Which rider took the first 500cc two-stroke Grand Prix win in 1971?

Jack Findlay took the first 500cc two-stroke Grand Prix win at the 1971 Ulster Grand Prix.

Riding a Suzuki, Findlay made history at Clady by giving the manufacturer its first victory in the premier 500cc class. The motorcycle’s two-stroke engine was equally important: it became the first two-stroke machine to win a 500cc-class Grand Prix.

The victory marked a turning point in the premier class. Giacomo Agostini and MV Agusta still dominated the 1971 championship with a four-stroke motorcycle, but Suzuki’s breakthrough showed that lighter, more compact two-stroke designs could challenge the established order.

Findlay was an experienced Australian Grand Prix racer whose career stretched from 1958 to 1978. He later helped develop Suzuki’s RG 500, the two-stroke machine that Barry Sheene rode to consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977. Thus, Findlay’s 1971 win was an early landmark in Suzuki’s rise.