1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| 1978 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | |
| Previous: 1977 | Next: 1979 |
The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Contents |
[edit] Season summary
There was an air of excitement at the start of the 1978 Grand Prix season. The popularity of defending champion, Barry Sheene had boosted the appeal of motorcycle racing into the realm of the mass marketing media. The arrival of Kenny Roberts from America added to the anticipation.
A young Spaniard, Ricardo Tormo took five of seven rounds to claim the 50cc title for Bultaco. Italy's Eugenio Lazzarini won the 125cc crown aboard an MBA. South Africa's Kork Ballington pulled off an impressive double, winning the 250cc and 350cc titles for Kawasaki, matching the double championships of Walter Villa in 1976 and Mike Hailwood in 1967.
Sheene opened the season with a win in Venezuela but then fell ill to a virus that weakened him for the first part of the year. American Pat Hennen also started strongly, with a win in Spain and two second place finishes. Unfortunately, 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. The title fight went down to the final race of the season with Roberts taking his first title with a third place at the Nürburgring, just ahead of his main rival, Sheene. It would also mark the first time an American rider had won the 500cc World Championship.
[edit] Grands Prix
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small}
[edit] Final standings
[edit] 500cc standings
| 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 |
[edit] 350cc standings
| 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 | France | Yamaha | 34 | 0 |
| 10 | Olivier Chevallier |
6 | France | Yamaha | 27 | 0 |
[edit] 250cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kork Ballington |
6 | South Africa | Kawasaki | 124 | 4 |
| 2 | Gregg Hansford |
Australia | Kawasaki | 118 | 4 | |
| 3 | Patrick Fernandez |
10 | France | Yamaha | 55 | 0 |
| 4 | Kenny Roberts |
80 | United States | Yamaha | 54 | 2 |
| 5 |  Anton Mang |
Germany | Kawasaki | 52 | 1 | |
| 6 | Tom Herron |
5 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 48 | 0 |
| 7 | Mario Lega |
Italy | Morbidelli | 44 | 0 | |
| 8 | Franco Uncini |
Italy | Yamaha | 42 | 0 | |
| 9 | Jon Ekerold |
9 | South Africa | Yamaha | 40 | 0 |
| 10 | Paolo Pileri |
31 | Italy | Morbidelli | 35 | 1 |
[edit] 125cc standings
| 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 |
[edit] 50cc standings
| 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 Looyestein |
27 | Netherlands | Kreidler | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Ingo Emmerich |
23 | West Germany | Kreidler | 14 | 0 |
| 10 | Aldo Pero |
15 | Italy | Kreidler | 13 | 0 |
|
|||||||
