Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia  1977 Yugoslavian Grand Prix
Race details
Race 7 of 13 races in the
1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date19 June 1977
Official nameVelika Nagrada Jugoslavije/Grand Prix de Yougoslavie[1]
LocationCircuit d'Opatija
Course
  • Permanent racing facility
  • 6.000 km (3.728 mi)
350 cc
Pole position
Rider Australia John Dodds Yamaha
Time 2:16.5
Fastest lap
Rider Japan Takazumi Katayama Yamaha
Time 2:13.7
Podium
First Japan Takazumi Katayama Yamaha
Second South Africa Jon Ekerold Yamaha
Third France Michel Rougerie Yamaha
250 cc
Pole position
Rider France Michel Rougerie Yamaha
Time 2:20.7
Fastest lap
Rider Italy Mario Lega Morbidelli
Time 2:19.2
Podium
First Italy Mario Lega Morbidelli
Second Japan Takazumi Katayama Yamaha
Third United Kingdom Tom Herron Yamaha
125 cc
Pole position
Rider Italy Pierpaolo Bianchi Morbidelli
Time 2:24.0
Fastest lap
Rider Italy Pierpaolo Bianchi Morbidelli
Time 2:25.4
Podium
First Italy Pierpaolo Bianchi Morbidelli
Second Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco
Third Italy Maurizio Massimiani Morbidelli
50 cc
Pole position
Rider Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco
Time 2:40.1
Fastest lap
Rider Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco
Time 2:41.1
Podium
First Spain Ángel Nieto Bultaco
Second Spain Ricardo Tormo Bultaco
Third France Patrick Plisson ABF

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 Japan Takazumi Katayama Yamaha 25 56:53.0 11 15
2 50 South Africa Jon Ekerold Yamaha 25 +35.2 10 12
3 26 France Michel Rougerie Yamaha 25 +1:09.7 3 10
4 4 United Kingdom Tom Herron Yamaha 25 +1:16.9 4 8
5 5 Australia John Dodds Yamaha 25 +1:19.8 1 6
6 9 France Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 25 +1:43.3 8 5
7 19 France Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 25 +1:50.6 6 4
8 36 Finland Pekka Nurmi Yamaha 25 +1:57.8 13 3
9 56 France Jean-Claude Hogrel Yamaha 24 +1 lap 2
10 33 Germany Helmut Kassner Yamaha 24 +1 lap 20 1
Italy Mario Lega Morbidelli 2
Italy Giacomo Agostini Yamaha 5
Hungary János Drapál Yamaha 7
France Patrick Pons Yamaha 9
Sweden Leif Gustafsson Yamaha 12
Finland Pentti Korhonen Yamaha 14
South Africa Kork Ballington Yamaha 15
France Christian Sarron Yamaha 16
Italy Giovanni Pelletier Yamaha 17
Austria Karl Auer Yamaha 18
Finland Eero Hyvärinen Yamaha 19
28 starters in total
Source: [7][8]

250 cc classification

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

125 cc classification

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

50 cc classification

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

References

  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.
  2. 1 2 3 "Ulrich Graf". motorsportmemorial.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Preluk - Opatija". racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  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.
  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.
  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.
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