ROUND ONE: SPAIN SOLER TIME
Talk about panic! The riders woke up to snow, and the organisers went out to put salt in the sections to help remove the ice. The riders were hastily first adjusting the carburetion and, in some cases changing the oil grade in the front forks. One rider not fazed by it all and who would eventually win was Manuel Soler.
There was no sun to be found north of Barcelona. Throw in the new stopallowed rule, and you could tell the riders who were not comfortable with either.
Sensing the moment with the change in the stop-allowed rule Manuel Soler used this to his advantage, as did Eddy Lejeune on the four-stroke Honda. A quick engine oil change before the event started improved the machines’ smooth performance.
As Soler and Lejeune had their own battle, Bernie Schreiber had wanted to carry the momentum of winning the last four world rounds in 1980 on the Italjet and tried all he could to challenge for the win, passing Toni Gorgot to take the final step on the podium on the second lap. With the scores level at 92 marks, it was a jubilant Manuel Soler who would be recorded as the first FIM world round winner for a Spanish rider on a Spanish machine — and in Spain, to make a good day even better!
ROUND 1: MURA, SPAIN 22/02/1981. ENTRY: 80
RESULTS: 1: Manuel Soler (Montesa-ESP) 92; 2: Eddy Lejeune (Honda-BEL) 92; 3: Bernie Schreiber (Italjet-USA) 103; 4: Toni Gorgot (Ossa-ESP) 106; 5: Gilles Burgat (SWM-FRA) 113; 6: Charles Coutard (Montesa-FRA) 113; 7: Ulf Karlson (Montesa-SWE) 115; 8: Yrjo Vesterinen (Bultaco-FIN) 116; 9: Christian Desnoyers (SWM-FRA) 117; 10: John Reynolds (Beamish Suzuki-GBR) 126; 11: Joaquim Abad (Ossa-ESP) 129; 12: Timo Rysey (Bultaco-FIN) 131; 13: Pedro Olle (Montesa-ESP) 134; 14: Danilo Galeazzi (SWM-ITA) 134; 15: Alberto Juvanteny (Ossa-ESP) 135.