The 19n 500cc World Champ Heikki Mikkola (left) congratulates Jaak van Velthoven (center) and Hakan
Andersson (right! who shared the victors' podium with Swiss GP winner Roger DeCoster.
DeCoster celebrated his 32nd birthday by taking a 2-1 overall victory at Wohlen.
The win bumped Suzuki teammate Gerrit Wolsink from second place in the
final World Championship Series point standings.
Brad Lackey wound up in fourth
for the 19n 500cc season.
500cc World Championship MX Series
-Final round
Happy birthday,
RogerD!
£
By David Maltais/Asahi Pentax
WOHLEN. SWITZERLAND. AUG. 28
The final race of the 1977 500cc World Championship MX Series had proinised to provide a
last chance duel between Suzuki teammates Gerrit Wolsink -and Roger DeCoster, but it was a
battle that never materialized.
The two were contesting second
10
place in the series -- first had been
clinched by Team Yamaha's Heikki
Mikkola earlier in August at the
Belgian round : When it ended,
DeCoster came out well ahead of
Wolsink as the Dutchman's luck ran
out.
Jaak van Velthoven of Lommel ,
Belgium on the Robert Gielis-tuned
factory KTM , racing with a just·
healed broken collarbone, took the
start of the first ra ce and led all the
way to the checkered flag to win his
first race of the season. . DeCoster
finally caught Jaak in the final stages
of the muddy. rain race but fell exac tly two seconds short at the flag.
Wolsink's luck wasn 't with him as he
twisted his knee in the first half of tlie
race and had to work his way up from - "
12th place to fifth . Ahead of Gerrit
were Momesa-mounted Hakan Andersson and Graham Noyce on the factory
Maico.
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