The 1978 Formula TT Season was the second 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 winner of each class's race at the 60th 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.
For the last time in Formula TT history, the series consisted of only one race. Starting in 1979, the Ulster Grand Prix, along with the Isle of Man TT, also counted towards the Formula TT World Championship.
Results References:
TT-F1-Class The TT F1 race saw the triumphant return of 13-time TT winner and nine-time world champion Mike Hailwood, who had actually already retired from racing and was competing on the Isle of Man for the first time since 1967.
Although Hailwood had the majority of the spectators on his side, he started the race as the outsider on his 900 cc Ducati. He pushed to the limit from the start and was in the lead early on. His fastest lap, which was also the fastest TT lap of Hailwood's career, was set at an average speed of 109.87 mph (176.82 km/h). As the race progressed, Mike Hailwood caught up with and immediately overtook the heavily favored Honda Britain rider Phil Read, who had started ahead of him. Read eventually retired with engine problems on the fifth lap, and Hailwood celebrated the 14th and final TT victory of his career to the cheers of the crowd.
(Snaefell Mountain Course; 6 laps = 364.2 km, the top-ten finishing riders) 1 Mike HailwoodDucati2 h 5 min 10.2 s108.51 mph2 John WilliamsHonda + 1 min 59.6 s106.813 Ian RichardsKawasaki + 2 min 57.4 s106.014 Helmut DähneHonda + 3 min 16.6 s105.745 Alex GeorgeTriumph + 3 min 18.0 s105.726 Chas MortimerSuzuki + 5 min 40.2 s103.817 Malcolm LucasBSA + 6 min 50.2 s102.898 Kevin WrettomKawasaki + 6 min 53.0 s102.859 Denis CasementHonda + 8 min 16.4 s101.7810 Ian TomkinsonTriumph + 9 min 06.4 s101.15
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, the top-ten finishing riders) 1 Alan Jackson Sr.Honda1 h 31 min 08.6 s99.35 mph2 Dave MasonHonda + 1 min 33.4 s97.683 Neil TuxworthHonda + 2 min 58.2 s96.214 Ron HaslamHonda + 3 min 51.2 s95.325 Joey DunlopBenelli + 5 min 47.4 s95.326 Peter DaviesLaverda + 8 min 29.8 s93.417 John KirkbyHonda + 10 min 15.4 s90.878 Thomas WilliamsonHonda + 11 min 41.4 s88.059 Denis CasementHonda + 14 min 25.0 s85.7810 Dave KerbyHonda + 15 min 52.4 s84.61
TT-F3-Class In the TT-F3 class, Bill Smith won on Honda, who had retired from the F2 race last year while leading on the last lap.
(Snaefell Mountain Course; 4 laps = 242.8 km, the top-ten finishing riders) 1 Bill SmithHonda1 h 35 min 50.8 s94.47 mph2 Derek MortimerYamaha + 4 min 41.0 s90.073 John StephensHonda + 4 min 51.0 s89.924 Mick PoxonHonda + 6 min 31.2 s88.455 Alan CathcartHarley-Davidson + 7 min 13.4 s87.856 Fred LaunchburyMaico + 8 min 22.8 s86.887 Ken InwoodYamaha + 8 min 47.6 s86.538 Jeff MiddletonHonda + 9 min 33.2 s85.919 Dennis TrollopeYamaha + 12 min 43.0 s83.3910 Bill BarkerHonda + 12 min 49.2 s83.33
References
External links