On the occasion of the French Grand Prix, we shared with you a photo gallery of the Le Mans paddock in 1976.
Always thanks to the exceptional documents of Gilles Contesenne, who had made the trip from the Paris region in two on a Triumph with his friend Michel, today we take you to Mugello, which had just been built in 1974 and at the time hosted the Grand Prix des Nations, the Italian Grand Prix not being officially created until 1991.
On the motorcycle side, the factories MV Agusta, Suzuki and Yamaha had officially withdrawn from Grands Prix. Actually, Agostini, Sheene and Cecotto still had them, under the cover of private teams or importers.
MotoGP was then called 500cc, Moto2 250 or 350cc and Moto3 125cc.
On the pilot side, Marc Márquez could look like Johnny Cecotto, a Venezuelan kid of just 19 years old, who won everything in his path in 250 and 350cc.
During that time, the “Fantastic Four” were only three, Sheene, Read and Agostini, with perhaps Marco Lucchinelli, the new Italian revelation in the role of Maverick Vinales.
During that time, Suzuki dominated the premier category. With the exception of cecotto with a Yamaha importer and the king Aug on his MV4 “Marlboro”, all the tenors were equipped with it.
At that time, the boxes decorated with sponsor colors were just shacks and the paddock was cement and grass. The word “hospitality” had no meaning. In those days, pilots were men, more than billboards, and passion often replaced the necessary money. The private sector made up the majority of the field, making the trip without being certain of being involved.
At that time, Bridgestone had not yet bought Firestone and had no experience in competition, but the men of Michelin were already there.
At that time, there was no Traction Control, Launch Control or Holeshot Device, but just a handle of throttle to turn, with the hand and the help of the “cojones”.
At that time, the names were Sheene, Read, Agostini and Cecotto, of course, but also Lucchinelli, Findlay, Estrosi, Villa, Bonera, Ballington, Ferrari, Palomo, Pons, Sarron, Soussan, Fernandez, Fau, Newbold, Herron, Bianchi, Pileri, Lansivuori, Korhonen , Mortimer, Rougerie, Katayama, Coulon (Philippe, not Guy), Choukroun, Boinet, Husson, French, Braun, Nieto, and many others.
At that time, there was no electronic gate to access the paddock and rub shoulders with your idols. So simple enthusiasts, including Gilles Contesenne, were able to take these extraordinary, completely new photos, which we share with you with pleasure, even if the weekend was unfortunately mourned by the losses of Paolo Tordi in 350cc and Otello Buscherini in 250cc. That was also what those years were like...
Today, here is the paddock of this 1976 Grand Prix of Nations, hoping that you will enjoy these documents as much as we do!
