%

Podium rate8.3%

Average finish (when classified)avg P7.0

87 pts · Poles 0

8 of these races have no result in the official data; their results come from the Italian Wikipedia.

Points are counted per class, never added across classes. Tap a number for the list of races | Scope: official results DB, 1976–1982 (the rider's racing years); excludes 1 races with no official result data

Against the greats, and the class of their debut

Grand Prix debut in 1976. Of the 52 riders who debuted that year, 0 also raced in 2026.

Anton Mang 5 world titles
38 races together: ahead 31, behind 7, both out 0
Walter Villa 4 world titles
33 races together: ahead 20, behind 13, both out 0
Kenny Roberts 3 world titles
24 races together: ahead 6, behind 18, both out 0
Freddie Spencer 3 world titles
11 races together: ahead 3, behind 6, both out 2

Greats: 2+ world titles or 30+ MotoGP / 500cc wins. Up to 4 who shared 10+ races, most titles first. A finisher counts as ahead of a non-finisher.

Results by condition (races)

All classes 90 races · 250cc / 350cc / 500cc

By circuit (best average first)Small sample

In All classes, best at Brno (average P2.4, 7 races)

Brno250cc 4 · 350cc 3avg P2.4

Silverstone350cc 3 · 250cc 4 · 500cc 2avg P2.5

Nogaro350cc 1 · 250cc 1avg P2.5

Salzburgring350cc 2 · 500cc 2avg P2.7

Assen350cc 2 · 250cc 2 · 500cc 2avg P2.8

Le Mans250cc 2 · 350cc 1avg P3.0

Imola350cc 1 · 250cc 1 · 500cc 1avg P3.0

Karlskoga350cc 1 · 250cc 2avg P3.0

Nürburgring250cc 3 · 350cc 1 · 500cc 1avg P3.4

Hockenheim250cc 2 · 350cc 1 · 500cc 2avg P3.7

Mugello350cc 2 · 250cc 1 · 500cc 1avg P3.8

San Carlos250cc 3 · 350cc 2avg P4.0

Anderstorp350cc 1 · 500cc 2avg P4.0

Imatra250cc 4 · 350cc 3 · 500cc 2avg P4.1

Rijeka250cc 2 · 350cc 2 · 500cc 1avg P4.5

Montjuïc350cc 1 · 250cc 1avg P4.5

Jarama250cc 3 · 350cc 1 · 500cc 2avg P4.8

Paul Ricard500cc 2 · 250cc 1avg P5.3

Misano500cc 2avg P6.0

Spa250cc 2 · 500cc 1avg P6.3

Buenos Aires500cc 1avg P8.0

Average finish across classes (Moto3, Moto2, MotoGP and so on together). See each class below for class-only figures. Only circuits with 3+ races count as a best track.

500cc 24 races · 1980–1982

By grid positionSmall sample

From Grid 10–15, they move up from an average grid of 11.5 to an average finish of 7.5

average grid average finish (classified)

Grid 4–6	4.0 → 5.0	0 wins / 2 races
Grid 7–9	7.9 → 5.5	0 wins / 7 races
Grid 10–15	11.5 → 7.5	0 wins / 11 races
Grid 16〜	18.0 → 8.5	0 wins / 2 races

By circuit (best average first)Small sample

Imatra2 racesavg P4.0

Assen2 racesavg P5.0

Anderstorp2 racesavg P5.0

Imola1 racesavg P5.0

Salzburgring2 racesavg P6.0

Misano2 racesavg P6.0

Silverstone2 racesavg P7.0

Mugello1 racesavg P7.0

Paul Ricard2 racesavg P7.5

Buenos Aires1 racesavg P8.0

Spa1 racesavg P8.0

Rijeka1 racesavg P10.0

Jarama2 racesavg P11.0

Nürburgring1 racesavg P11.0

Hockenheim2 races—

500cc: all in the Multiple suppliers era; no track-condition records.

250cc 38 races · 1976–1980

By circuit (best average first)Small sample

In 250cc, best at Silverstone (average P1.0, 4 races)

Silverstone4 racesavg P1.0

Le Mans2 racesavg P1.0

Paul Ricard1 racesavg P1.0

Imola1 racesavg P1.0

Mugello1 racesavg P1.0

Nürburgring3 racesavg P1.3

Imatra4 racesavg P1.5

Brno4 racesavg P2.0

Jarama3 racesavg P2.0

Assen2 racesavg P2.5

Nogaro1 racesavg P3.0

Hockenheim2 racesavg P3.5

Rijeka2 racesavg P3.5

Karlskoga2 racesavg P3.5

San Carlos3 racesavg P4.0

Spa2 racesavg P5.5

Montjuïc1 racesavg P8.0

250cc: all in the Multiple suppliers era; no track-condition records; always on the grid Grid 1–3.

350cc 28 races · 1976–1979

By tyre eraSmall sample

Win rate

Podium rate

Average finish (when classified)

By circuit (best average first)Small sample

In 350cc, best at Silverstone (average P1.0, 3 races)

Silverstone3 racesavg P1.0

Assen2 racesavg P1.0

Salzburgring2 racesavg P1.0

Rijeka2 racesavg P1.0

Jarama1 racesavg P1.0

Montjuïc1 racesavg P1.0

Nürburgring1 racesavg P2.0

Anderstorp1 racesavg P2.0

Nogaro1 racesavg P2.0

Karlskoga1 racesavg P2.0

Brno3 racesavg P3.0

Mugello2 racesavg P3.5

San Carlos2 racesavg P4.0

Hockenheim1 racesavg P4.0

Le Mans1 racesavg P5.0

Imatra3 racesavg P7.7

Imola1 races—

350cc: no track-condition records; always on the grid Grid 1–3.

Fewer than 30 races: small sample (dashed). Average finish counts classified finishes only | Scope: official results DB, 1976–1982 (the rider's racing years); excludes 1 races with no official result data

Distance ridden and distance travelled

Counted from 1949 (lap lengths before 1998 researched from published sources: estimates)19 races with an estimated lap length

Ridden on the bike

Every session

at least 2,136 miles
0.1× around the Earth · 779 laps

Travelled between circuits

at least 12,751 miles
0.5× around the Earth · at least 1.5 days

From 1949. Every session in the seasons with the lap analysis documents, races only before. Tests not included. Laps × that year's lap length.A minimum, calculated from straight-line distances between circuits. Connections, tests and trips home are not included, so the real figures are longer.

Every race

77.3%Start rate (85/110)

5Longest run of absences (races)

34Longest run of starts (races)

132.1Estimated points lost to absences

1Win3Podium8Points18No pointsRRetired–Absent

1977 250cc P6 · 49 pts

1977 350cc P5 · 46 pts

1978 250cc P1 · 124 pts

1978 350cc P1 · 134 pts

1979 250cc P1 · 141 pts

1979 350cc P1 · 99 pts

1980 250cc P2 · 87 pts

1980 500cc P12 · 13 pts

1981 500cc P8 · 43 pts

1982 500cc P9 · 31 pts

Tap a cell for the event, qualifying, sprint and race results and points

? How the estimate is made

Estimate = average of the last 3 races before each absence

Seasons in which at least half of the races were started | Scope: official results DB, 1976–1982 (the rider's racing years); excludes 1 races with no official result data

1976	Le Mans		DNF
1976	Nürburgring		2 +12
1976	Montjuïc		8 +3
1977	San Carlos		5 +6
1977	Hockenheim		6 +5
1977	Spa		6 +5
1977	Imatra		3 +10
1977	Brno		4 +8
1977	Silverstone	grid 2	1 +15
1978	San Carlos		5 +6
1978	Jarama		4 +8
1978	Nogaro		3 +10
1978	Mugello		1 +15
1978	Assen		2 +12
1978	Spa	grid 1	5 +6
1978	Karlskoga	grid 1	2 +12
1978	Imatra		1 +15
1978	Silverstone		DNF
1978	Nürburgring		1 +15
1978	Brno	grid 1	1 +15
1978	Rijeka	grid 1	3 +10
1979	San Carlos		2 +12
1979	Hockenheim		1 +15
1979	Imola	grid 1	1 +15
1979	Jarama		1 +15
1979	Rijeka		4 +8
1979	Assen	grid 1	3 +10
1979	Karlskoga		5 +6
1979	Imatra		1 +15
1979	Silverstone	grid 1	1 +15
1979	Brno		1 +15
1979	Le Mans		1 +15
1980	Jarama	grid 1	1 +15
1980	Paul Ricard		1 +15
1980	Imatra		1 +15
1980	Silverstone	grid 2	1 +15
1980	Brno		2 +12
1980	Nürburgring		1 +15

1980	Misano	grid 12	DNF
1980	Jarama		13
1980	Paul Ricard	grid 11	8 +3
1980	Imatra	grid 12	5 +6
1980	Silverstone		7 +4
1980	Nürburgring	grid 13	11
1981	Salzburgring	grid 10	6 +5
1981	Hockenheim	grid 9	DNF
1981	Paul Ricard	grid 4	7 +4
1981	Assen	grid 7	3 +10
1981	Imola	grid 7	5 +6
1981	Imatra	grid 4	3 +10
1981	Anderstorp	grid 8	4 +8
1982	Buenos Aires	grid 10	8 +3
1982	Salzburgring	grid 11	DNF
1982	Jarama	grid 8	9 +2
1982	Misano	grid 8	6 +5
1982	Assen	grid 13	7 +4
1982	Spa	grid 13	8 +3
1982	Rijeka	grid 17	10 +1
1982	Silverstone	grid 12	7 +4
1982	Anderstorp	grid 8	6 +5
1982	Mugello	grid 19	7 +4
1982	Hockenheim	grid 10	DNF