53rd international six-day trip

The 53rd International Six-Day Race was the team world championship in enduro sport and took place from September 4 to 9, 1978 in Värnamo and Småland, Sweden . The national team of Czechoslovakia won the World Trophy for the fourteenth and second time in a row. The Italian national team won the silver vase for the fifth time.

Värnamo , start and finish point of the individual stages

competition

organization

The event took place for the third time in Sweden after the 5th (1923) and 41st International Six-Day Tour (1966).

328 drivers from 17 FIM motorsport associations were registered for the competition . Teams from 16 nations competed for the trophy standings. In addition, 16 silver vase, 45 factory and 32 club teams were at the start.

FRG, GDR and Switzerland each took part in the World Trophy and Silver Vase. Austria took part in the World Trophy. In addition, six German and one Swiss club team took part.

1 day

Of the 328 registered drivers, 322 took up the competition.

The first stage of the day ran over 277 kilometers and was a circuit to be completed twice in the northeast of Värnamo. The special stage was a motocross test to be driven twice over 3.3 kilometers. The start took place in dry weather, with heavy rain showers throughout the day.

In the World Trophy, the team from Germany was ahead of Italy and the team from Czechoslovakia. The GDR team was in 5th place, Switzerland in 11th place. In the Austrian team, Manfred Zotzek , the first driver to retire , the team was initially in 16th and last place.

In the silver vase evaluation, the Italian team led ahead of the FRG and the Polish team. The Swiss team was in 10th place. In the GDR team, Steffen Mauersberger was eliminated due to a torn out spark plug, the team was in 14th place.

16 drivers dropped out of the competition.

2 day

On the second day the route of the first day was driven in the opposite direction.

In the World Trophy, the Italian team led ahead of Czechoslovakia and the USA team. The GDR followed in 4th place, the Swiss team took 11th place. In the FRG team, Eberhard Weber suffered a chain break, but remained within the rating with a considerable time lag. For the team this meant 13th place. The Austrian team was 15th.

In the silver vase evaluation, the Italian team led ahead of the FRG and the Czechoslovak team. The Swiss team was in 13th place after André Tharin's failure , the GDR followed in 14th place.

16 drivers dropped out of the competition.

3rd day

On the third day, 279 kilometers had to be completed on a twice-round circuit. The weather was cool and free of rain for the time of year.

In the World Trophy, the Czechoslovak team led ahead of the GDR and the USA team. Switzerland came in 8th, the FRG in 12th place. The Austrian team took 14th place.

In the silver vase evaluation, the Italian team continued ahead of the FRG and the Czechoslovak team. The team from the GDR took 12th place. Another driver was eliminated from the Swiss team, which meant the team came in 16th and last place for the time being.

Nine drivers dropped out of the competition.

4th day

The route on the fourth day of the journey was the one of the previous day, slightly changed to 297.4 kilometers. It had to be driven in the opposite direction. The weather was inconsistent with light rain showers.

In the World Trophy, the team from Czechoslovakia still led ahead of the GDR and the team from France. Switzerland was in 9th place, the FRG in 11th place. Austria took 13th place.

In the silver vase evaluation, as on the day before, the Italian team led ahead of Poland and the Swedish team. Richard Spitznagel suffered a chain break in the team of the FRG and stayed within the rating very late. For the team this meant 6th place. The GDR was 10th, Switzerland 14th.

No drivers dropped out of the competition.

5th day

On the fifth day, a total of 325.4 kilometers had to be completed in two identical laps. The weather was sunny and free of precipitation.

In the World Trophy, the team from Czechoslovakia continued to lead ahead of the GDR and the team from France. Germany was 10th, Switzerland 11th, and Austria 14th.

In the silver vase evaluation, the Italian team led ahead of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The FRG was in 5th place, Switzerland in 13th place and the GDR team followed in 14th place.

6th day

On the sixth day, 117.2 kilometers had to be driven in the opposite direction on a stretch of the previous day. It rained all day.

The final motocross took place on a 3.3-kilometer stretch of meadow with artificially pushed obstacles. The rules stipulated: The drivers in the 50 and 75 cm³ classes had to complete four laps within 24 minutes, all other classes five laps within 28 minutes. For a subsequent lap, the best-time driver determined the no-stop time for each run and all further laps were scored accordingly with difference points. - However, since the track surface had already suffered a lot after the first starters due to the rain and the course was practically no longer passable, a fair evaluation of all drivers was no longer guaranteed. After a long discussion, the jury had the results of the final motocross annulled in a night meeting. So the final results were only available on Sunday morning.

Of 322 drivers who started on the first day, 264 reached the finish.

Final results

World Trophy

space	team	Points
1.	Czechoslovakia	605.46
2.	German Democratic Republic	947.98
3.	United Kingdom	1,885.43
4th	Netherlands	2,078.81
5.	United States	2,471.34
6th	Poland	2672.28
7th	Italy	3,100.64
8th.	BR Germany	4,104.99
9.	Australia	4,114.69
10.	Switzerland	8,119.83
11.	France	46,809.26
12.	Belgium	55,030.98
13.	Sweden	90,731.90
14th	Austria	95,285.05
15th	Finland	166,487.36
16.	Canada	257,483.65

Silver vase

space	team	Points
1.	Italy	186.54
2.	Poland	481.85
3.	Czechoslovakia	1,223.05
4th	Netherlands	1,618.01
5.	BR Germany	1,630.91
6th	United Kingdom	2,375.47
7th	Spain	4,556.69
8th.	Canada	23,856.34
9.	Sweden	30,399.69
10.	Belgium	48469.77
11.	Australia	68,002.72
12.	Finland	75,998.61
13.	Switzerland	77,283.46
14th	German Democratic Republic	90,354.27
15th	United States	90,830.24
16.	France	136,348.08

Club teams

space	team	Points
1.	Motoclub Italia A	198.58
2.	SMI MK	609.83
3.	Ruda Hvezda Praha	687.48
4th	Dukla Praha	765.48
5.	UAMK	786.12
6th	CATRA	899.58
7th	ADAC Nuremberg	912.92
8th.	BAMC Borgulo	917.29
9.	MA Lerum	1,190.35
10.	Kungsbacka MA	1,309.44
11.	FT Hood Dirt Riders	1,365.36
12.	ADAC Stuttgart	1,437.30
13.	ADAC Karlsruhe	1,459.79
14th	Moto Club Segre	1,484.25
15th	DMV Hessen	1,571.11
16.	Moto Club del Valle	2,142.22
17th	Cycle nuts and bolts	2,150.21
18th	United Enduro ASSN	2,210.61
19th	Perry MT MC	3,250.85
20th	Esbo MK	6,027.04
21st	FMS	10,226.04
22nd	DMV Neunkirchen	31,298.25
23.	MCC of Wales	45,527.50
24.	ADAC Frankfurt	75,380.90
25th	Göta MS	76,131.13
26th	Escuderia Isern	91,905.17
27.	British Army MCA ASSN A	91,996.50
28.	Scottish ACU	152,261.14
29	Moto Verte	152,745.93
30th	Barrie Motorcycle ASSN	154,455.73
21st	Järva MK	181,007.13
32.	British Army MCA ASSN B	228,188.34

Factory teams

space	team	Points
1.	KTM	90.94
2.	SWM	101.53
3.	Sachs	123.55
4th	Zundapp I.	130.32
5.	Jawa I	154.73
6th	Maico I	208.75
7th	MZ I	294.44
8th.	Hercules	311.08
9.	Samson II	431.85
10.	Fantic	435.35
11.	Jawa II	450.73
12.	Husqvarna II	497.19
13.	Jawa IV	540.87
14th	MZ II	653.54
15th	Husqvarna	830.24
16.	Suzuki I.	834.68
17th	Bultaco	938.01
18th	SWM I	1,032.10
19th	Jawa III	1,126.72
20th	SWM II	1,336.66
21st	KTM	1,340.86
22nd	Maico	1,483.67
23.	SWM	1,684.42
24.	KTM	1,897.66
25th	Husqvarna	3,693.91
26th	Bultaco	3,843.49
27.	Zündapp II	3,974.67
28.	Husqvarna IV	9,054.15
29	Husqvarna III	30,522.18
30th	KTM II	45,909.67
31.	Suzuki II	45,954.23
32.	KTM	48,598.50
33.	KTM	48,629.86
34.	Husqvarna	53,529.20
35.	Maico	77,924.95
36.	Samson I	90,218.67
37.	Husqvarna I	90,234.71
38.	Maico II	90,395.58
39.	Husqvarna	90,600.21
40.	Yamaha II	90,776.94
41.	Simonini	92,250.53
42.	Yamaha I.	120,514.72
43.	KTM I	120,577.69
44.	Husqvarna V	150,605.91
45.	SWM	240,762.00

Individual evaluation

class	starter	gold	silver	bronze	Failure / disqualification	Class winner	Points
50 cc	6th	6th	0	0	0	Angelo Signorelli	3,684.17
75 cm³	9	8th	0	0	1	Osvaldo Scaburri	3,598.73
100 cc	10	9	0	0	1	Eddy Hau	3,489.69
125 cc	31	20th	5	2	4th	Harald Strossenreuther	3,457.94
175 cc	44	26th	4th	4th	10	Klaus-Bernd Kreutz	3,362.09
250 cc	104	48	22nd	9	25th	Gualtiero Brissoni	3,324.94
350 cc	32	21st	8th	0	3	Andreini Guglielmo	3,304.42
500 cc	80	42	20th	4th	14th	Stanislav Zloch	3,317.66
+ 500 cm³	6th	6th	0	0	0	Manfred Jäger	3,482.55
total	322	186	59	19th	58

literature

• Eberhard Pester: A bravo to our trophy team! In: Allgemeine Deutscher Motorsport-Verband (Ed.): Illustrated Motorsport . 28th year. Sportverlag Berlin, 1978, ISSN  0442-3054 , p. 219-224 .

Web links

Commons : 53rd International Six-Day Tour  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Speed ​​Track Tales ISDT 1978 - Sweden , accessed April 30, 2020
• Final results , accessed April 30, 2020
• ISDT 1978 - Official Event Program , accessed April 30, 2020
• 6daysmemories.com , accessed April 30, 2020