1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. == Season summary == Yamaha rider Kenny Roberts became the first American competitor to win the 500cc World Championship. Roberts and Suzuki's defending champion Barry Sheene engaged in a season-long battle for the title that was not decided until the final race of the season. Roberts' victory came in only his first season of international competition after an impressive dirt track racing career in the AMA Grand National Championship. Roberts introduced a new riding style of sliding the rear tire that was bred on the dirt tracks of America. His riding style revolutionized motorcycle road racing and was widely adopted by other racers to become the new standard. === Roberts' arrival === Roberts rose to prominence by winning two consecutive AMA Grand National Championships in 1973 and 1974, but by 1976, Yamaha had failed to keep pace with the Harley-Davidson XR-750 that dominated AMA dirt track competitions. Without a competitive dirt track motorcycle, Yamaha's American importer (Yamaha USA) made the decision to enter Roberts into the 1978 FIM 500cc World Championship with former 250cc World Champion Kel Carruthers in dual roles as his team manager and mechanic. Although Roberts considered himself primarily as a dirt track racer, he had developed a solid reputation as a road racer based on his performances at the Transatlantic Trophy match races as well as his victory at the prestigious 1977 Imola 200 pre-season race. Roberts arrival came at a time when motorcycle engine development rapidly outpaced chassis and tire technology. As two-stroke engine technology continued to improve, tire manufacturers began producing wider tires to manage the increasing horsepower being developed. The wider tires created forces that made the motorcycle try to stand itself upright while leaned into a corner, which made it necessary for riders to hang off their motorcycles. Roberts developed his riding style after observing 1972 250cc World Champion Jarno Saarinen riding at the 1972 Champion Spark Plug Classic held at the Ontario Motor Speedway. He adopted Saarinen's cornering style and exaggerated the body shift further by extending his knee out until it skimmed the track surface. Roberts' riding style eventually led to the invention of knee protectors, known as sliders, which are now universally used by motorcycle road racers. Prior to Roberts' arrival in Europe, motorcycle racers focused on attaining high entry speeds into corners, leaving braking until the last possible moment, then carving graceful arcs through the corners with both wheels in line. Roberts did just the opposite, braking early, then quickly applying the throttle which resulted in the rear tire breaking traction and spinning. The resulting tire spin caused the motorcycle to buck and shake as it continually lost then regained traction, creating a brutal, violent riding style that was reminiscent of dirt track riding, where sliding the rear tire to one side is used as a method to steer the motorcycle around a corner. Because of his early application of the throttle, he was able to attain top speed faster than his competitors. Roberts' riding style astonished European motorsport journalists who had never witnessed a road racing motorcycle ridden in such a manner. He was given the nickname "Il Marciano," or The Martian, because, as Italian sports photographer Franco Villani stated, he was a small man dressed all in yellow and clearly from another world. Despite Roberts' previous achievements, motorsports journalists expected him to need one season of Grand Prix competition to become familiar with the European racetracks before challenging for the title. === Participants === The British-based Heron-Suzuki team continued to serve as the de facto factory team in the 500 Class with Sheene and Pat Hennen as their riders. The Suzuki factory also provided assistance for several privateer riders including Wil Hartog, Marco Lucchinelli and Teuvo Länsivuori. When the Yamaha team did not renew Steve Baker's contract after he finished second in the 1977 championship, he joined Virginio Ferrari on the Suzuki of Italy team operated by former Grand Prix racer Roberto Gallina. The Yamaha factory supported the 1975 350cc World Champion Johnny Cecotto riding for the Venezuelan Yamaha satellite team, Venemotos and 1977 350cc World Champion Takazumi Katayama riding for the Sarome & Motul Team based out of Yamaha International's Amsterdam headquarters. Kenny Roberts rode for the Yamaha USA team. In order to gain more track time to learn the circuits, Roberts was also entered into the 250cc World Championship as well as the FIM Formula 750 championship. Roberts secured the financial backing of the Goodyear tire company, as well as exclusive use of their tires for the 1978 season. There was a sense of anticipation before the start of the 1978 Grand Prix season. The popularity of reigning World Champion Barry Sheene had boosted the appeal of motorcycle racing beyond the specialty motorcycle press and into the realm of the mass media. He was the first motorcycle racer to gain commercial endorsements from outside the sport, including television advertisements for Brut cologne. Sheene's popularity helped attract renewed interest to Grand Prix motorcycle racing which had stagnated under the dominance of the MV Agusta team. The arrival of American champion Kenny Roberts added to the anticipation. Roberts had initially stated that he was indifferent about competing for the World Championships, but when he read that Sheene had labeled him as "No threat", he made up his mind to compete. === 500 class === Sheene opened the season with a win in the Venezuelan Grand Prix. 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 with Roberts finishing in second place and Sheene some distance back in fifth place. 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. Hennen's promising career was cut short when he suffered head injuries while competing in the Isle of Man TT at the midpoint of the season. He trailed Roberts by only a couple of points in the point standings, with Sheene some distance behind. Cecotto won the Dutch TT with Roberts finishing ahead of a resurgent Sheene in third place. Hartog would claim the Belgian Grand Prix 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, 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 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 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 held at the daunting, 14.2-mile-long (22.9 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. Cecotto claimed third place in the final championship standings. === Smaller classes === A Spanish newcomer, 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. He became the fourth competitor to accomplish the feat after Jim Redman (1962, 1963), Mike Hailwood (1966, 1967) and Walter Villa (1976). == 1978 Grand Prix season calendar == == Final standings == === Scoring system === Points were awarded to the top ten finishers in each race. All races counted towards the final standings. (key) === 500cc final standings === === 350cc standings === === 250cc standings === === 125cc standings === === 50cc standings === == References == Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). Continental Circus 1949-2000. Chronosports S.A. ISBN 2-940125-32-5 Barry Coleman (1978). Motocourse 1978-79. Hazleton Securities. ISBN 978-0905138060.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) "The Official MotoGP website". Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 2010-07-06.