Who won the first 500cc World Championship in 1949?

Leslie Graham won the first 500cc World Championship in 1949.

The title came in the inaugural FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season, which introduced the championship structure that eventually developed into modern MotoGP. Graham rode an AJS and finished ahead of rivals including Nello Pagani and Reg Armstrong.

The wording can cause confusion because Harold Daniell won the first 500cc championship race, the Senior TT on the Isle of Man. Graham, however, won the season-long championship, taking victories at the Swiss and Ulster Grands Prix and scoring consistently across the six-round calendar.

Graham’s championship was decided under the early points system, in which only selected results counted in some classes. His title opened the premier-class roll of honour, placing his name before later legends such as Geoff Duke, Mike Hailwood and Giacomo Agostini.