Venezuela Grand Prix; British Regain Transatlantic Trophy; Mikkola Wins In Switzerland
Venezuela Grand Prix; British Regain TransAtlantic Trophy; Mikkola Wins in Switzerland
RACE WATCH
ROBERTS OPENS GP CAMPAIGN WITH 250 WIN
It wasn’t the outcome he would have written had he been in charge of the script, but Kenny Roberts came away with some measure of satisfaction at the 1978 GP season opener in Venezuela. Running in blistering 110-deg. temperatures at Circuito San Carlos, Roberts went from ecstasy to agony in the course of back-toback events, winning the 250cc race and failing to finish in the 500.
The Venezuelan 500cc victory fell to world champion Barry Sheene (Suzuki), who played a waiting game, then pressured Takazumi Katayama (Yamaha) into a crash in the late stages. Sheene led teammate Pat Hennen and Steve Baker, on the privateer Nava-Olio Fiat RG500 Suzuki, to the victory circle. Katayama’s crash wiped out the last of the factory 500cc Yamahas. Roberts’ bike ate a piston two laps along, and early leader Johnny Cecotto retired with a mysterious front tire problem a few laps later.
Katayama had earlier opened defense of his 350cc title with a victory, inherited when Aussie star Gregg Hansford lost an oil seal on his new Kawasaki and Yamaha’s Franco Uncini had his crankshaft go away, Patrick Fernandez (Yamaha), was 2nd and Paolo Pileri (Morbidelli) was 3rd.
Hansford also had bad luck in the 250 race, where the story was Roberts and Uncini, who diced for the lead well ahead of the rest of the rather small field. Uncini managed to get ahead of his teammate late in the race, but promptly slid off, leaving Roberts to set fastest lap and collect the winner’s hardware. Carlos Lavados (Yamaha), wound up 2nd, Fernandez 3rd.
The 125 event wound up being a parade as defending champ Pier-Paolo Bianchi ran away from everyone on the new Minarelli. Eugenio Lazzarini (MBA) was a distant 2nd.
HENNEN DOMINATES U.S. EASTER SERIES EFFORT
Although American riders again dominated the top finishing positions, a bolstered British team showed better depth and recaptured the John Player TransAtlantic Trophy that goes to the winner of the six-race pavement series.
Texaco Heron Suzuki rider Pat Hennen stole the spotlight for the U.S. side, winning three of the races and finishing 2nd in two others. U.S. team captain Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) won twice and finished 2nd in three other races, but was outscored by Hennen thanks to a dnf in the second event of the series, at Brands Hatch. World 500cc champion Barry Sheene (Suzuki) w'on the opening event of the series but had bad luck the rest of the way and was 3rd point scorer among the eight British riders. Yamaha-mounted privateer Dave Potter was 1st and Barry Ditchburn (Yamaha) 2nd.
Hennen embellished his performance over the Easter weekend by winning three supporting events: the Motor Cycle News / Brut Superbike championship, at Brands, and two of the three Shellsport 500 races.
He finished 2nd to Sheene in the other.
Hennen’s brilliance and Roberts’ leadership notwithstanding, however, the rest of the American team was substantially off its winning form of last year. Five British riders preceded David Aldana (Yamaha) in the final standings, and the British team wound up outscoring the U.S. squad 435379.
The point totals for the 16 riders participating in the series:
1. Pat Hennen, U.S., Suz, 92: 2. Kenny Roberts, U.S., Yam, 79; 3. Dave Potter, G.B., Yam, 74; 4. Barry Ditchburn, G.B., Yam, 70; 5. Barry Sheene, G.B., Suz, 65; 6. Mick Grant, GB., Kaw, 57; 7. Steve Mar shall, G.B., Yam, 55; 8. David Aldana, U.S., Yam, 50; 9. Ron Haslam, G.B., Yam, 45; 10. John Williams, G.B., Yam, 43; 11. Skip Aksland, U.S., Yam, 42; 12. Mike Baldwin, U.S., Yam, 39; 13. Gene Romero, U.S., Yam, 36; 14. Steve Manship. G.B., Yam, 26; 15. Dale Singleton. U.S.. Yam, 25; 16. David Emde, U.S., Yam, 16.
MINARELLI'S MINI-MISSILE
After divorcing from Morbidelli, the famous German GP two-stroke specialist Ing. Jorg Möller joined the Italian engine factory Minarelli in Bologna, which was anxious to make a brilliant appearance in the GP world.
Möller designed for Minarelli a 125cc rotary valve Twin which made a successful debut in the first 1978 world championship event in Venezuela. With world champion Pier-Paolo Bianchi at the controls, the new model left the 2nd man one full minute behind.
The new Minarelli was designed and built at a cost of about 200 million lira in the small factory racing shop consisting of only three full-time men, Möller, rider Bianchi and mechanic Daniele Battaglia.
The enterprise took about 10 months, including the organization of the racing shop.
In designing his new 125 racer, Möller followed his successful Morbidelli lines but made the power unit more compact, lighter and, of course, more powerful. He’s claiming a power of 44.5 bhp at 13,600 rpm, with a useful powerband stretching from 9000 to 14,000, a weight of 50.2 lb., a width of 14.4 in. (including carburetors) and a length of 12.8 in. The chrome-molytitanium frame weighs only 24.2 lb. and follows classic lines but the Marzocchi suspension elements are exceptional in that they can be very accurately fine-tuned. both in compression and rebound. The front fork, for example, has 18 settings, for loads ranging from 57 to 209 lb. The rear shocks, on the other hand, have 12 hydraulic settings plus 5 spring preload settings.
Wheelbase is 49.6 in.
With a dry weight of only 176 lb. the new Minarelli is said to be capable of a top speed of 155 mph.
Plans are underway to build it in small batches for the private riders, as done by Morbidelli. A 250cc version is in the cards but not before next year. Meanwhile, MoE ler's most coveted project, a rotary valve V 4 500cc engine is also advancing.
-Carlo Perelli
MIKKOLA OFF AND RUNNING
Although American Brad Lackey (Honda) was the flash of the preseason, world champion Heikki Mikkola (Yamaha) took up where he left off last year when the 1978 500cc MX season opened in Switzerland. Mikkola won both motos to jump off to a solid lead in the world standings. Lackey’s effort was hampered by a first-moto spill. He recovered to finish 5th, then came home 3rd in the next moto for 3rd overall.
Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of the Switzerland meeting was the 2nd place overall by six-time world champ Roger DeCoster (Suzuki). DeCoster, who was 2nd in the first moto and 4th in the second, was coming back after a serious injury suffered earlier in the year.
The 250cc chase opened in Spain and, appropriately, Bultaco-mounted Harry Everts was the winner, followed by a pair of Montesa riders, Jean-Paul Mingels and Torao Suzuki.
On the 125cc front, world champion Gaston Rahier (Suzuki), also coming back from a serious 1977 injury, opened defense of his title in Austria by winning both motos. Dutchman Gerard Rond (Honda) trailed Rahier in both motos, with Rahier’s teammate Akira Watanabe scoring a pair of 3rd-place finishes. Watanabe is making a comeback after a badly broken leg suffered in the third event of the ’77 season.
CECOTTO BLITZES RICARD 750 RACE
V enezuelan Johnny Cecotto (Yamaha) has a solid grip on 1st place in the 1978 world Formula 750 standings follow ing his second straight victory at Circuit Paul Ricard, in France. Owing to Daytona's non-championship status, Cecotto has now won The only points paying Formula 750 races held to date, Ricard and the Imola, Italy event. He is also winner of the 1978 AGV Helmets World Cup Series, which is based on the first three rounds of the 750 campaign.
Kenny Roberts (Yamaha) and defending 750 champ Steve Baker (Yamaha) were 2nd and 3rd.
