International

1979 World Trials Championship

Back in 1979, the FIM World Trials Championship had a small break in the series from March until June. The Scottish Six Days Trial was still very much the one to win, and both the riders and the manufacturers valued the exposure from this international event, held traditionally in May. Try to imagine that a foreign rider had never won the event. Leading the world championship was Yrjo Vesterinen, and he made the bold decision to ride in the six days; as it happened, it turned into a titanic fight between the three-time winner Martin Lampkin and the eventual winner Malcolm Rathmell, with ‘Vesty’ third. Bernie Schreiber had opted not to ride, the factory and the Bultaco importers Comerford’s had Lampkin and Vesterinen anyway. Montesa was on a high for the second half of the World series — this was their first SSDT win, and they wanted the world title. Having a non-scoring ride in the opening round of the 1979 championship had left Bernie Schreiber on the back foot, but as you will see the tide started to turn and by the end of the year we would have a new FIM World Trials Champion.

With the first six rounds all contested by the end of March, the opening of the second half of the season would see the long-haul flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada and America in June. These two countries were still quite ‘virgin’ to what was required to put together a successful world round, and the manufacturers did not send all their riders to

contest them. Both Bultaco and Ossa were in financial problems, and Montesa was pinning all their hopes on the soon-to-be-released new Cota 349 model in the hands of Rathmell. He had been developing the machine all season and was still not happy with the engine performance, which he knew needed some fine-tuning. He may have won on it in Scotland, but he still wanted further changes to the engine’s characteristics, but a world title would be the icing on the cake. It was then back to Europe for the remaining four rounds: one in Italy followed by the move to the rugged terrain of Sweden and Finland before the season finale in the Czech Republic. Would the ‘home’ advantage of the two rounds in Canada and the USA favour Schreiber? We will see!

Round 7: Canada, Calgary 10/06/1979. Entry: 10 Riders

Both Malcolm Rathmell and Martin Lampkin were up for the fight for the world crown that Vesterinen had denied them for the previous three years, but the one-two in Canada for the British riders did not come easy. The problems had started first for Rathmell, when an engine featuring new crankcases for the Cota 349 was shipped out to the event but the factory had forgotten to swap the brake and gear change lever arrangement to suit Rathmell, who had the gear change lever on the right-hand side; instead he stayed with his original engine. As for Lampkin, he did not receive a Bultaco to ride until the last minute, and when it did arrive, it was a standard production 325cc model. He had his 340cc barrel and piston with him to fit, but first, he tested the standard model and decided to stick with it! The event itself was run over a single-lap course of 30 miles with 35 sections to ride. The majority of them were on dry and dusty rocks with some deep rivers also involved, some of which proved impossible. As it turned out both the eventual winner Rathmell and second-placed Lampkin were elated with the British one-two ahead of Schreiber, with Vesterinen in fourth. The Finnish rider still headed the championship but the ‘Brits’ were closing in.

RESULTS: 1: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 73; 2: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco-GBR) 78; 3: Bernie Schreiber (BultacoUSA) 80; 4: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 85; 5: Marland Whaley (Montesa-USA) 93; 6: Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) 93; 7: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 97; 8: Jean Marie Lejuene (Montesa-BEL) 106; 9: Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 121; 10: Eddy Lejeune (Honda-BEL) 125.

CHAMPIONSHIP: 1: Vesterinen 69; 2: Lampkin 61; 3: Rathmell 56; 4: Schreiber 54; 5: Karlson 43; 6: Shepherd 32; 7: Coutard 28; 8: Birkett 22; 9: JM Lejuene 20; 10: Subira 15.

Round 8: USA, Pueblo 17/06/1979. Entry: 14 Riders

In ideal hot, dry conditions, Bernie Schreiber had always excelled, and it was no different in the USA as he took the victory. What did shock the championship title-chasers was the performance of Rob Shepherd on the four-stroke Honda, who came home in second position.

The event was held at an altitude of 6,000 metres above sea level, and the power advantage over the two-strokes played into his favour. Starting from a scout camp that had been commissioned by the organisers of the event, the riders faced three laps of 20 sections. With a well-supported crowd each paying $5 to watch, the organisers had roped off some of the hazards. The problem was that many wanted close-up pictures of their home riders including Schreiber and Marland Whaley, and at times they were restricted by their fans!

With a strict time-limit of six hours plus an extra hour where the riders would lose a tenth of a mark for each minute they went over, nobody was hanging about. The biggest loser in the time element was SWM mounted Charles Coutard; after an opening lap of 29 marks lost he then damaged a rear shock absorber. Despite finishing in a lowly sixth position Vesterinen still held the world championship lead, but Lampkin was on his case and now lay just three marks behind. RESULTS: 1: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 65; 2: Rob S hepherd (Honda-GBR) 71; 3: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco-GBR) 77; 4: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 83; 5: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 84; 6: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 85; 7: Jean Marie Lejuene (Montesa-BEL) 105; 8: Marland Whaley (MontesaUSA) 105; 9: Eddy Lejuene (Honda-BEL) 109; 10: Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 137. CHAMPIONSHIP: 1: Vesterinen 74; 2: Lampkin 71; 3: Schreiber 69; 4: Rathmell 64; 5: Karlson 49; 6: Shepherd 44; 7: Coutard 29; JM Lejuene 24; 9: Birkett 22; 8: 10: Whaley 22.

Round 9: Italy, Mezza Lago 15/07/1979. Entry: 86 Riders

After a two-year development period, the hard work for the Italian SWM team was rewarded with a win on home soil. In 1978 the new SWM machine had been the first production trials model to break the £1,000 retail price mark. They had invested heavily in their trials development programme, and the victory must have felt like a lottery win! It was a close call, as the results show, with Schreiber carrying his American winning form back across the water to Europe and to the top of the championship table for the first time in 1979. As for the current world champion Vesterinen he was down in sixth position – not where he wanted to be; but for the British pairing of Martin Lampkin and Malcolm Rathmell Italy was a disaster. Rathmell came home eighth, but for Lampkin, a no points-scoring ride down in 13th position told its own story. Rob Shepherd remained on good form as did Ulf Karlson; Montesa had four of their prototype Cota 349 models in the top ten! Another Spanish talent, Manuel Soler, was starting to show his good form on the Bultaco, and it was good to see another SWM in the top ten in the hands of the exciting Italian rider Danilo Galeazzi. Coutard’s win had no impact on the top four positions, though. RESULTS: 1: Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 88; 2: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 90; 3: Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) 92; 4: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 95; 5: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 98; 6: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 99; 7: Danilo Galeazzi (SWM-ITA) 101; 8: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 101; 9: Marland Whaley (Montesa-USA) 102; 10: Jaime Subira (Montesa-ESP) 104.

CHAMPIONSHIP – 1: Schreiber 82; 2: Vesterinen 79; 3: Lampkin 71; 4: Rathmell 69; 5: Karlson 57; 6: Shepherd 54; 7: Coutard 44; 8: Whaley 24; 9: JM Lejuene 24; 10: Birkett 22.

Round 10: Sweden, Boras 19/08/1979. Entry: 50

Now feeling more confident with his riding, no one was going to stop Bernie Schreiber from winning in Sweden, not even the home hero Ulf Karlson. Consistency would give the American the win over Karlson, who gave the home fans something to shout about; he was also very happy to be the first Montesa rider home as Rathmell slipped down to ninth and with it lost any real chance of championship success. Another spoiler in the championship chase would be the young Spanish rider on the Bultaco Antonio Gorgot, who scored his best finish to date in a strong third position with Vesterinen losing valuable points to Schreiber on the tie-break decider. It was the same story for Martin Lampkin, who knew that any chance of challenging for another world title was slipping away as he came home in fifth position. Great Britain’s Mick Andrews made a return to world championship action in Sweden. Showing his experience, he came home in tenth position to take the last point. The Beamish Suzuki team riders Chris Sutton and John Reynolds also appeared in Sweden, with Sutton finishing in 19th and Reynolds 23rd. With Schreiber now holding the upper hand with a ten-point cushion over Vesterinen and only two rounds remaining, the Finnish rider knew that a good result on home soil the following week was imperative. RESULTS: 1: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 33; 2: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 45; 3: Antonio Gorgot (BultacoESP) 47; 4: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 47; 5: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco-GBR) 50; 6: Eddy Lejuene (Honda-BEL) 52; 7: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 55; 8: Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) 57; 9: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 59; 10: Mick Andrews (Ossa-GBR) 54.

CHAMPIONSHIP: 1: Schreiber 97; 2: Vesterinen 87; 3: Lampkin 77; 4: Rathmell 71; 5: Karlson 69; 6: Shepherd 57; 7: Coutard 44; 8: Whaley 24; 9: JM Lejuene 24; 10: Birkett 22.

Round 11: Finland, Espoo 26/08/1979. Entry: 42 Riders

History was recorded in Finland as Manuel Soler became the first Spanish rider ever to record an FIM World Championship round win and to make it an even better day it was on a Spanish Bultaco.

Carrying on his good form from Sweden, Ulf Karlson came home second with Vesterinen taking the last step on the podium in third. With two laps of 20 sections who would have bet against Yrjo Vesterinen being beaten on home soil, but that’s exactly what happened. To make the championship even more interesting, he came home third as the championship leader Schreiber dropped to seventh, closing the gap to the American to three points with one round remaining.

Both Malcolm Rathmell and Martin Lampkin had now been ‘leap-frogged’ in the championship as Karlson moved to third position; the two British riders still had eyes on the final step on the podium but so did the big Swedish rider. Taking his best world championship result was the young Finn Timo Ryysy on the SWM. He was, in fact, the highest placed SWM rider as Danilo Galeazzi finished in 17th position and Coutard a disastrous 20th. RESULTS: 1: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 40; 2: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 43; 3: Yrjo Vesterinen (BultacoFIN) 53; 4: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 55; 5: Timo Ryysy (SWM-FIN) 64; 6: Antonio Gorgot (Bultaco-ESP) 67; 7: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 69; 8: Anttoni Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 72; 9: Rob Shepherd (HondaGBR) 76; 10: Jaime Subira (Montesa-ESP) 80. CHAMPIONSHIP: 1: Schreiber 100; 2: Vesterinen 97; 3: Karlson 81; 4: Rathmell 79; 5: Lampkin 77; 6: Shepherd 59; 7: Coutard 44; 8: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 28; 9: Whaley 24; 10: JM Lejuene 24.

Round 12: Czech Republic, Ricany 16/09/1979. Entry: 61 Riders

Literally taking the ‘Bulto’ by the horns, Bernie Schreiber went out and blew the opposition away. Showing his worth as a true world champion, he finished way ahead of everybody else. Ulf Karlson took the runner-up position to secure third in the final championship positions, but for Vesterinen the dream of another world title was over after finishing in fourth position; on learning of Schreiber’s winning ride he was one of the first to congratulate him.

1979 had been a very close world championship right until the final round, but now, for the first time, the United States of America had an FIM World Trials Champion Bernie Schreiber. Well done that man! RESULTS: 1: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 13; 2: Ulf Karlson (MontesaSWE) 32; 3: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco-GBR) 38; 4: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 43; 5: Jean Luc Colson (Montesa-BEL) 45; 6: Jaime Subira (Montesa-ESP) 46; 7: Eddy Lejuene (Honda-BEL) 46; 8: Mick Andrews (Ossa-GBR) 47; 9: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 51; 10: Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 55. 1979 FIM TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: 1: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 115; 3: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 105; 3: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 93; 4: Martin Lampkin (Bultaco-GBR) 87; 4: Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 77; 6: Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) 59; 7: Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 45; 8: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 30; 9: Marland Whaley (Montesa-USA) 24; 10: Jean Marie Lejuene (Montesa-BEL) 24; 11: Jaime Subira (Montesa-ESP) 22; 12: Nigel Birkett (Montesa-GBR) 22; 13: Antonio Gorgot (Bultaco-ESP) 21;

14: John Reynolds (Suzuki-GBR) 12; 15: Eddy Lejuene (Honda-BEL) 12;

16: Mick Andrews (Ossa-GBR) 11; 17: Timo Ryysy (SWM-FIN) 7; 18: Jean Luc Colson (Montesa-BEL) 6; 19: Joe Wallman (Bultaco-AUT) 5; 20: Danilo Galeazzi (SWM-ITA) 4; 21: Anttoni Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 3; 22: Jo Jose (Bultaco-ESP) 3; 23: Claude Goset (Montesa-BEL) 3; 24: Ettore Baldini (Bultaco-ITA) 1; 25: Felix Krahnstover (Montesa-GER) 1.

Statistics 1979 FIM World Trials Championship

WINS – RIDERS: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 4; Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa-GBR) 2; Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 2; Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) 1; Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 1; Charles Coutard (SWM-FRA) 1; Manuel Soler (BultacoESP) 1.

WINS – MANUFACTURERS: Bultaco 6; Montesa 4; Honda 1; SWM 1.

WINS – NATIONS: USA 4; GBR 3; SWE 2; FIN 1; FRA 1; ESP1.

MACHINES: Bultaco 9; Montesa 9; SWM 3; Honda 2; Ossa 1; Suzuki 1. RIDERS BY NATIONALITY:” GBR 6; BEL 4; ESP 4; FIN 3; USA 2; ITA 2; AUT 1; FRA 1; GER 1; SWE 1. Classic Trial Magazine would like to acknowledge the help of the riders, Toon Van De Vliet and Charley Demathieu in the generation of this article.

With his fingers on the front brake and clutch lever Rob Shepherd (Honda-GBR) edges towards the deep water in Canada.

Great Britain’s attack on the world championship was headed by Martin Lampkin (Bultaco) on the left and Malcolm Rathmell (Montesa) on the right. The blue Bultaco 325cc on the left is the standard version ridden to second position in Canada by Lampkin; some ride, I think you will agree!

After the first half of the season Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) held the championship lead and was looking on course for a fourth title.

Showing good, consistent form, Martin Lampkin’s chances of another world title were wiped out with two non-scoring rounds towards the close of the championship.

Missing the Scottish Six Days Trial in May, Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) focussed his energy on attacking the world championship, starting with a win in the USA.

Bernie Schreiber in the middle and Rob Shepherd on the right discuss the depth of the water in the Canadian world round.

World championship travel, 1979 style: Manuel Soler, in the glasses at the back of the picture, unloads his factory Bultaco from the ‘works’ trailer, which was towed behind the car. The Yamaha van is the one of Mick Andrews.

In Italy it was good to see another SWM in the top ten in the hands of the exciting Italian rider Danilo Galeazzi.

Many times the French National Champion, Charles Coutard had made the move to SWM in 1979. Seen here at the Scottish Six Days Trial in the May he gave the Italian manufacturer their first world round win in the summer of 1979 in Italy.

During a practice session in the summer of 1979 the three-time world champion Yrjo Vesterinen makes some small adjustments to the Bultaco.

It’s a case of ‘pause for thought’ for Bernie Schreiber. His dedication would give him the world title by the end of the year, the first and only nonEuropean rider ever to achieve this.

Having suddenly passed away recently, the family of the America rider Marland Whaley (Montesa) can be very proud of the fact that he made it into the top ten riders in the world in 1979. He was also the American NATC/ AMA National Champion on both Honda and Montesa machines from 1975–1980 – RIP. This picture is from 1979 and the English world round.

Even though this picture is from earlier in the season in the snow of Belgium, history was recorded in Finland as Manuel Soler became the first Spanish rider ever to record a FIM World Championship round win; to make it an even better day it was on a Spanish Bultaco

Looking very stylish on the 325cc Beamish Suzuki in Wales, John Reynolds only contested a handful of the world rounds. The only points scored were at the opening round in Ireland with a sensational second position.

Here is the eldest of the three Belgian Lejeune brothers, Jean Marie, who had a very successful year in the world championship finishing in tenth position on the Montesa. He had also been looking after his younger brother Eddy on the 200cc Honda.

With talk of a radical new Ossa trials model Mick Andrews returned to the world rounds in the latter part of the year with the machine sporting a yellow fuel tank as opposed to the traditional green. Little did we know at this point that the new model would be the yellow Gripper in 1980!

The find of the season was the young Spanish rider Antonio Gorgot on the Bultaco.

As the world season closed the Bultaco remained at the top of the tree. With financial implications at the factory in Spain the winning team of so many years was coming to an end. At the end of the year Yrjo Vesterinen would move to the rival Montesa brand.

Remember the name SWM: the Italian manufacturer had scored its first world round win in 1979; over the following years it would become ‘The’ machine to have as the Italians started their attack on the sales charts in the trials marketplace.

After a successful season developing the new Montesa Cota 349 model in the world championship with Ulf Karlson (SWE), Malcolm Rathmell (GBR), Marland Whaley (USA) and Jaime Subira (ESP) it was an instant hit in the dealers’ showrooms. With the experience gained in 1979 Montesa were putting in place all the essentials for a full assault in the world of trials in 1980.