The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
There was an air of excitement at the start of the 1978 Grand Prix season. [1] The popularity of defending champion Barry Sheene had boosted the appeal of motorcycle racing into the realm of the mass marketing media. [1] The arrival of Kenny Roberts from America added to the anticipation. [1] A young Spaniard, Ricardo Tormo took five of seven rounds to claim the 50 cc title for Bultaco. Italy's Eugenio Lazzarini won the 125 cc crown aboard an MBA. South Africa's Kork Ballington pulled off an impressive double, winning the 250 cc and 350 cc titles for Kawasaki, matching the double championships of Walter Villa in 1976 and Mike Hailwood in 1967. [1]
In the 500 cc class, Suzuki returned with its defending world champion, Barry Sheene, along with teammates Teuvo Lansivuori, Pat Hennen and Wil Hartog. [1] Yamaha's official factory team entered former 350 cc world champions Johnny Cecotto and Takazumi Katayama. [1] Lacking a competitive bike with which to compete against Harley Davidson in the AMA Grand National Championship, Yamaha's American subsidiary decided to send its former AMA champion Roberts to compete in the 250 cc, 500 cc and Formula 750 F.I.M. road racing world championships. [2] Roberts also secured the financial backing of the Goodyear tire company. [2]
Sheene opened the season with a win in the Venezuelan Grand Prix but then fell ill to a virus that weakened him for the first part of the year. [1] [3] Roberts won the 250 cc Grand Prix in Venezuela but then suffered a mechanical failure in the 500 cc race. [1] [4] American Pat Hennen won the second round at the Spanish Grand Prix with Roberts finishing in second place and Sheene relegated to fifth place. [5] Roberts then won his first-ever 500 cc Grand Prix with a win at the Austrian Grand Prix, quickly followed by two more victories in France and Italy to take the championship points lead. [6] [7] [8] Hennen's promising career was cut short when he suffered head injuries while competing in the Isle of Man TT during a break in the Grand Prix season schedule. [9]
Cecotto won the Dutch TT with Roberts finishing ahead of a resurgent Sheene in third place. [10] Hartog would claim the Belgian Grand Prix for Suzuki with Roberts and Sheene once again finishing in second and third places respectively. [11] At the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, Roberts crashed during practice for the 250 cc race, sustaining a concussion and a thumb injury. [12] Shaken up by the accident, he could do no better than seventh place in the 500 cc race, while Sheene won the race to close the points gap on championship points leader Roberts. [12] [13] Hartog won his second Grand Prix of the season with a victory at the Finnish Grand Prix, while the two championship leaders, Roberts and Sheene failed to finish the race. [14]
The two championship contenders arrived in England for the British Grand Prix with only three points separating them. [12] The race ended in controversy when torrential rains during the race, along with pit stops for tire changes by both Roberts and Sheene, created confusion among official scorers. [15] Eventually, Roberts was declared the winner with Sheene being awarded third place behind privateer Steve Manship, who did not stop for a tire change. [16] [17] [18]
The title fight between Roberts and Sheene went down to the final race of the season, the German Grand Prix held at the daunting, 14.2-mile-long (22.8 km) Nürburgring racetrack. Suzuki privateer, Virginio Ferrari, won the first Grand Prix of his career, while Roberts finished in third place, ahead of Sheene in fourth place to claim the first world championship for an American rider in Grand Prix road racing history. [19] [20] Cecotto claimed third place in the final championship standings. [20]
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kenny Roberts | 80 | United States | Yamaha | 110 | 4 |
| 2 |  Barry Sheene | 7 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 100 | 2 |
| 3 |  Johnny Cecotto | 4 | Venezuela | Yamaha | 66 | 1 |
| 4 |  Wil Hartog | 10 | Netherlands | Suzuki | 65 | 2 |
| 5 |  Takazumi Katayama | 8 | Japan | Yamaha | 53 | 0 |
| 6 | Pat Hennen | 3 | United States | Suzuki | 51 | 1 |
| 7 | Steve Baker | 2 | United States | Suzuki | 42 | 0 |
| 8 |  Teuvo Lansivuori | 9 | Finland | Suzuki | 39 | 0 |
| 9 |  Marco Lucchinelli | 11 | Italy | Suzuki | 30 | 0 |
| 10 |  Michel Rougerie | 13 | France | Suzuki | 23 | 0 |
| 11 | Virginio Ferrari | 12 | Italy | Suzuki | 22 | 1 |
| 12 | Steve Parrish | 6 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 20 | 0 |
| 13 | Boet van Dulmen | Netherlands | Suzuki | 15 | 0 | |
| 14 | Steve Manship | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 12 | 0 | |
| 15 | Christian Estrosi | France | Suzuki | 11 | 0 | |
| 16 | Graziano Rossi | Italy | Suzuki | 7 | 0 | |
| 17 | John Newbold | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 7 | 0 | |
| 18 |  Roberto Pietri | Venezuela | Yamaha | 6 | 0 | |
| 19 | Gianni Rolando | Italy | Suzuki | 6 | 0 | |
| 20 |  Gerhard Vogt | West Germany | Yamaha | 5 | 0 | |
| 21 |  Philippe Coulon | Switzerland | Suzuki | 5 | 0 | |
| 22 | Leandro Becheroni | Italy | Suzuki | 4 | 0 | |
| 23 | Alex George | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 4 | 0 | |
| 24 | Jurgen Steiner | West Germany | Suzuki | 4 | 0 | |
| 25 |  Jean Philippe Orban | Belgium | Suzuki | 3 | 0 | |
| 26 | Carlo Perugini (motorcyclist) | Italy | Suzuki | 2 | 0 | |
| 27 | Tom Herron | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 2 | 0 | |
| 28 | Gianfranco Bonera | Italy | Suzuki | 2 | 0 | |
| 29 | Bruno Kneubühler | Switzerland | Suzuki | 2 | 0 | |
| 30 |  Dennis Ireland | New Zealand | Suzuki | 1 | 0 | |
| 31 |  Kenny Blake | Australia | Yamaha | 1 | 0 | |
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kork Ballington | 5 | South Africa | Kawasaki | 134 | 6 |
| 2 | Takazumi Katayama | 1 | Japan | Yamaha | 77 | 2 |
| 3 | Gregg Hansford | Australia | Kawasaki | 76 | 3 | |
| 4 | Jon Ekerold | 3 | South Africa | Yamaha | 64 | 0 |
| 5 | Tom Herron | 2 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 50 | 0 |
| 6 | Michel Rougerie | 4 | France | Yamaha | 47 | 0 |
| 7 | Franco Bonera | Italy | Yamaha | 37 | 0 | |
| 8 | Patrick Fernandez | 8 | France | Yamaha | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | Victor Soussan | 12 | Australia | Yamaha | 34 | 0 |
| 10 | Olivier Chevallier | 6 | France | Yamaha | 27 | 0 |
| 11 | Penti Korhonen | Finland | Yamaha | 20 | ||
| 12 | Franco Uncini | Italy | Yamaha | 19 | ||
| 13 | Paolo Pileri | Italy | 18 | |||
| 14 | Mick Grant | United Kingdom | Kawasaki | 16 | ||
| 15 | Christian Sarron | France | Yamaha | 15 | ||
| 16 | Anton Mang | West Germany | Kawasaki | 14 | ||
| 17 | Patrick Pons | France | Yamaha | 9 | ||
| 18 | Marco Lucchinelli | Italy | Yamaha | 5 | ||
| 19 | Guy Bertin | France | Yamaha | 5 | ||
| 20 | Eric Saul | France | Yamaha | 4 | ||
| 21 | Vanes Francini | Italy | Yamaha | 3 | ||
| 22 | Raymond Roche | France | Yamaha | 3 | ||
| 23 | Alejandro Aleman | Venezuela | Yamaha | 2 | ||
| 24 |  Leif Gustafsson | Sweden | Yamaha | 2 | ||
| 25 | Peter Van Der Wal | Netherlands | Yamaha | 2 | ||
| 26 | Gianni Pelletier | Italy | Yamaha | 2 | ||
| 27 | A.Piccioni | Italy | Yamaha | 1 | ||
| 28 | Eero Hyvärinen | Finland | Yamaha | 1 | ||
| 29 | Hervi Moineau | France | Yamaha | 1 | ||
| 30 | Roland Freymond | Switzerland | Yamaha | 1 | ||
| 31 | Mario Lega | Italy | 1 | |||
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 2 | Italy | MBA | 114 | 4 |
| 2 |  Angel Nieto | 3 | Spain | Minarelli | 88 | 4 |
| 3 | Pier Paolo Bianchi | 1 | Italy | Minarelli | 70 | 4 |
| 4 |  Harald Bartol | 7 | Austria | Morbidelli | 68 | 0 |
| 5 | Thierry Espié | 27 | France | Motobécane | 62 | 0 |
| 6 | Maurizio Massimiani | 11 | Italy | Morbidelli | 56 | 0 |
| 7 | Hans Müller | 8 | Switzerland | Morbidelli | 48 | 0 |
| 8 | Per-Edward Carlsson | Sweden | Morbidelli | 46 | 0 | |
| 9 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | France | Morbidelli | 42 | 0 | |
| 10 | Clive Horton | United Kingdom | MBA | 25 | 0 | |
| 11 | Patrick Plisson | 20 | ||||
| 12 | Matti Kinnunen | 18 | ||||
| 13 | Stefan Dörflinger | 17 | ||||
| 14 | Pierluigi Conforti | 16 | ||||
| 15 | August Auinger | 14 | ||||
| 16 | Christian Leon | 10 | ||||
| 17 | Thierry Noblesse | 9 | ||||
| 18 | Alejandro Aleman | 8 | ||||
| 19 | Felice Agostini | 7 | ||||
| 20 | Ricardo Russo | 6 | ||||
| 21 | Cees van Dongen | 6 | ||||
| 22 | Claudio Granata | 5 | ||||
| 23 | Gert Bender | 5 | ||||
| 24 | Walter Koschine | 5 | ||||
| 25 | M.Cortes | 4 | ||||
| 26 | Luciano Schiavone | 4 | ||||
| 27 | Y.Dupont | 3 | ||||
| 28 | Rolf Blatter | 3 | ||||
| 29 | Henk van Kessel | 2 | ||||
| 30 | Alois Meyer | 1 | ||||
| 31 | Benny Janssen | 1 | ||||
| 32 | Ricardo Tormo | 1 | ||||
| 33 | Enrico Cereda | 1 | ||||
| 34 | B.Wilbers | 1 | ||||
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ricardo Tormo | 3 | Spain | Bultaco | 99 | 5 |
| 2 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 2 | Italy | Kreidler | 64 | 2 |
| 3 | Patrick Plisson | 5 | France | ABF | 48 | 0 |
| 4 | Wolfgang Müller | 20 | West Germany | Kreidler | 28 | 0 |
| 5 | Rolf Blatter | 17 | Switzerland | Kreidler | 25 | 0 |
| 6 | Stefan Dörflinger | 6 | Switzerland | Kreidler | 24 | 0 |
| 7 | Claudio Lusuardi | 18 | Italy | Bultaco | 20 | 0 |
| 8 | Peter Looijensteijn | 27 | Netherlands | Kreidler | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Ingo Emmerich | 23 | West Germany | Kreidler | 14 | 0 |
| 10 | Aldo Pero | 15 | Italy | Kreidler | 13 | 0 |
| 11 | Angel Nieto | 12 | ||||
| 12 | Henk van Kessel | 11 | ||||
| 13 | Enrico Cereda | 11 | ||||
| 14 | Julien van Zeebroeck | 10 | ||||
| 15 | Cees van Dongen | 10 | ||||
| 16 | Willi Scheidhauer | 10 | ||||
| 17 | Hagen Klein | 9 | ||||
| 18 | Theo Timmer | 9 | ||||
| 19 | C.Dumont | 6 | ||||
| 20 | Daniel Corvi | 5 | ||||
| 21 | Gerrit Strikker | 4 | ||||
| 22 | Luigi Rinaudo | 4 | ||||
| 23 | Ramon Gali | 3 | ||||
| 24 | A.Jeva | 3 | ||||
| 25 | S.Monreale | 2 | ||||
| 26 | Zbynek Havdra | 2 | ||||
| 27 | J.Mira | 1 | ||||
| 28 | Jacques Hutteau | 1 | ||||
Barry Steven Frank Sheene was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977.
Johnny Alberto Cecotto Persello, better known as Johnny Cecotto, is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer and auto racer. He rose to prominence as a teenage prodigy in 1975 when he became the youngest motorcycle road racing world champion at the age of 19. Despite the auspicious beginning to his motorcycle racing career, he suffered numerous injuries and mechanical problems which curtailed his success in motorcycle Grand Prix racing.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Randy Mamola is an American former professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between 1979 and 1992. A 13-time Premier Class race winner, Mamola was one of the most charismatic Grand Prix road racers of his generation, becoming a favourite because of his interaction with race fans both on and off the track as well as his aggressive and spirited riding style.
Frederick Burdette Spencer, sometimes known by the nickname Fast Freddie, is an American former world champion motorcycle racer. Spencer is regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle racers of the early 1980s.
Pat Hennen is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is notable for being the first American to win a 500 cc World Championship race, the 1976 500cc Finnish Grand Prix. Competing as a non-factory rider, he finished third overall in the GP World Championship standings that season, only 2 points behind runner-up Tepi Länsivuori and fellow Suzuki factory rider Barry Sheene.
Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1982, most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team. The four-time FIM road racing world champion was inducted into the MotoGP Legends Hall of Fame in 2018.
The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 28th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 29th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Wil Hartog is a Dutch former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1970 to 1981. Hartog was the first Dutch competitor to win a 500cc Grand Prix race.
Suzuki MotoGP was the factory-backed team of Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki in the MotoGP World Championship, most recently using the name Team Suzuki Ecstar for sponsorship purposes. Suzuki withdrew from MotoGP competition at the conclusion of the 2022 season, winning their final race with Álex Rins.
Barry Ditchburn is a British former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1977 when he finished in 11th place in the 250cc world championship as a teammate to Kork Ballington and Mick Grant on the Kawasaki factory racing team.
The Kawasaki KR500 was a racing motorcycle manufactured by Kawasaki from 1980 to 1982 for competition in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing series. The motorcycle was powered by a 494 cc two stroke engine, and used an aluminium monocoque frame, similar to the 1979 Honda NR500 racer, aimed at improving aerodynamics with a small frontal area, improving chassis stiffness and reducing weight.
The 1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 10–12 August 1979 at the Silverstone Circuit.
The 1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 1 May 1977 at the Salzburgring circuit.
The 1978 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 5–6 August 1978 at Silverstone Circuit.
The 1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix, the first of 13 rounds of the F.I.M. 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, was held on 18 March at the San Carlos Circuit. British rider Barry Sheene, world champion in 1976 and 1977, won the 500cc GP by 18 seconds from Italian Virginio Ferrari to make it three successive Venezuelan GPs. Venezuelan racer Carlos Lavado won the 350cc class from Italian Walter Villa and Frenchman Patrick Fernandez.
The 1979 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 29–1 July 1979 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
