1978 Formula TT Season

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.

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 Hailwood Ducati 2 h 5 min 10.2 s 108.51 mph
2 John Williams Honda + 1 min 59.6 s 106.81
3 Ian Richards Kawasaki + 2 min 57.4 s 106.01
4 Helmut Dähne Honda + 3 min 16.6 s 105.74
5 Alex George Triumph + 3 min 18.0 s 105.72
6 Chas Mortimer Suzuki + 5 min 40.2 s 103.81
7 Malcolm Lucas BSA + 6 min 50.2 s 102.89
8 Kevin Wrettom Kawasaki + 6 min 53.0 s 102.85
9 Denis Casement Honda + 8 min 16.4 s 101.78
10 Ian Tomkinson Triumph + 9 min 06.4 s 101.15

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. Honda 1 h 31 min 08.6 s 99.35 mph
2 Dave Mason Honda + 1 min 33.4 s 97.68
3 Neil Tuxworth Honda + 2 min 58.2 s 96.21
4 Ron Haslam Honda + 3 min 51.2 s 95.32
5 Joey Dunlop Benelli + 5 min 47.4 s 95.32
6 Peter Davies Laverda + 8 min 29.8 s 93.41
7 John Kirkby Honda + 10 min 15.4 s 90.87
8 Thomas Williamson Honda + 11 min 41.4 s 88.05
9 Denis Casement Honda + 14 min 25.0 s 85.78
10 Dave Kerby Honda + 15 min 52.4 s 84.61

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 Smith Honda 1 h 35 min 50.8 s 94.47 mph
2 Derek Mortimer Yamaha + 4 min 41.0 s 90.07
3 John Stephens Honda + 4 min 51.0 s 89.92
4 Mick Poxon Honda + 6 min 31.2 s 88.45
5 Alan Cathcart Harley-Davidson + 7 min 13.4 s 87.85
6 Fred Launchbury Maico + 8 min 22.8 s 86.88
7 Ken Inwood Yamaha + 8 min 47.6 s 86.53
8 Jeff Middleton Honda + 9 min 33.2 s 85.91
9 Dennis Trollope Yamaha + 12 min 43.0 s 83.39
10 Bill Barker Honda + 12 min 49.2 s 83.33
  • Vincent Glon. "FIM TT Formula Cup 1978" (in French). racingmemo.free.fr. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  • "Isle of Man TT 1978". www.iomtt.com. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
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