1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season

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The 1978 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 30th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

Season summary

There was an air of excitement at the start of the 1978 Grand Prix season. The popularity of defending champion, Barry Sheene had boosted the appeal of motorcycle racing into the realm of the mass marketing media. The arrival of Kenny Roberts from America added to the anticipation.

A young Spaniard, Ricardo Tormo took five of seven rounds to claim the 50cc title for Bultaco. Italy's Eugenio Lazzarini won the 125cc crown aboard an MBA. South Africa's Kork Ballington pulled off an impressive double, winning the 250cc and 350cc titles for Kawasaki, matching the double championships of Walter Villa in 1976 and Mike Hailwood in 1967.

Sheene opened the season with a win in Venezuela but then fell ill to a virus that weakened him for the first part of the year. American Pat Hennen also started strongly, with a win in Spain and two second place finishes. Unfortunately, Hennen's promising career was cut short when he suffered head injuries while competing in the Isle of Man TT during a break in the Grand Prix season. The title fight went down to the final race of the season with Roberts taking his first title with a third place at the Nürburgring, just ahead of his main rival, Sheene. It would also mark the first time an American rider had won the 500cc World Championship.

Grands Prix

Round	Race	Location	50cc winner	125cc winner	250cc winner	350cc winner	500cc winner	Report
1	Venezuelan Grand Prix	San Carlos		Pier Paolo Bianchi	Kenny Roberts	Takazumi Katayama	Barry Sheene	Report
2	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Eugenio Lazzarini	Eugenio Lazzarini	Gregg Hansford		Pat Hennen	Report
3	Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring		Eugenio Lazzarini		Kork Ballington	Kenny Roberts	Report
4	French Grand Prix	Nogaro		Pier Paolo Bianchi	Gregg Hansford	Gregg Hansford	Kenny Roberts	Report
5	Nations Grand Prix	Mugello	Ricardo Tormo	Eugenio Lazzarini	Kork Ballington	Kork Ballington	Kenny Roberts	Report
6	Dutch TT	Assen	Eugenio Lazzarini	Eugenio Lazzarini	Kenny Roberts	Kork Ballington	Johnny Cecotto	Report
7	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa	Ricardo Tormo	Pier Paolo Bianchi	Paolo Pileri		Wil Hartog	Report
8	Swedish Grand Prix	Karlskoga		Pier Paolo Bianchi	Gregg Hansford	Gregg Hansford	Barry Sheene	Report
9	Finnish Grand Prix	Imatra		Angel Nieto	Kork Ballington	Kork Ballington	Wil Hartog	Report
10	British Grand Prix	Silverstone		Angel Nieto	Anton Mang	Kork Ballington	Kenny Roberts	Report
11	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	Ricardo Tormo	Angel Nieto	Kork Ballington	Takazumi Katayama	Virginio Ferrari	Report
12	Czechoslovakian Grand Prix	Brno	Ricardo Tormo		Kork Ballington	Kork Ballington		Report
13	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Rijeka	Ricardo Tormo	Angel Nieto	Gregg Hansford	Gregg Hansford		Report

Final standings

500cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Kenny Roberts	80	United States	Yamaha	110	4
2	Barry Sheene	7	United Kingdom	Suzuki	100	2
3	Johnny Cecotto	4	Venezuela	Yamaha	66	1
4	Wil Hartog	10	Netherlands	Suzuki	65	2
5	Takazumi Katayama	8	Japan	Yamaha	53	0
6	Pat Hennen	3	United States	Suzuki	51	1
7	Steve Baker	2	United States	Suzuki	42	0
8	Teuvo Lansivuori	9	Finland	Suzuki	39	0
9	Marco Lucchinelli	11	Italy	Suzuki	30	0
10	Michel Rougerie	13	France	Suzuki	23	0

350cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Kork Ballington	5	South Africa	Kawasaki	134	6
2	Takazumi Katayama	1	Japan	Yamaha	77	2
3	Gregg Hansford		Australia	Kawasaki	76	3
4	Jon Ekerold	3	South Africa	Yamaha	64	0
5	Tom Herron	2	United Kingdom	Yamaha	50	0
6	Michel Rougerie	4	France	Yamaha	47	0
7	Franco Bonera		Italy	Yamaha	37	0
8	Patrick Fernandez	8	France	Yamaha	36	0
9	Victor Soussan	12	France	Yamaha	34	0
10	Olivier Chevallier	6	France	Yamaha	27	0

250cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Kork Ballington	6	South Africa	Kawasaki	124	4
2	Gregg Hansford		Australia	Kawasaki	118	4
3	Patrick Fernandez	10	France	Yamaha	55	0
4	Kenny Roberts	80	United States	Yamaha	54	2
5	Anton Mang		Germany	Kawasaki	52	1
6	Tom Herron	5	United Kingdom	Yamaha	48	0
7	Mario Lega		Italy	Morbidelli	44	0
8	Franco Uncini		Italy	Yamaha	42	0
9	Jon Ekerold	9	South Africa	Yamaha	40	0
10	Paolo Pileri	31	Italy	Morbidelli	35	1

125cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Eugenio Lazzarini	2	Italy	MBA	114	4
2	Angel Nieto	3	Spain	Minarelli	88	4
3	Pier Paolo Bianchi	1	Italy	Minarelli	70	4
4	Harald Bartol	7	Austria	Morbidelli	68	0
5	Thierry Espié	27	France	Motobécane	62	0
6	Maurizio Massimiani	11	Italy	Morbidelli	56	0
7	Hans Müller	8	Switzerland	Morbidelli	48	0
8	Per-Edward Carlsson		Sweden	Morbidelli	46	0
9	Jean-Louis Guignabodet		France	Morbidelli	42	0
10	Clive Horton		United Kingdom	MBA	25	0

50cc standings

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points	Wins
1	Ricardo Tormo	3	Spain	Bultaco	99	5
2	Eugenio Lazzarini	2	Italy	Kreidler	64	2
3	Patrick Plisson	5	France	ABF	48	0
4	Wolfgang Müller	20	West Germany	Kreidler	28	0
5	Rolf Blatter	17	Switzerland	Kreidler	25	0
6	Stefan Dörflinger	6	Switzerland	Kreidler	24	0
7	Claudio Lusuardi	18	Italy	Bultaco	20	0
8	Peter Looyestein	27	Netherlands	Kreidler	14	0
9	Ingo Emmerich	23	West Germany	Kreidler	14	0
10	Aldo Pero	15	Italy	Kreidler	13	0

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