1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
# 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

The 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 29th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

## Season summary

Suzuki saw off a strong challenge from Yamaha to take their second consecutive 500cc crown. Angel Nieto made it three 50cc titles in a row on a Bultaco while Morbidelli would win an impressive double world championship in the 125cc and 250cc divisions. Pier Paolo Bianchi successfully defended his 125cc title while fellow countryman Mario Lega captured the 250cc championship for the tiny Italian concern. The 350cc crown went to Takazumi Katayama on a special three cylinder Yamaha built in Holland, making him the first-ever Japanese world champion. Barry Sheene made it two premier titles in a row, winning from two Americans, Steve Baker and Pat Hennen.

The season was marred by numerous fatal accidents, including a terrible crash at the 350cc Austrian Grand Prix that claimed the life of Swiss rider, Hans Stadelmann and seriously injuring Johnny Cecotto, Patrick Fernandez, Dieter Braun and Franco Uncini. The accident led to a rider's strike in the 500 class, although organizers pressed on with Jack Findlay winning from a reduced field of competitors. Braun decided to end his riding career after recovering from his injuries.

In addition to this incident, the Yugoslavian Grand Prix at the notorious Opatija Circuit was also stricken by tragedy. After having been issued an ultimatum by the FIM, the Yugoslavian race organizers failed to take action to improve the safety of the circuit – which was notorious for its numerous road-side hazards including solid rock walls and steep, barely protected drop offs. The event was a disaster with Italian rider, Giovanni Ziggiotto, crashing during practice for the 250cc race when his motorcycle's engine seized and he was hit from behind by Per-Edward Carlson. He died four days later in a hospital. During the 50 cc race, Ulrich Graf crashed when his bike developed a rear tire puncture and he was thrown into a stone wall. He suffered serious head injuries and died later in a hospital. The Opatija Circuit was never used again for any kind of racing and, the Yugoslavian Grand Prix was moved to the nearby Rijeka permanent circuit.

Despite finishing second in the 500cc championship and winning the Formula 750 title, Baker would be released by Yamaha at the end of the year. Giacomo Agostini would retire after the season, ending his seventeen-year career with a record 122 Grand Prix victories and 15 World Championships.

## 1977 Grand Prix season calendar

| Round | Date | Race | Location | 50cc winner | 125cc winner | 250cc winner | 350cc winner | 500cc winner | Report |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | March 20 | Venezuelan Grand Prix | San Carlos | | Ángel Nieto | Walter Villa | Johnny Cecotto | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 2 | May 1 | Austrian Grand Prix | Salzburgring | | Eugenio Lazzarini | | Race cancelled | Jack Findlay | Report |
| 3 | May 8 | German Grand Prix | Hockenheim | Herbert Rittberger | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Christian Sarron | Takazumi Katayama | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 4 | May 15 | Nations Grand Prix | Imola | Eugenio Lazzarini | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Franco Uncini | Alan North | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 5 | May 22 | Spanish Grand Prix | Jarama | Ángel Nieto | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Takazumi Katayama | Michel Rougerie | | Report |
| 6 | May 29 | French Grand Prix | Paul Ricard | | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Jon Ekerold | Takazumi Katayama | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 7 | June 19 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix | Opatija | Ángel Nieto | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Mario Lega | Takazumi Katayama | | Report |
| 8 | June 25 | Dutch TT | Assen | Ángel Nieto | Ángel Nieto | Mick Grant | Kork Ballington | Wil Hartog | Report |
| 9 | July 3 | Belgian Grand Prix | Spa | Eugenio Lazzarini | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Walter Villa | | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 10 | July 24 | Swedish Grand Prix | Anderstorp | Ricardo Tormo | Ángel Nieto | Mick Grant | Takazumi Katayama | Barry Sheene | Report |
| 11 | July 31 | Finnish Grand Prix | Imatra | | Pier Paolo Bianchi | Walter Villa | Takazumi Katayama | Johnny Cecotto | Report |
| 12 | August 7 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Brno | | | Franco Uncini | Johnny Cecotto | Johnny Cecotto | Report |
| 13 | August 14 | British Grand Prix | Silverstone | | Pierluigi Conforti | Kork Ballington | Kork Ballington | Pat Hennen | Report |

## Participants

### 500cc participants

| Team | Constructor | Motorcycle | No. | Rider | Rounds |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Yamoto Marlboro | Yamaha | Yamaha YZR500 (OW35) | 1 10 | Giacomo Agostini | 4–11 |
| Life Racing Team | Suzuki | ??? | 2 | Teuvo Länsivuori | 4–7, 9–11 |
| Life Racing Team | Suzuki | ??? | 4 19 | Marco Lucchinelli | 4–7, 9–11 |
| Texaco Heron Team Suzuki | Suzuki | Suzuki RGA500 | 3 | Pat Hennen | 1, 3–11 |
| Texaco Heron Team Suzuki | Suzuki | Suzuki RGA500 | 7 | Barry Sheene | 1, 3–9, 11 |
| Texaco Heron Team Suzuki | Suzuki | Suzuki RGA500 | 21 1 | Steve Parrish | 1, 3–11 |
| ??? | Suzuki | Suzuki RG 500 | 6 | Philippe Coulon | 1, 3–7 |
| Hermetite Racing International | Suzuki | ??? | 8 | Jack Findlay | 2–4, 7–8, 11 |
| Hermetite Racing International | Suzuki | ??? | 24 | Alex George | 2, 11 |
| Elf | Suzuki | ??? | 12 16 | Michel Rougerie | 6, 8–10 |
| Team Nava-Olio Fiat | Suzuki | ??? | 12 14 | Virginio Ferrari | 1, 4–6 |
| Team Nava-Olio Fiat | Suzuki | Suzuki RG 500 | 22 13 | Gianfranco Bonera | 3, 5, 8–11 |
| Venemotos | Yamaha | Yamaha YZR500 (OW35) | 14 19 | Johnny Cecotto | 1, 10–13 |
| Ceramiche Della Robbia | Suzuki | ??? | 15 | Armando Toracca | 4–6, 8–9 |
| Riemersma | Suzuki | ??? | 22 | Wil Hartog | 3–11 |
| Yamaha International | Yamaha | Yamaha YZR500 (OW35) | 25 32 | Steve Baker | 1, 3–11 |
| Boeri Dainese Guidici Racing Team | Suzuki | ??? | 37 | Helmut Kassner | 2, 10 |
| MSC Rottenegg | Suzuki | ??? | 46 | Max Wiener | 2–3, 10–11 |
| Source: ||||||

Key :

* Regular Rider
* Wildcard Rider
* Replacement Rider

## Final standings

### 500cc standings

| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Barry Sheene | 7 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 107 | 6 |
| 2 | Steve Baker | 32 | United States | Yamaha | 80 | 0 |
| 3 | Pat Hennen | 40 | United States | Suzuki | 67 | 1 |
| 4 | Johnny Cecotto | | Venezuela | Yamaha | 50 | 2 |
| 5 | Steve Parrish | | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 39 | 0 |
| 6 | Giacomo Agostini | 1 | Italy | Yamaha | 37 | 0 |
| 7 | Franco Bonera | | Italy | Suzuki | 37 | 0 |
| 8 | Philippe Coulon | 6 | Switzerland | Suzuki | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | Teuvo Lansivuori | 2 | Finland | Suzuki | 35 | 0 |
| 10 | Wil Hartog | | Netherlands | Suzuki | 30 | 1 |
| 11 | Marco Lucchinelli | | Italy | | 25 | |
| 12 | Virginio Ferrari | | Italy | | 21 | |
| 13 | Michel Rougerie | | France | | 21 | |
| 14 | Armando Toracca | | Italy | | 21 | |
| 15 | Max Wiener | | Austria | | 20 | |
| 16 | Jack Findlay | | Australia | | 17 | 1 |
| 17 | Alex George | | | | 15 | |
| 18 | Helmut Kassner | | | | 9 | |
| 19 | Steve Wright | | | | 6 | |
| 20 | Franz Heller | | | | 6 | |
| 21 | Christian Estrosi | | France | | 6 | |
| 22 | Michael Schmid | | Austria | | 5 | |
| 23 | John Newbold | | | | 4 | |
| 24 | Derek Chatterton | | | | 4 | |
| 25 | Anton Mang | | | | 4 | |
| 26 | Charlie Williams | | | | 4 | |
| 27 | Boet Van Dulmen | | Netherlands | | 3 | |
| 28 | Jean Philippe Orban | | Belgium | | 2 | |
| 29 | Franz Rau | | | | 2 | |
| 30 | Kevin Wrettom | | | | 1 | |
| 31 | Alan North | | | | 1 | |
| 32 | Karl Auer | | | | 1 | |

### 350cc standings

| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Takazumi Katayama | 7 | Japan | Yamaha | 95 | 5 |
| 2 | Tom Herron | 4 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 56 | 0 |
| 3 | Jon Ekerold | | South Africa | Yamaha | 54 | 0 |
| 4 | Michel Rougerie | | France | Yamaha | 50 | 1 |
| 5 | Kork Ballington | | South Africa | Yamaha | 46 | 2 |
| 6 | Olivier Chevallier | 9 | France | Yamaha | 39 | 0 |
| 7 | Christian Sarron | | France | Yamaha | 38 | 0 |
| 8 | Patrick Fernandez | | France | Yamaha | 34 | 0 |
| 9 | Johnny Cecotto | 2 | Venezuela | Yamaha | 30 | 2 |
| 10 | Alan North | | South Africa | Yamaha | 30 | 1 |
| 11 | Bruno Kneubühler | | | | 24 | |
| 12 | Victor Soussan | | | | 21 | |
| 13 | Penti Korhonen | | | | 20 | |
| 14 | Pekka Nurmi | | | | 18 | |
| 15 | Victor Palomo | | | | 18 | |
| 16 | Giacomo Agostini | | | | 16 | |
| 17 | Patrick Pons | | | | 15 | |
| 18 | Walter Villa | | | | 14 | |
| 19 | Mario Lega | | | | 12 | |
| 20 | Franco Uncini | | | | 11 | |
| 21 | John Dodds | | | | 11 | |
| 22 | John Williams | | | | 10 | |
| 23 | Eero Hyvärinen | | | | 10 | |
| 24 | Eddie Roberts | | | | 8 | |
| 25 | Philip Bouzanne | | | | 6 | |
| 26 | Alan Stewart | | | | 6 | |
| 27 | P.Mezerhane | | | | 4 | |
| 28 | Seppo Rossi | | | | 4 | |
| 29 | Helmut Kassner | | | | 4 | |
| 30 | Michel Frutschi | | | | 4 | |
| 31 | Jean Claude Hogrel | | | | 3 | |
| 32 | C.Bellon | | | | 3 | |
| 33 | Tapio Virtanen | | | | 3 | |
| 34 | Eduardo Aleman | | | | 2 | |
| 35 | D.Boulom | | | | 2 | |
| 36 | A.Hockley | | | | 1 | |
| 37 | R.Tausani | | | | 1 | |
| 38 | John Newbold | | | | 1 | |
| 39 | Karl Auer | | | | 1 | |
| 40 | Chas Mortimer | | | | 1 | |

### 250cc standings

| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mario Lega | | Italy | Morbidelli | 85 | 1 |
| 2 | Franco Uncini | | Italy | Harley-Davidson | 72 | 2 |
| 3 | Walter Villa | 1 | Italy | Harley-Davidson | 67 | 3 |
| 4 | Takazumi Katayama | | Japan | Yamaha | 58 | 1 |
| 5 | Tom Herron | 4 | United Kingdom | Yamaha | 54 | 0 |
| 6 | Kork Ballington | | South Africa | Yamaha | 49 | 1 |
| 7 | Alan North | 6 | South Africa | Yamaha | 43 | 0 |
| 8 | Mick Grant | | United Kingdom | Kawasaki | 42 | 2 |
| 9 | Jon Ekerold | | South Africa | Yamaha | 42 | 1 |
| 10 | Patrick Fernandez | | France | Yamaha | 28 | 0 |
| 11 | Barry Ditchburn | | | | 27 | |
| 12 | Victor Soussan | | | | 25 | |
| 13 | Olivier Chevallier | | | | 25 | |
| 14 | Christian Sarron | | | | 23 | |
| 15 | Aldo Nannini | | | | 19 | |
| 16 | Penti Korhonen | | | | 15 | |
| 17 | Akihiko Kiyohara | | | | 14 | |
| 18 | Guy Bertin | | | | 11 | |
| 19 | Pekka Nurmi | | | | 11 | |
| 20 | Victor Palomo | | | | 10 | |
| 21 | Eric Saul | | | | 10 | |
| 22 | John Dodds | | | | 9 | |
| 23 | Vinicio Salmi | | | | 8 | |
| 24 | Masahiro Wada | | | | 8 | |
| 25 | Pierluigi Conforti | | | | 6 | |
| 26 | Bruno Kneubühler | | | | 6 | |
| 27 | Michel Rougerie | | | | 6 | |
| 28 | Chas Mortimer | | | | 5 | |
| 29 | Jean-François Baldé | | | | 4 | |
| 30 | Eero Hyvärinen | | | | 3 | |
| 31 | Philip Bouzanne | | | | 2 | |
| 32 | Paolo Pileri | | | | 2 | |
| 33 | Patrick Pons | | | | 2 | |
| 34 | M.Corradini | | | | 1 | |
| 35 | Vanes Francini | | | | 1 | |

### 125cc standings

| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Pier Paolo Bianchi | 1 | Italy | Morbidelli | 131 | 7 |
| 2 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 7 | Italy | Morbidelli | 105 | 1 |
| 3 | Angel Nieto | 2 | Spain | Bultaco | 80 | 3 |
| 4 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | 6 | France | Morbidelli | 62 | 0 |
| 5 | Anton Mang | 5 | West Germany | Morbidelli | 55 | 0 |
| 6 | Gert Bender | | West Germany | Bender | 38 | 0 |
| 7 | Harald Bartol | | Austria | Morbidelli | 32 | 0 |
| 8 | Hans Müller | | Switzerland | Morbidelli | 32 | 0 |
| 9 | Stefan Dörflinger | | Switzerland | Morbidelli | 32 | 0 |
| 10 | Pierluigi Conforti | | Italy | Morbidelli | 30 | 1 |
| 11 | Maurizio Massimiani | | | | 22 | |
| 12 | Giuseppe Zigiotto | | | | 21 | |
| 13 | Julien Van Zeebroeck | | | | 20 | |
| 14 | Ivan Carlsson | | | | 14 | |
| 15 | Ermanno Giuliano | | | | 11 | |
| 16 | Ivan Palazzase | | | | 10 | |
| 17 | Sauro Pazzaglia | | | | 9 | |
| 18 | Rino Pretelli | | | | 8 | |
| 19 | Claudio Lusuardi | | | | 8 | |
| 20 | Matti Kinnunen | | | | 7 | |
| 21 | Thierry Noblesse | | | | 6 | |
| 22 | Willy Perez | | | | 5 | |
| 23 | Johann Parzer | | | | 5 | |
| 24 | Rolf Blatter | | | | 5 | |
| 25 | B.Johansson | | | | 5 | |
| 26 | Cees Van Dongen | | | | 5 | |
| 27 | Horst Seel | | | | 4 | |
| 28 | Rafael Olavarria | | | | 4 | |
| 29 | Janos Drapal | | | | 4 | |
| 30 | Thierry Espié | | | | 4 | |
| 31 | Werner Schmied | | | | 3 | |
| 32 | G.Willi | | | | 2 | |
| 33 | Jan Huberts | | | | 2 | |
| 34 | Patrick Plisson | | | | 2 | |
| 35 | Enrico Cereda | | | | 1 | |
| 36 | Paolo Cipriani | | | | 1 | |
| 37 | J.Novarrete | | | | 1 | |

### 50cc standings

| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Angel Nieto | 1 | Spain | Bultaco | 87 | 3 |
| 2 | Eugenio Lazzarini | 4 | Italy | Kreidler | 72 | 2 |
| 3 | Ricardo Tormo | | Spain | Bultaco | 69 | 1 |
| 4 | Herbert Rittberger | 2 | West Germany | Kreidler | 53 | 1 |
| 5 | Patrick Plisson | | France | ABF | 26 | 0 |
| 6 | Stefan Dörflinger | 7 | Switzerland | Kreidler | 26 | 0 |
| 7 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | | France | Morbidelli | 14 | 0 |
| 8 | Hans Hummel | 9 | Austria | Kreidler | 11 | 0 |
| 9 | Julien van Zeebroeck | 6 | Belgium | Kreidler | 10 | 0 |
| 10 | Ramon Gali | | Spain | Derbi | 10 | 0 |
| 11 | Ulrich Graf | | | | 9 |
| 12 | Hagen Klein | | | | 9 |
| 13 | Cees Van Dongen | | | | 8 |
| 14 | Theo Timmer | | | | 8 |
| 15 | Aldo Pero | | | | 7 |
| 16 | Günter Schirnhofer | | | | 7 |
| 17 | Rolf Blatter | | | | 6 |
| 18 | Rudolf Kunz | | | | 5 |
| 19 | Claudio Lusuardi | | | | 5 |
| 20 | Wolfgang Müller | | | | 4 |
| 21 | Engelbert Kip | | | | 3 |
| 22 | Adrijan Bernetic | | | | 3 |
| 23 | Lennart Lundgren | | | | 2 |
| 24 | Ingo Emmerich | | | | 2 |
| 25 | C.Dumont | | | | 2 |
| 26 | E.Mischiatti | | | | 2 |
| 27 | Juup Bosman | | | | 1 |
| 28 | J.Novarrete | | | | 1 |
| 29 | Peter Looijensteijn | | | | 1 |
| 30 | Jacques Hutteau | | | | 1 |
