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. 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.
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. Other riders chose to compete, but with less than their full efforts. In the 1974 Yugoslavian Grand Prix, British rider Billie Nelson crashed into the crowd during the 250cc race, injuring several spectators. Nelson died later that night at a hospital.
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. 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 rock wall. He suffered serious head injuries and died later in a hospital. 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.
350 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 8 Takazumi Katayama Yamaha 25 56:53.0 11 15 2 50 Jon Ekerold Yamaha 25 +35.2 10 12 3 26 Michel Rougerie Yamaha 25 +1:09.7 3 10 4 4 Tom Herron Yamaha 25 +1:16.9 4 8 5 5 John Dodds Yamaha 25 +1:19.8 1 6 6 9 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 25 +1:43.3 8 5 7 19 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 25 +1:50.6 6 4 8 36 Pekka Nurmi Yamaha 25 +1:57.8 13 3 9 56 Jean-Claude Hogrel Yamaha 24 +1 lap 2 10 33 Helmut Kassner Yamaha 24 +1 lap 20 1 Mario Lega Morbidelli 2 Giacomo Agostini Yamaha 5 János Drapál Yamaha 7 Patrick Pons Yamaha 9 Leif Gustafsson Yamaha 12 Pentti Korhonen Yamaha 14 Kork Ballington Yamaha 15 Christian Sarron Yamaha 16 Giovanni Pelletier Yamaha 17 Karl Auer Yamaha 18 Eero Hyvärinen Yamaha 19 28 starters in total Source:
250 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 21 Mario Lega Morbidelli 21 49:19.4 5 15 2 2 Takazumi Katayama Yamaha 21 +6.2 2 12 3 5 Tom Herron Yamaha 21 +41.2 6 10 4 29 John Dodds Yamaha 21 +48.3 10 8 5 51 Pierluigi Conforti Yamaha 21 +51.4 4 6 6 36 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 21 +1:02.2 13 5 7 4 Pentti Korhonen Yamaha 21 +1:06.0 4 8 54 Jon Ekerold Yamaha 21 +1:10.2 3 9 16 Pekka Nurmi Yamaha 21 +1:27.0 14 2 10 15 Patrick Pons Yamaha 21 +1:44.7 12 1 11 37 Christian Sarron Yamaha 21 +1:45.7 7 12 57 Gianni Pelletier Yamaha 21 +1:46.1 13 19 Hans Müller Yamaha 21 +2:05.8 18 14 42 Anton Mang Yamaha 21 +2:09.2 15 12 Leif Gustafsson Yamaha 20 +1 lap 8 16 49 Jose Cecotto Yamaha 20 +1 lap 17 47 Sauro Pazzaglia Yamaha 20 +1 lap 18 62 Giuseppe Consalvi Yamaha 20 +1 lap Michel Rougerie Yamaha 1 Paolo Pileri Morbidelli 3 Walter Villa Harley-Davidson 9 Guy Bertin Yamaha 11 Barry Ditchburn Kawasaki 15 Masahiro Wada Kawasaki 16 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 17 Eero Hyvärinen Yamaha 19 Kork Ballington Yamaha 20 30 starters in total Source:
125 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 1 Pierpaolo Bianchi Morbidelli 19 46:25.4 1 15 2 2 Ángel Nieto Bultaco 19 +1:13.9 3 12 3 50 Maurizio Massimiani Morbidelli 19 +1:37.4 12 10 4 6 Jean-Louis Guignabodet Morbidelli 19 +1:52.8 9 8 5 51 Ermanno Giuliano Morbidelli 19 +2:08.9 7 6 6 15 Matti Kinnunen Morbidelli 19 +2:16.1 8 5 7 5 Anton Mang Morbidelli 19 +2:28.2 19 4 8 46 Cees van Dongen Morbidelli 18 +1 lap 3 9 42 Claudio Lusuardi Lusuardi 17 +2 laps 13 2 10 10 Julien van Zeebroeck Morbidelli 16 +3 laps 1 Eugenio Lazzarini Morbidelli 2 Harald Bartol Morbidelli 4 Pierluigi Conforti Morbidelli 5 János Drapál Morbidelli 6 Stefan Dörflinger Morbidelli 10 Sauro Pazzaglia Morbidelli 11 Guillermo Pérez Yamaha 14 Hans Müller Morbidelli 15 Germano Zanetti Morbidelli 16 Thierry Noblesse Morbidelli 17 Xaver Tschannen Bender 18 Luigi Rinaudo Morbidelli 20 28 starters in total Source:
50 cc classification Pos No. Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 1 Ángel Nieto Bultaco 15 40:47.6 1 15 2 20 Ricardo Tormo Bultaco 15 +4.6 4 12 3 50 Patrick Plisson ABF 15 +2:08.9 9 10 4 43 Cees van Dongen Kreidler 15 +1 lap 13 8 5 24 Jean-Louis Guignabodet Morbidelli 14 +1 lap 20 6 6 42 Günter Schirnhofer Kreidler 14 +1 lap 5 7 25 Ramón Gali Derbi 14 +1 lap 10 4 8 30 Adrijan Bernetic Tomos 14 +1 lap 3 9 12 Theo Timmer Kreidler 14 +1 lap 17 2 10 9 Hans Hummel Kreidler 14 +1 lap 18 1 11 47 Ingo Emmerich Kreidler 14 +1 lap 12 39 Claudio Lusuardi Bultaco 14 +1 lap 3 13 39 Otto Machinek Kreidler 12 +3 laps 19 14 14 Aldo Pero Kreidler 12 +3 laps 7 15 35 Vilko Sever Kreidler 11 +4 laps Eugenio Lazzarini Morbidelli 2 Herbert Rittberger Kreidler 5 Ret Ulrich Graf Kreidler Fatal accident 6 Stefan Dörflinger Kreidler 8 Boris Bajc Kreidler 11 Rudolf Kunz Kreidler 12 Nevio Paliska Tomos 14 Engelbert Kip Kreidler 15 Wolfgang Müller Kreidler 16 30 starters in total Source:
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