Formula 750

Formula 750
Vehicle type	Motorcycle - prototypes
Country or region	World Championship
First season	1973
Last season	1979

Yamaha TZ 750 F (1979)

The Formula 750 was a motorcycle - racing series , by the World Motorcycle Federation International Federation de Motocyclisme of 1973 bis 1979 was held. It was advertised for near-series motorcycles with a displacement of up to 750 cm³.

history

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, some of the most prestigious races in the world, such as the Isle of Man TT , the Daytona 200 or the Imola 200 Mile , also created classes for low-cost, near-production machines in addition to the prototype classes , which enjoyed growing popularity. The number of cylinders and cubic capacities of the large series machines had developed more and more in the direction of 750 cc four-cylinders in the European and US markets . For this reason, and in order to standardize the regulations of the previous races and series, the FIM announced for the first time an international championship for such machines as a prize of the FIM in 1973 . However, the series suffered from overly complicated regulations and the fact that the races were held outside of the Grand Prix for the motorcycle world championship .

The first race in the history of the Formula 750 was held on April 15, 1973 with the 200 miles of Imola in Imola , Italy . The Finn Jarno Saarinen won on a Yamaha TZ 350 ahead of the local Ducati pilot Bruno Spaggiari . The first champion was the Briton Barry Sheene in a Suzuki .

In 1975 and 1976 the series was part of the European Championship , and in 1977 it received the status of an official FIM World Championship.

In 1979, the FIM decided to keep just one premier class of motorcycle racing . The choice fell on the 500 cm³ class of the motorcycle world championship, which had existed since 1949 . In the previous years there had been more and more problems in the Formula 750 because the engine power for the tires and chassis was too high at the time. In addition, the formula had increasingly become a Yamaha "one-make cup ". In 1979 , of the 60 pilots who scored points, only four were not on a Yamaha TZ 750 . The Formula 750 was thus discontinued at the end of the 1979 season. From the mid-1980s, the superbikes took the place of the Formula 750 as near-series racing motorcycles.

Winners list

The first champion of the series was the then 23-year-old Briton Barry Sheene in a Suzuki , who was also 500 cc world champion in 1976 and 1977 . By winning the world title in 1977 , Steve Baker became the first US world champion in the history of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). In 1978 , 22-year-old Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto secured the title on a Yamaha . Last World Cup was in 1979 the Frenchman Patrick Pons , who less than a year later at the Grand Prix of Great Britain in Silverstone was killed.

The driver with the most race wins is Johnny Cecotto, who has won 13 races in five years. This is followed by Steve Baker and Kenny Roberts sr. with twelve wins each. The most successful manufacturer is Yamaha . The Japanese were victorious with their machines in 78 of a total of 102 races.

In addition to the aforementioned, numerous other greats in motorcycle racing of the era took part in the Formula 750 races, such as Giacomo Agostini , Kork Ballington , Dieter Braun , Kel Carruthers , Joey Dunlop , Ron Haslam , Takazumi Katayama , Marco Lucchinelli , Randy Mamola , Phil Read , Jarno Saarinen , Christian Sarron and Walter Villa .

year	series	master
1973	FIM price	Barry Sheene ( Suzuki )
1974	FIM price	John Dodds ( Yamaha )
1975	European Championship	Jack Findlay ( Yamaha )
1976	European Championship	Víctor Palomo ( Yamaha )
1977	World Championship	Steve Baker ( Yamaha )
1978	World Championship	Johnny Cecotto ( Yamaha )
1979	World Championship	Patrick Pons ( Yamaha )

References

literature

• Wolfgang Gruber: Formula 750 . The class of aces. 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag , Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-87943-523-5 .

Web links

• Vincent Glon: La Formule 750. racingmemo.free.fr, accessed on November 10, 2012 (French).