Training TT Assen Kenny Roberts, Bestanddeelnr 929-7835

The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M.

Road Racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

World Championship season.

Season summary

There was an air of excitement at the start of the 1978 Grand Prix season. The popularity of defending champion

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) 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 1 ...

had boosted the appeal of motorcycle racing into the realm of the mass marketing media. The arrival of

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951, in Modesto, California) 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. H ...

from America added to the anticipation. A young Spaniard,

Ricardo Tormo Ricardo Tormo Blaya (September 7, 1952 – December 27, 1998) was a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Biography Tormo was born in the Spanish province of Valencia, in Ayacor, which is a small village dependent on Canals. When he wa ...

took five of seven rounds to claim the 50 cc title for

Bultaco Bultaco was a Spanish manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles from 1958 to 1983. In May 2014, a new Bultaco was announced. Origins The origin of the Bultaco motorcycle company dates from May 1958. Francesc "Paco" Bultó was a director of the ...

. Italy's

Eugenio Lazzarini Eugenio Lazzarini (born 26 March 1945) is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion. Lazzarini began his Grand Prix career in 1969 in the 250 class on a Benelli. He won his first Grand Prix at the 1973 Dutch TT on a Ma ...

won the 125 cc crown aboard an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

. South Africa's

Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) 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 fac ...

pulled off an impressive double, winning the 250 cc and 350 cc titles for Kawasaki, matching the double championships of

Walter Villa Walter Villa (born 13 August 1943 - 18 June 2002) was an Italian four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. He was known for his quiet, unassuming nature off the bike who became a ruthless competitor once the races began. Motor ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and

Mike Hailwood Stanley Michael Bailey Hailwood, (2 April 1940 – 23 March 1981) was a British professional motorcycle racer and racing driver. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest racers of all time. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. In the 500 cc class, Suzuki returned with its defending world champion, Barry Sheene, along with teammates

Teuvo Lansivuori Teuvo is a masculine given name predominantly found in Finland. Individuals bearing the name include: * Teuvo Aura (1912–1999), Finnish politician * Teuvo Hakkarainen (born 1960), Finnish politician and member of Finnish Parliament * Teuvo Hatu ...

, Pat Hennen and

Wil Hartog Wil Hartog (born 28 May 1948) 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 Pr ...

. Yamaha's official factory team entered former 350 cc world champions Johnny Cecotto and

Takazumi Katayama Takazumi Katayama (片山敬済, born April 16, 1951) is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. Motorcycle racing career Born in Kobe, Japan, he was the first Japanese rider to win a motorcycle road racing world ch ...

. Lacking a competitive bike with which to compete against

Harley Davidson Harley may refer to: People * Harley (given name) * Harley (surname) Places * Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada * Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada * Harley, Shropshire, England * Harley, South Yorkshire, England * Harley Street, in Lo ...

in the

AMA Grand National Championship American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track r ...

, Yamaha's American subsidiary decided to send its former AMA champion Roberts to compete in the 250 cc, 500 cc and

Formula 750 Formula 750 was a FIM motorcycle road racing series based on a 750 cubic centimeter engine capacity. History The series began in 1971 as a collaboration between the American Motorcyclist Association and the Auto Cycle Union. The FIM adop ...

F.I.M. road racing world championships. Roberts also secured the financial backing of the Goodyear tire company. 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. Roberts won the 250 cc Grand Prix in Venezuela but then suffered a mechanical failure in the 500 cc race. American Pat Hennen won the second round at the

Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...

with Roberts finishing in second place and Sheene relegated to fifth place. Roberts then won his first-ever 500 cc Grand Prix with a win at the

Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...

, quickly followed by two more victories in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to take the championship points lead. Hennen's promising career was cut short when he suffered head injuries while competing in the

Isle of Man TT The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

during a break in the Grand Prix season schedule. Cecotto won the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champi ...

with Roberts finishing ahead of a resurgent Sheene in third place. Hartog would claim the

Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix ( French: ''Grand Prix de Belgique''; Dutch: ''Grote Prijs van België''; German: ''Großer Preis von Belgien'') is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The first national race o ...

for Suzuki with Roberts and Sheene once again finishing in second and third places respectively. At the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, Roberts crashed during practice for the 250 cc race, sustaining a concussion and a thumb injury. 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. Hartog won his second Grand Prix of the season with a victory at the

Finnish Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

, while the two championship leaders, Roberts and Sheene failed to finish the race. The two championship contenders arrived in England for the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Cha ...

with only three points separating them. 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. Eventually, Roberts was declared the winner with Sheene being awarded third place behind

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

Steve Manship, who did not stop for a tire change. The title fight between Roberts and Sheene went down to the final race of the season, the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in Rh ...

held at the daunting, 14.2-mile-long (22.8 km)

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village a ...

racetrack. Suzuki

Virginio Ferrari Virginio Ferrari (born 19 October 1952) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in the 1979 500cc world championship, when he finished second to Kenny Roberts. Motorcycle racing career 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 A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for an American rider in Grand Prix road racing history. Cecotto claimed third place in the final championship standings.

1978 Grand Prix season calendar

Final standings

500cc standings

350cc standings

250cc standings

125cc standings

50cc standings

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{DEFAULTSORT:1978 Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing Season Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season