1978 French motorcycle Grand Prix
# 1978 French motorcycle Grand Prix

The 1978 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth round of the 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 5–7 May 1978 at the Circuit de Nogaro.

## Classification

### 500 cc

| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Manufacturer | Time/Retired | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Kenny Roberts | Yamaha Motor Company | Yamaha | 56'42.500 | 15 |
| 2 | 3 | Pat Hennen | | Suzuki | +10.500 | 12 |
| 3 | 7 | Barry Sheene | Texaco Heron Team Suzuki | Suzuki | +29.700 | 10 |
| 4 | 2 | Christian Estrosi | | Suzuki | +37.200 | 8 |
| 5 | 9 | Wil Hartog | Riemersma Racing | Suzuki | +1'07.300 | 6 |
| 6 | 31 | Graziano Rossi | Team Gallina Nava Olio Fiat | Suzuki | +1 lap | 5 |
| 7 | 5 | Steve Parrish | | Suzuki | +1 lap | 4 |
| 8 | 23 | Jean-Philippe Orban | Team La Licorne | Suzuki | +1 lap | 3 |
| 9 | 48 | Carlo Perugini | | Suzuki | +2 laps | 2 |
| 10 | 52 | Kenny Blake | | Yamaha | +2 laps | 1 |
| 11 | 43 | Alex George | | Suzuki | +2 laps | |
| 12 | 51 | Marc Chabert | | Yamaha | +2 laps | |
| 13 | 15 | John Woodley | Sid Griffiths Racing | Suzuki | +2 laps | |
| 14 | 37 | Franz Rau | Kazenmaier Autovermietung | Suzuki | +3 laps | |
| 15 | 25 | Børge Nielsen | | Suzuki | +3 laps | |
| 16 | 38 | Gerhard Vogt | | Suzuki | +3 laps | |
| 17 | 18 | Virginio Ferrari | Team Gallina Nava Olio Fiat | Suzuki | +4 laps | |
| 18 | 11 | John Newbold | Ray Hamblin Motorcycles | Suzuki | +4 laps | |
| 19 | 26 | Kimmo Kopra | | Yamaha | +4 laps | |
| 20 | 16 | Philippe Coulon | Marlboro Nava Total | Suzuki | +7 laps | |
| 21 | | Boet van Dulmen | | Suzuki | +11 laps | |
| 22 | | Gianfranco Bonera | Team Kiwi Yamoto | Suzuki | +12 laps | |
| 23 | | Johnny Cecotto | Yamaha Motor Company | Yamaha | +16 laps | |
| 24 | | Alain Beraud | | Yamaha | +18 laps | |
| Ret | | Michel Rougerie | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Pierre Tocco | | Yamaha | Accident | |
| Ret | | Jean-Paul Boinet | | Buton | Retired | |
| Ret | | Leslie van Breda | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Eddie Roberts | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Teuvo Länsivuori | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | René Gutknecht | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Bruno Kneubühler | RSS Racing Team | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Jack Findlay | | Suzuki | Retired | |
| Ret | | Steve Wright | Len Manchester Motorcycles | Yamaha | Retired | |
| Ret | | Takazumi Katayama | Sarome & Motul Team | Yamaha | Accident | |
| Ret | | Marco Lucchinelli | Cagiva Corse | Suzuki | Clutch | |
| DNS | | Ikujiro Takai | Yamaha Motor Company | Yamaha | Did not start | |
| DNS | | Leandro Becheroni | | Suzuki | Did not start | |
| Sources: |||||||

### 350cc

| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 16 | Gregg Hansford | Kawasaki | 36 | 51:29.2 | 3 | 15 |
| 2 | 5 | Kork Ballington | Kawasaki | 36 | +7.8 | 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 3 | Jon Ekerold | Yamaha | 36 | +46.8 | 12 | 10 |
| 4 | 2 | Tom Herron | Yamaha | 36 | +54.3 | | 8 |
| 5 | 31 | Vic Soussan | Yamaha | 36 | +1:09.1 | 8 | 6 |
| 6 | 1 | Patrick Fernandez | Yamaha | 36 | +1:11.3 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | 6 | Olivier Chevallier | Yamaha | 36 | +1:18.3 | 1 | 4 |
| 8 | 29 | Pentti Korhonen | Yamaha | 36 | +1:23.8 | | 3 |
| 9 | 41 | Raymond Roche | Yamaha | 36 | +1:24.5 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | 4 | Michel Rougerie | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | 1 |
| 11 | 10 | Mick Grant | Kawasaki | 35 | +1 lap | 11 | |
| 12 | 49 | Clive Padgett | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 13 | 19 | Sadao Asami | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 14 | 21 | Franco Bonera | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 15 | 11 | Chas Mortimer | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 16 | 34 | Michel Frutschi | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 17 | 30 | Leif Gustafsson | Yamaha | 35 | +1 lap | | |
| 18 | 40 | Denis Boulom | Yamaha | 34 | +2 laps | | |
| 19 | 24 | Eero Hyvärinen | Yamaha | 33 | +3 laps | | |
| 20 | 57 | Michel Rastel | Yamaha | 33 | +3 laps | | |
| | | Guy Bertin | Yamaha | | | 6 | |
| | | Christian Sarron | Yamaha | | | 7 | |
| | | John Dodds | Yamaha | | | 9 | |
| | | Takazumi Katayama | Yamaha | | | 10 | |
| 36 starters in total, 21 finishers ||||||||

### 250cc

| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 25 | Gregg Hansford | Kawasaki | 33 | 48:22.1 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | 20 | Kenny Roberts | Yamaha | 33 | +2.1 | 7 | 12 |
| 3 | 6 | Kork Ballington | Kawasaki | 33 | +25.1 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | 8 | Jon Ekerold | Yamaha | 33 | +48.9 | | 8 |
| 5 | 5 | Tom Herron | Yamaha | 33 | +1:07.1 | | 6 |
| 6 | 37 | Raymond Roche | Yamaha | 33 | +1:12.7 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 | 12 | Chas Mortimer | Yamaha | 33 | +1:15.9 | 9 | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Olivier Chevallier | Yamaha | 33 | +1:22.6 | 6 | 3 |
| 9 | 21 | Vic Soussan | Yamaha | 33 | +1:22.9 | 12 | 2 |
| 10 | 34 | Guy Bertin | Yamaha | 33 | +1:23.3 | 8 | 1 |
| 11 | 2 | Franco Uncini | Yamaha | 33 | +1:30.2 | 10 | |
| 12 | 48 | Clive Padgett | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 13 | 27 | Hervé Moineau | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 14 | 39 | Sadao Asami | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 15 | 16 | Leif Gustafsson | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 16 | 40 | Jean-Claude Meilland | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 17 | 31 | Jacques Cornu | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | | |
| 18 | 46 | Pierre Tocco | Yamaha | 32 | +1 lap | 11 | |
| 19 | 51 | Carlos Lavado | Yamaha | 31 | +2 laps | | |
| 20 | 22 | Josef Hage | Yamaha | 31 | +2 laps | | |
| | | Patrick Fernandez | Yamaha | | | 1 | |
| | | Jean-François Baldé | Kawasaki | | | 5 | |
| 36 starters in total, 24 finishers ||||||||

### 125cc

| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 1 | Pierpaolo Bianchi | Minarelli | 32 | 50:21.3 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | 2 | Eugenio Lazzarini | MBA | 32 | +12.5 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 | 33 | Per-Edward Carlson | Morbidelli | 32 | +33.7 | 5 | 10 |
| 4 | 9 | Maurizio Massimiani | Morbidelli | 32 | +37.0 | 7 | 8 |
| 5 | 4 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | Bender | 32 | +1:30.9 | 6 | 6 |
| 6 | 18 | Thierry Noblesse | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | 9 | 5 |
| 7 | 32 | Matti Kinnunen | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | 12 | 4 |
| 8 | 36 | Patrick Plisson | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | 8 | 3 |
| 9 | 6 | Harald Bartol | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | 11 | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Daniel Meyer | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | | 1 |
| 11 | 46 | Claude Gorry | Morbidelli | 31 | +1 lap | | |
| 12 | 7 | Stefan Dörflinger | Morbidelli | 30 | +2 laps | 10 | |
| 13 | 27 | Bennie Wilbers | Morbidelli | 30 | +2 laps | | |
| 14 | 29 | Johann Parzer | Morbidelli | 30 | +2 laps | | |
| 15 | 28 | Ernst Fagerer | Morbidelli | 30 | +2 laps | | |
| 16 | 19 | Yves Dupont | Morbidelli | 29 | +3 laps | | |
| 17 | 45 | Jacques Hutteau | Morbidelli | 29 | +3 laps | | |
| 18 | 42 | Pierluigi Conforti | Morbidelli | 27 | +5 laps | | |
| 19 | 16 | Bernd Schneider | Bender | 27 | +5 laps | | |
| 20 | 23 | Karl Fuchs | Morbidelli | 22 | +10 laps | | |
| | | Thierry Espié | Motobécane | | | 1 | |
| | | Hans Müller | Morbidelli | | | 4 | |
| 32 starters in total, 20 finishers ||||||||

### Sidecar classification

| Pos | No. | Rider | Passenger | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 2 | Rolf Biland | Kenny Williams | Beo-Yamaha | 30 | 46:25.2 | 2 | 15 |
| 2 | 5 | Alain Michel | Stu Collins | Seymaz-Yamaha | 30 | +2.0 | 1 | 12 |
| 3 | 10 | Mac Hobson | Ken Birch | Yamaha | 30 | +48.5 | 7 | 10 |
| 4 | 1 | George O'Dell | Cliff Holland | Seymaz-Yamaha | 30 | +1:25.9 | | 8 |
| 5 | 8 | Bruno Holzer | Karl Meierhans | LCR-Yamaha | 30 | +1:25.4 | 8 | 6 |
| 6 | 3 | Werner Schwärzel | Andreas Huber | Fath | 29 | +1 lap | 6 | 5 |
| 7 | 19 | Jock Taylor | Lewis Ward | Windle-Yamaha | 29 | +1 lap | | 4 |
| 8 | 6 | Göte Brodin | Per-Erik Wickström | Yamaha | 29 | +1 lap | | 3 |
| 9 | 15 | Bill Hodgkins | John Parkins | Windle-Yamaha | 29 | +1 lap | | 2 |
| 10 | 23 | Gérard Corbaz | Roland Gabriel | Schmid-Yamaha | 29 | +1 lap | | 1 |
| 11 | 16 | John Barker | Nick Cutmore | Yamaha | 29 | +1 lap | | |
| 12 | 36 | Ernst Trachsel | Andreas Stager | TTM-Suzuki | 29 | +1 lap | 9 | |
| 13 | 12 | Siegfried Schauzu | Lorenzo Puzo | Busch-Yamaha | 28 | +2 laps | | |
| 14 | 30 | Bernard Chabert | Patrick Jourdain | GEP-Yamaha | 28 | +2 laps | | |
| 15 | 33 | Jean-Claude Jaquet | René Delarre | Yamaha | 28 | +2 laps | | |
| | | Jean-François Monnin | Philippe Miserez | Seymaz-Yamaha | | | 3 | |
| | | Yvan Troillet | Pierre Muller | GEP-Yamaha | | | 4 | |
| | | Rolf Steinhausen | Wolfgang Kalauch | Seymaz-Yamaha | | | 5 | |
| | | Hermann Huber | Bernd Schappacher | König | | | 10 | |
| 24 starters in total, 18 finishers |||||||||
