The 1977 Formula TT Season was the first event in the history of Formula TT and was announced by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme as the official world championship in those categories.
The Formula TT was founded in 1977 by the Isle of Man government and the Auto-Cycle Union to compensate for the FIM's withdrawal of the Tourist Trophy's world championship status and at the same time to popularize racing with production-based machines.
The winner of each class's race at the 59th Isle of Man TT also became the TT World Champion in that category.
Class-System
The Formula TT was divided into three classes in 1977. The TT-F1 class allowed four-stroke engines with engine displacements of 600 to 1000 cc and two-stroke engines with displacements of 350 to 500 cc. The TT-F2 class allowed four-stroke engines with displacements of 400 to 600 cc and two-stroke engines with displacements of 250 to 350 cc. The TT-F3 class allowed four-stroke engines with displacements of 200 to 400 cc and two-stroke engines with displacements of 125 to 250 cc.
Results References:
TT-F1 Class The TT-F1 race was ironically won by Phil Read, one of the riders who had campaigned most heavily for the TT to lose its World Championship status. Read had vowed in 1972 never to return to the island. However, he did so in 1977, having been signed by Honda Britain for the Tourist Trophy.
The race itself caused controversy. It was stopped after four laps due to deteriorating weather conditions. After three laps, Ducati rider Roger Nicholls led by 22 seconds. After the fourth lap, he pitted for refueling, while Read crossed the finish line and was declared the winner.
(Snaefell Mountain Course; 4 laps = 242.8 km, the top-ten finishing riders)
Pos.RiderMachineTimeAvg. Speed1 Phil Read Honda1 h 33 min 19.3 s97.02 mph2 Roger Nicholls Ducati + 38.7 s96.363 Ian Richards Honda + 1 min 26.7 s95.554 Stan Woods Honda + 3 min 49.7 s93.205 Malcolm Lucas BSA + 5 min 02.1 s92.066 Michael Hunt Laverda + 5 min 49.7 s91.327 Roger Corbett Triumph + 6 min 32.9 s102.898 Ian TomkinsonBSA + 8 min 21.9 s89.059 John KirkbyLaverda + 9 min 53.9 s87.7210 John WilkinsonSuzuki + 9 min 59.9 s87.64
TT-F2 Class The TT-F2 race was won by Honda rider Alan Jackson sr. after the leader Bill Smith retired on the last lap.
(Snaefell Mountain Course; 4 laps= 242.8 km, only eight riders reached the finish)
Pos.RiderMachineTimeAvg. Speed1 Alan Jackson sr.Honda1 h 31 min 08.0 s99.36 mph2 Neil TuxworthHonda + 1 min 24.6 s97.843 Denis Casement Honda + 3 min 50.4 s95.344 John Crick Honda + 11 min 23.2 s88.325 Dennis McMillan Triumph + 12 min 5*.4 s87.386 Terry McKane Honda + 15 min 45.0 s84.727 Alistair Copeland Benelli + 16 min 44.8 s83.938 Richard Arain Honda + 22 min 41.0 s79.56
TT-F3 Class (Snaefell Mountain Course; 4 laps = 242.8 km, the top-ten classified riders)
Pos.RiderMachineTimeAvg. Speed1 John KidsonHonda1 h 37 min 04.4 s93.28 mph2 Brian PetersSuzuki + 5 min 15.0 s88.493 Abe WalshHonda + 5 min 23.6 s88.374 Graham BentmanHonda + 6 min 04.8 s87.785 Fred LaunchburyMaico + 7 min 14.2 s86.836 Mal KirwanHonda + 7 min 53.0 s86.277 Nev WattsHonda + 10 min 34.6 s84.118 Richard StevensYamaha + 11 min 27.6 s84.439 John RileyYamaha + 12 min 06.6 s82.9810 Paul FeistYamaha + 12 min 26.6 s82.68
See also 1977 Isle of Man TT
References
External links