WORLD OF CHANGE
Looking back on 1980, it was a year of both chance and change in the sport of motorcycle trials. It was a chance for new riders with new styles and new manufacturers, but change comes with a price for some when the timing is not perfect. Five years of Bultaco FIM World Championship dominance including my world title in 1979 had ended, younger riders were on the rise with a showcase of new skills with lighter and better-handling motorcycles.
Being a world champion rider does not prepare you for navigating turbulent times and coping with limited factory support. Top riders were moving to other manufacturers, promises were being made without contractual commitments, and the season was in full swing. Hope was still alive, but Bultaco had not paid world championship bonuses from 1979, and the only continued support was with Comerfords, with no Bultaco recovery in sight.
The first part of the 1980 season started off better than the previous year for me. I won the SoloMoto indoor, the world championship round in Spain and returned to the SSDT leading the event halfway through the week; but it was time for change and decisions had to made for the future. Ironically, my first FIM world round victory was in Sommieres, France on Bultaco in 1978, and the last ride on Bultaco would also be in France. It was a very tough choice to abandon my childhood brand Bultaco but that time had come.
The final world round on the Bultaco was in Saint Christophe, France on the 1st June 1980. The organisers had laid out a demanding threelap trial of 60 sections with rocky climbs to test the riders. The results speak for themselves, and it was an emotional day: 1: Bernie Schreiber (Bultaco-USA) 148; 2: Manuel Soler (Bultaco-ESP) 162; 3: Yrjo Vesterinen (Montesa-FIN) 171. After the event, I announced my Spanish Bultaco departure to ride the new prototype Italian Italjet. The factory doors were still closed at Bultaco, and its future looked very uncertain, so there was no option but to move.
Initially, Soler was to join me at Italjet, but in the end, he decided to make his move to Montesa. The once-mighty hold that the Spanish manufacturers of Bultaco, Montesa and Ossa had enjoyed was now moving to Italy as Fantic, SWM, Beta and now Italjet started to break this domination.
Looking back, 1980 was a year of change, but a chance to move the sport and industry forward with additional manufacturers and younger riders from more countries. I broke a few new records in 1980 but did not achieve my goal to repeat a World Championship title.
Stay healthy, safe and feet up in the next months – Bernie.