1977 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix

1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix
Race details
Race 7 of 13 races in the; 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	19 June 1977
Official name	Velika Nagrada Jugoslavije/Grand Prix de Yougoslavie
Location	Circuit d'Opatija
Course	Permanent racing facility; 6.000 km (3.728 mi);
350 cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	John Dodds
Time	2:16.5
Fastest lap
Rider	Takazumi Katayama
Time	2:13.7
Podium
First	Takazumi Katayama
Second	Jon Ekerold
Third	Michel Rougerie
250 cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Michel Rougerie
Time	2:20.7
Fastest lap
Rider	Mario Lega
Time	2:19.2
Podium
First	Mario Lega
Second	Takazumi Katayama
Third	Tom Herron
125 cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Pierpaolo Bianchi
Time	2:24.0
Fastest lap
Rider	Pierpaolo Bianchi
Time	2:25.4
Podium
First	Pierpaolo Bianchi
Second	Ángel Nieto
Third	Maurizio Massimiani
50 cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Ángel Nieto
Time	2:40.1
Fastest lap
Rider	Ángel Nieto
Time	2:41.1
Podium
First	Ángel Nieto
Second	Ricardo Tormo
Third	Patrick Plisson

Last updated November 03, 2021

The 1977 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventh round of the FIM 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 19 June 1977 at the Opatija Circuit. The event was marred by two fatalities, and this turned out to be the last Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix at Opatija. The event moved to the further inland Rijeka Circuit.

Race summary

The event took place under heavy rumors of it being cancelled because of the existing safety conditions of the seaside Opatija street circuit. The Yugoslavian Grand Prix promoters had received an ultimatum from the FIM before the race that, if they did not improve the safety of the circuit, the event would be canceled.^[2] Despite the circuit's scenic setting, it was an unsafe race track due to high speeds on narrow roads coupled with numerous unmovable roadside obstacles, such as trees, stone walls, lampposts, electric poles, embankments, houses, and the Adriatic Sea.^[3]

The safety conditions at the Opatija Circuit had previously been protested by competitors in 1973 when, in the aftermath of the deaths of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini at the Monza round, several racing teams including Yamaha, Harley Davidson and MV Agusta, boycotted the event due to unsafe track conditions.^[3] Other riders chose to compete, but with less than their full efforts.^[4] In the 1974 Yugoslavian Grand Prix, British rider Billie Nelson crashed into the crowd during the 250cc race, injuring several spectators.^[3] Nelson died later that night at a hospital.^[5]

The 1977 Grand Prix turned into a disaster when Italian rider, Giovanni Ziggiotto, crashed during practice for the 250cc race when his motorcycle's engine seized and he was hit from behind by Per-Edward Carlson.^[3] He died four days later in a hospital.^[6] During the 50 cc race, Ulrich Graf crashed when his bike developed a rear tire puncture and he was thrown into a rock wall.^[3] He suffered serious head injuries and died later in a hospital.^[2]^[6] The tragedy forced the venue off the Grand Prix schedule and the Yugoslavian Grand Prix was moved to the Rijeka Circuit for the 1978 season.^[2]

350 cc classification

Pos	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Grid	Points
1	8	Takazumi Katayama	Yamaha	25	56:53.0	11	15
2	50	Jon Ekerold	Yamaha	25	+35.2	10	12
3	26	Michel Rougerie	Yamaha	25	+1:09.7	3	10
4	4	Tom Herron	Yamaha	25	+1:16.9	4	8
5	5	John Dodds	Yamaha	25	+1:19.8	1	6
6	9	Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha	25	+1:43.3	8	5
7	19	Patrick Fernandez	Yamaha	25	+1:50.6	6	4
8	36	Pekka Nurmi	Yamaha	25	+1:57.8	13	3
9	56	Jean-Claude Hogrel	Yamaha	24	+1 lap		2
10	33	Helmut Kassner	Yamaha	24	+1 lap	20	1
		Mario Lega	Morbidelli			2
		Giacomo Agostini	Yamaha			5
		János Drapál	Yamaha			7
		Patrick Pons	Yamaha			9
		Leif Gustafsson	Yamaha			12
		Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha			14
		Kork Ballington	Yamaha			15
		Christian Sarron	Yamaha			16
		Giovanni Pelletier	Yamaha			17
		Karl Auer	Yamaha			18
		Eero Hyvärinen	Yamaha			19
28 starters in total
Source: ^[7]^[8]

250 cc classification

Pos	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Grid	Points
1	21	Mario Lega	Morbidelli	21	49:19.4	5	15
2	2	Takazumi Katayama	Yamaha	21	+6.2	2	12
3	5	Tom Herron	Yamaha	21	+41.2	6	10
4	29	John Dodds	Yamaha	21	+48.3	10	8
5	51	Pierluigi Conforti	Yamaha	21	+51.4	4	6
6	36	Patrick Fernandez	Yamaha	21	+1:02.2	13	5
7	4	Pentti Korhonen	Yamaha	21	+1:06.0		4
8	54	Jon Ekerold	Yamaha	21	+1:10.2		3
9	16	Pekka Nurmi	Yamaha	21	+1:27.0	14	2
10	15	Patrick Pons	Yamaha	21	+1:44.7	12	1
11	37	Christian Sarron	Yamaha	21	+1:45.7	7
12	57	Gianni Pelletier	Yamaha	21	+1:46.1
13	19	Hans Müller	Yamaha	21	+2:05.8	18
14	42	Anton Mang	Yamaha	21	+2:09.2
15	12	Leif Gustafsson	Yamaha	20	+1 lap	8
16	49	Jose Cecotto	Yamaha	20	+1 lap
17	47	Sauro Pazzaglia	Yamaha	20	+1 lap
18	62	Giuseppe Consalvi	Yamaha	20	+1 lap
		Michel Rougerie	Yamaha			1
		Paolo Pileri	Morbidelli			3
		Walter Villa	Harley-Davidson			9
		Guy Bertin	Yamaha			11
		Barry Ditchburn	Kawasaki			15
		Masahiro Wada	Kawasaki			16
		Olivier Chevallier	Yamaha			17
		Eero Hyvärinen	Yamaha			19
		Kork Ballington	Yamaha			20
30 starters in total
Source: ^[8]^[9]

125 cc classification

Pos	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Grid	Points
1	1	Pierpaolo Bianchi	Morbidelli	19	46:25.4	1	15
2	2	Ángel Nieto	Bultaco	19	+1:13.9	3	12
3	50	Maurizio Massimiani	Morbidelli	19	+1:37.4	12	10
4	6	Jean-Louis Guignabodet	Morbidelli	19	+1:52.8	9	8
5	51	Ermanno Giuliano	Morbidelli	19	+2:08.9	7	6
6	15	Matti Kinnunen	Morbidelli	19	+2:16.1	8	5
7	5	Anton Mang	Morbidelli	19	+2:28.2	19	4
8	46	Cees van Dongen	Morbidelli	18	+1 lap		3
9	42	Claudio Lusuardi	Lusuardi	17	+2 laps	13	2
10	10	Julien van Zeebroeck	Morbidelli	16	+3 laps		1
		Eugenio Lazzarini	Morbidelli			2
		Harald Bartol	Morbidelli			4
		Pierluigi Conforti	Morbidelli			5
		János Drapál	Morbidelli			6
		Stefan Dörflinger	Morbidelli			10
		Sauro Pazzaglia	Morbidelli			11
		Guillermo Pérez	Yamaha			14
		Hans Müller	Morbidelli			15
		Germano Zanetti	Morbidelli			16
		Thierry Noblesse	Morbidelli			17
		Xaver Tschannen	Bender			18
		Luigi Rinaudo	Morbidelli			20
28 starters in total
Source: ^[8]^[10]

50 cc classification

Pos	No.	Rider	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Grid	Points
1	1	Ángel Nieto	Bultaco	15	40:47.6	1	15
2	20	Ricardo Tormo	Bultaco	15	+4.6	4	12
3	50	Patrick Plisson	ABF	15	+2:08.9	9	10
4	43	Cees van Dongen	Kreidler	15	+1 lap	13	8
5	24	Jean-Louis Guignabodet	Morbidelli	14	+1 lap	20	6
6	42	Günter Schirnhofer	Kreidler	14	+1 lap		5
7	25	Ramón Gali	Derbi	14	+1 lap	10	4
8	30	Adrijan Bernetic	Tomos	14	+1 lap		3
9	12	Theo Timmer	Kreidler	14	+1 lap	17	2
10	9	Hans Hummel	Kreidler	14	+1 lap	18	1
11	47	Ingo Emmerich	Kreidler	14	+1 lap
12	39	Claudio Lusuardi	Bultaco	14	+1 lap	3
13	39	Otto Machinek	Kreidler	12	+3 laps	19
14	14	Aldo Pero	Kreidler	12	+3 laps	7
15	35	Vilko Sever	Kreidler	11	+4 laps
		Eugenio Lazzarini	Morbidelli			2
		Herbert Rittberger	Kreidler			5
Ret		Ulrich Graf	Kreidler		Fatal accident	6
		Stefan Dörflinger	Kreidler			8
		Boris Bajc	Kreidler			11
		Rudolf Kunz	Kreidler			12
		Nevio Paliska	Tomos			14
		Engelbert Kip	Kreidler			15
		Wolfgang Müller	Kreidler			16
30 starters in total
Source: ^[8]^[11]

Related Research Articles

Jarno Karl Keimo Saarinen was a Finnish professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. In the early 1970s, he was considered one of the most promising and talented motorcycle racers of his era until he was killed during the 1973 Nations Grand Prix in Italy. Saarinen's death led to increased demands for better safety conditions for motorcycle racers competing in the world championships. He remains the only Finn to have won a motorcycle road racing world championship. Saarinen was inducted into the F.I.M. MotoGP Hall of Fame in 2009.

The 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 29th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The 1987 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 39th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The 1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 46th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The 1991 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the 1991 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 22–24 March 1991 at the Suzuka Circuit.

Opatija Circuit, also known as Preluk Circuit and the Kvarner Circuit, was a motorsport street circuit in Opatija, Croatia. The circuit used the city streets of the seaside resort situated on the Kvarner Gulf between 1931 and 1977. It was known as the "Monaco" of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing circuit because of its dramatic views of the Adriatic Sea.

The 1976 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the first round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 25 April 1976 at the Circuit Bugatti Le Mans.

The 1976 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 2 May 1976 at the Salzburgring circuit.

The 1976 Nations motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 16 May 1976 at the Mugello circuit. Otello Buscherini suffered a fatal accident on lap 6 of the 250cc race and was killed.

The 1976 Isle of Man TT was the fifth round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season held on the Isle of Man between 7 June and 12 June 1976. The racing would be the final time the Isle of Man TT was an official round on the Grand Prix calendar. Although it had once been the most prestigious race of the year, racing around the Snaefell Mountain Course had been increasingly boycotted by the eras' top riders over safety concerns.

The 1976 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventh round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 4 July 1976 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The 1976 Swedish motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 25 July 1976 at the Scandinavian Raceway.

The 1976 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix was the tenth round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 22 August 1976 at the Brno circuit.

The 1976 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 29 August 1976 at the Nürburgring circuit. The 500cc race was known for being the distinguished Giacomo Agostini's 122nd and final victory in Grand Prix motorcycle competition, a record that still stands today.

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 1977 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 8 May 1977 at the Hockenheimring circuit.

The 1977 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix was the ninth round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 3 July 1977 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. Barry Sheene won the race with an average speed of 135.0 mph making it the fastest motorcycle Grand Prix in history.

The 1977 Czechoslovak motorcycle Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 7 August 1977 at the Brno circuit.

The 1977 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the thirteenth and final round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 13–14 August 1977 at Silverstone Circuit. 1977 marked the beginning of a new era as, it was the first time the event was held on the British mainland after the Isle of Man TT had represented the United Kingdom on the FIM Grand Prix calendar for the previous 28 years since the championship's inception in 1949. Once the most prestigious race of the year, the Isle of Man TT had been increasingly boycotted by the top riders, and finally succumbed to pressure for increased safety in racing events. It was also the final grand prix race for Giacomo Agostini.

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.

References

↑ "Alle Grand-Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden, van 1973 (het jaar dat Jack begon met racen) tot heden". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
1 2 3 "Ulrich Graf". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
1 2 3 4 5 "Preluk - Opatija". racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
↑ Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7
↑ "Motorsport Memorial". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
1 2 Carter, Chris (ed.). Motocourse 1977-1978. Hazleton Securities Ltd. p. 86. ISBN 0-905138-04-X.
↑ "1977 350cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
1 2 3 4 Carter, Chris (ed.). Motocourse 1977-1978. Hazleton Securities Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 0-905138-04-X.
↑ "1977 250cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
↑ "1977 125cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
↑ "1977 50cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

Previous race: 1977 French Grand Prix	FIM Grand Prix World Championship 1977 season	Next race: 1977 Dutch TT
Previous race: 1976 Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Next race: 1978 Yugoslavian Grand Prix

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Alle Grand-Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden, van 1973 (het jaar dat Jack begon met racen) tot heden". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2018.

[Ulrich_Graf-2] 1 2 3 "Ulrich Graf". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.

[Preluk_-_Opatija-3] 1 2 3 4 5 "Preluk - Opatija". racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 10 April 2017.

[Motocourse:_50_Years_Of_Moto_Grand_Prix-4] Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999), Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix, Hazleton Publishing Ltd, ISBN 1-874557-83-7

[5] "Motorsport Memorial". motorsportmemorial.org. Retrieved 10 April 2017.

[motocourse2-6] 1 2 Carter, Chris (ed.). Motocourse 1977-1978. Hazleton Securities Ltd. p. 86. ISBN 0-905138-04-X.

[7] "1977 350cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[motocourse-8] 1 2 3 4 Carter, Chris (ed.). Motocourse 1977-1978. Hazleton Securities Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 0-905138-04-X.

[9] "1977 250cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[10] "1977 125cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[11] "1977 50cc Yugoslavian Grand Prix results". motogp.com. Retrieved 9 April 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]