| Grand Prix: | Yugoslavian |
| Flag: | Yugoslavia |
| Official Name: | Velika Nagrada Jugoslavije/Grand Prix de Yougoslavie[1] |
| Location: | Circuit d'Opatija |
| Course Mi: | 3.728 |
| Course Km: | 6.000 |
| Race No: | 7 |
| Season No: | 13 |
| Date: | 19 June |
| Year: | 1977 |
| Pole Rider 350: | John Dodds |
| Pole Rider 350 Country: | Australia |
| Pole Rider 350 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Pole Time 350: | 2:16.5 |
| Fast Rider 350: | Takazumi Katayama |
| Fast Rider 350 Country: | Japan |
| Fast Rider 350 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Fast Time 350: | 2:13.7 |
| First Rider 350: | Takazumi Katayama |
| First Rider 350 Country: | Japan |
| First Rider 350 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Second Rider 350: | Jon Ekerold |
| Second Rider 350 Country: | South Africa |
| Second Rider 350 Country Flag Suffix: | 1928 |
| Second Rider 350 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Third Rider 350: | Michel Rougerie |
| Third Rider 350 Country: | France |
| Third Rider 350 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Pole Rider 250: | Michel Rougerie |
| Pole Rider 250 Country: | France |
| Pole Rider 250 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Pole Time 250: | 2:20.7 |
| Fast Rider 250: | Mario Lega |
| Fast Rider 250 Country: | Italy |
| Fast Rider 250 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Fast Time 250: | 2:19.2 |
| First Rider 250: | Mario Lega |
| First Rider 250 Country: | Italy |
| First Rider 250 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Second Rider 250: | Takazumi Katayama |
| Second Rider 250 Country: | Japan |
| Second Rider 250 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Third Rider 250: | Tom Herron |
| Third Rider 250 Country: | UK |
| Third Rider 250 Bike: | Yamaha |
| Pole Rider 125: | Pierpaolo Bianchi |
| Pole Rider 125 Country: | Italy |
| Pole Rider 125 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Pole Time 125: | 2:24.0 |
| Fast Rider 125: | Pierpaolo Bianchi |
| Fast Rider 125 Country: | Italy |
| Fast Rider 125 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Fast Time 125: | 2:25.4 |
| First Rider 125: | Pierpaolo Bianchi |
| First Rider 125 Country: | Italy |
| First Rider 125 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Second Rider 125: | Ángel Nieto |
| Second Rider 125 Country: | Spain |
| Second Rider 125 Country Flag Suffix: | 1945 |
| Second Rider 125 Bike: | Bultaco |
| Third Rider 125: | Maurizio Massimiani |
| Third Rider 125 Country: | Italy |
| Third Rider 125 Bike: | Morbidelli |
| Pole Rider 50: | Ángel Nieto |
| Pole Rider 50 Country: | Spain |
| Pole Rider 50 Country Flag Suffix: | 1945 |
| Pole Rider 50 Bike: | Bultaco |
| Pole Time 50: | 2:40.1 |
| Fast Rider 50: | Ángel Nieto |
| Fast Rider 50 Country: | Spain |
| Fast Rider 50 Country Flag Suffix: | 1945 |
| Fast Rider 50 Bike: | Bultaco |
| Fast Time 50: | 2:41.1 |
| First Rider 50: | Ángel Nieto |
| First Rider 50 Country: | Spain |
| First Rider 50 Country Flag Suffix: | 1945 |
| First Rider 50 Bike: | Bultaco |
| Second Rider 50: | Ricardo Tormo |
| Second Rider 50 Country: | Spain |
| Second Rider 50 Country Flag Suffix: | 1945 |
| Second Rider 50 Bike: | Bultaco |
| Third Rider 50: | Patrick Plisson |
| Third Rider 50 Country: | France |
| Third Rider 50 Bike: | ABF |
The 1977 Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix was the seventh round of the FIM 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 19 June 1977 at the Opatija Circuit. The event was marred by two fatalities, and this turned out to be the last Yugoslavian motorcycle Grand Prix at Opatija. The event moved to the further inland Rijeka Circuit.
The event took place under heavy rumors of it being cancelled because of the existing safety conditions of the seaside Opatija street circuit. The Yugoslavian Grand Prix promoters had received an ultimatum from the FIM before the race that, if they did not improve the safety of the circuit, the event would be canceled.[2] Despite the circuit's scenic setting, it was an unsafe race track due to high speeds on narrow roads coupled with numerous unmovable roadside obstacles, such as trees, stone walls, lampposts, electric poles, embankments, houses, and the Adriatic Sea.[3]
The safety conditions at the Opatija Circuit had previously been protested by competitors in 1973 when, in the aftermath of the deaths of Jarno Saarinen and Renzo Pasolini at the Monza round, several racing teams including Yamaha, Harley Davidson and MV Agusta, boycotted the event due to unsafe track conditions.[3] Other riders chose to compete, but with less than their full efforts. In the 1974 Yugoslavian Grand Prix, British rider Billie Nelson crashed into the crowd during the 250cc race, injuring several spectators.[3] Nelson died later that night at a hospital.[4]
The 1977 Grand Prix turned into a disaster when Italian rider, Giovanni Ziggiotto, crashed during practice for the 250cc race when his motorcycle's engine seized and he was hit from behind by Per-Edward Carlson.[3] He died four days later in a hospital.[5] During the 50 cc race, Ulrich Graf crashed when his bike developed a rear tire puncture and he was thrown into a rock wall.[3] He suffered serious head injuries and died later in a hospital.[2] The tragedy forced the venue off the Grand Prix schedule and the Yugoslavian Grand Prix was moved to the Rijeka Circuit for the 1978 season.[2]
| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |  Takazumi Katayama | Yamaha | 25 | 56:53.0 | 11 | 15 | |
| 2 | 50 |  Jon Ekerold | Yamaha | 25 | +35.2 | 10 | 12 | |
| 3 | 26 |  Michel Rougerie | Yamaha | 25 | +1:09.7 | 3 | 10 | |
| 4 | 4 |  Tom Herron | Yamaha | 25 | +1:16.9 | 4 | 8 | |
| 5 | 5 |  John Dodds | Yamaha | 25 | +1:19.8 | 1 | 6 | |
| 6 | 9 | Olivier Chevallier | Yamaha | 25 | +1:43.3 | 8 | 5 | |
| 7 | 19 | Patrick Fernandez | Yamaha | 25 | +1:50.6 | 6 | 4 | |
| 8 | 36 |  Pekka Nurmi | Yamaha | 25 | +1:57.8 | 13 | 3 | |
| 9 | 56 | Jean-Claude Hogrel | Yamaha | 24 | +1 lap | 2 | ||
| 10 | 33 |  Helmut Kassner | Yamaha | 24 | +1 lap | 20 | 1 | |
 Mario Lega | Morbidelli | 2 | ||||||
| Giacomo Agostini | Yamaha | 5 | ||||||
 János Drapál | Yamaha | 7 | ||||||
| Patrick Pons | Yamaha | 9 | ||||||
 Leif Gustafsson | Yamaha | 12 | ||||||
| Pentti Korhonen | Yamaha | 14 | ||||||
| Kork Ballington | Yamaha | 15 | ||||||
| Christian Sarron | Yamaha | 16 | ||||||
| Giovanni Pelletier | Yamaha | 17 | ||||||
 Karl Auer | Yamaha | 18 | ||||||
| Eero Hyvärinen | Yamaha | 19 | ||||||
| 28 starters in total | ||||||||
| Source: [6] [7] | ||||||||
| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Mario Lega | Morbidelli | 21 | 49:19.4 | 5 | 15 | |
| 2 | 2 | Takazumi Katayama | Yamaha | 21 | +6.2 | 2 | 12 | |
| 3 | 5 | Tom Herron | Yamaha | 21 | +41.2 | 6 | 10 | |
| 4 | 29 | John Dodds | Yamaha | 21 | +48.3 | 10 | 8 | |
| 5 | 51 | Pierluigi Conforti | Yamaha | 21 | +51.4 | 4 | 6 | |
| 6 | 36 | Patrick Fernandez | Yamaha | 21 | +1:02.2 | 13 | 5 | |
| 7 | 4 | Pentti Korhonen | Yamaha | 21 | +1:06.0 | 4 | ||
| 8 | 54 | Jon Ekerold | Yamaha | 21 | +1:10.2 | 3 | ||
| 9 | 16 | Pekka Nurmi | Yamaha | 21 | +1:27.0 | 14 | 2 | |
| 10 | 15 | Patrick Pons | Yamaha | 21 | +1:44.7 | 12 | 1 | |
| 11 | 37 | Christian Sarron | Yamaha | 21 | +1:45.7 | 7 | ||
| 12 | 57 | Gianni Pelletier | Yamaha | 21 | +1:46.1 | |||
| 13 | 19 |  Hans Müller | Yamaha | 21 | +2:05.8 | 18 | ||
| 14 | 42 | Anton Mang | Yamaha | 21 | +2:09.2 | |||
| 15 | 12 | Leif Gustafsson | Yamaha | 20 | +1 lap | 8 | ||
| 16 | 49 |  Jose Cecotto | Yamaha | 20 | +1 lap | |||
| 17 | 47 | Sauro Pazzaglia | Yamaha | 20 | +1 lap | |||
| 18 | 62 | Giuseppe Consalvi | Yamaha | 20 | +1 lap | |||
| Michel Rougerie | Yamaha | 1 | ||||||
| Paolo Pileri | Morbidelli | 3 | ||||||
| Walter Villa | Harley-Davidson | 9 | ||||||
| Guy Bertin | Yamaha | 11 | ||||||
| Barry Ditchburn | Kawasaki | 15 | ||||||
| Masahiro Wada | Kawasaki | 16 | ||||||
| Olivier Chevallier | Yamaha | 17 | ||||||
| Eero Hyvärinen | Yamaha | 19 | ||||||
| Kork Ballington | Yamaha | 20 | ||||||
| 30 starters in total | ||||||||
| Source: [8] | ||||||||
| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Pierpaolo Bianchi | Morbidelli | 19 | 46:25.4 | 1 | 15 | |
| 2 | 2 |  Ángel Nieto | Bultaco | 19 | +1:13.9 | 3 | 12 | |
| 3 | 50 | Maurizio Massimiani | Morbidelli | 19 | +1:37.4 | 12 | 10 | |
| 4 | 6 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | Morbidelli | 19 | +1:52.8 | 9 | 8 | |
| 5 | 51 | Ermanno Giuliano | Morbidelli | 19 | +2:08.9 | 7 | 6 | |
| 6 | 15 | Matti Kinnunen | Morbidelli | 19 | +2:16.1 | 8 | 5 | |
| 7 | 5 | Anton Mang | Morbidelli | 19 | +2:28.2 | 19 | 4 | |
| 8 | 46 |  Cees van Dongen | Morbidelli | 18 | +1 lap | 3 | ||
| 9 | 42 | Claudio Lusuardi | Lusuardi | 17 | +2 laps | 13 | 2 | |
| 10 | 10 |  Julien van Zeebroeck | Morbidelli | 16 | +3 laps | 1 | ||
| Eugenio Lazzarini | Morbidelli | 2 | ||||||
| Harald Bartol | Morbidelli | 4 | ||||||
| Pierluigi Conforti | Morbidelli | 5 | ||||||
| János Drapál | Morbidelli | 6 | ||||||
| Stefan Dörflinger | Morbidelli | 10 | ||||||
| Sauro Pazzaglia | Morbidelli | 11 | ||||||
 Guillermo Pérez | Yamaha | 14 | ||||||
| Hans Müller | Morbidelli | 15 | ||||||
| Germano Zanetti | Morbidelli | 16 | ||||||
| Thierry Noblesse | Morbidelli | 17 | ||||||
| Xaver Tschannen | Bender | 18 | ||||||
| Luigi Rinaudo | Morbidelli | 20 | ||||||
| 28 starters in total | ||||||||
| Source: [9] | ||||||||
| Pos | No. | Rider | Manufacturer | Laps | Time | Grid | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ángel Nieto | Bultaco | 15 | 40:47.6 | 1 | 15 | |
| 2 | 20 | Ricardo Tormo | Bultaco | 15 | +4.6 | 4 | 12 | |
| 3 | 50 | Patrick Plisson | ABF | 15 | +2:08.9 | 9 | 10 | |
| 4 | 43 | Cees van Dongen | Kreidler | 15 | +1 lap | 13 | 8 | |
| 5 | 24 | Jean-Louis Guignabodet | Morbidelli | 14 | +1 lap | 20 | 6 | |
| 6 | 42 | Günter Schirnhofer | Kreidler | 14 | +1 lap | 5 | ||
| 7 | 25 | Ramón Gali | Derbi | 14 | +1 lap | 10 | 4 | |
| 8 | 30 | Adrijan Bernetic | Tomos | 14 | +1 lap | 3 | ||
| 9 | 12 | Theo Timmer | Kreidler | 14 | +1 lap | 17 | 2 | |
| 10 | 9 | Hans Hummel | Kreidler | 14 | +1 lap | 18 | 1 | |
| 11 | 47 | Ingo Emmerich | Kreidler | 14 | +1 lap | |||
| 12 | 39 | Claudio Lusuardi | Bultaco | 14 | +1 lap | 3 | ||
| 13 | 39 | Otto Machinek | Kreidler | 12 | +3 laps | 19 | ||
| 14 | 14 | Aldo Pero | Kreidler | 12 | +3 laps | 7 | ||
| 15 | 35 | Vilko Sever | Kreidler | 11 | +4 laps | |||
| Eugenio Lazzarini | Morbidelli | 2 | ||||||
| Herbert Rittberger | Kreidler | 5 | ||||||
| Ret | Ulrich Graf | Kreidler | Fatal accident | 6 | ||||
| Stefan Dörflinger | Kreidler | 8 | ||||||
| Boris Bajc | Kreidler | 11 | ||||||
| Rudolf Kunz | Kreidler | 12 | ||||||
| Nevio Paliska | Tomos | 14 | ||||||
| Engelbert Kip | Kreidler | 15 | ||||||
| Wolfgang Müller | Kreidler | 16 | ||||||
| 30 starters in total | ||||||||
| Source: [10] | ||||||||