The monumental fiasco starring Honda this past Sunday at the German Grand Prix is practically unprecedented since its appearance in the Motorcycle World Championship. The last time that the motorcycles of the manufacturer with the golden wing did not score points in a race of the highest class was 40 years ago, however it was not due to sporting demerit, as it is now, but rather because of the boycott that, together with other riders, they supported the pilots and also the brand.
The 1982 Motorcycle World Championship arrived at the Nogaro circuit, in southwestern France, on the weekend of May 9. A year earlier, the drivers had already complained to the FIM, organizer of the championship at the time, and to the local promoters, the Paul Armagnac Motor Club , about the deficiencies of the track, both in terms of safety and asphalt conditions, such as, also, due to the lack of space and conditions to install the paddock and the vans in which most of the circus runners traveled and lived.
Although the weight of the protest came from the grid of the queen class, the 500cc, whose representative was the Suzuki rider Franco Uncini , ultimately champion that year and, paradoxically, a long-time member of the MotoGP Safety Commission, riders from other categories joined the demands, such as the legendary Ángel Nieto , who was then racing in 125cc, outraged at having to ‘park’ his van outside the track facilities, without access to water, toilets or power, according to the specialized magazines of the time.
The pilots presented a formal written protest to the organizers, denouncing that the requests from the previous year had not been met, in which they denounced the poor condition of the circuit, the excessively narrow dimensions of the track and the deterioration of the asphalt, citing recent accidents. , like the one carried out by Randy Mamola in a test a few days before, in which the Suzuki chassis broke, or Kenny Roberts , who broke the Yamaha engine anchors in those same tests. In addition, they added to this the lack of space and means in the work park and the paddock, insufficient in size, with a shortage of bathrooms, toilets and electricity supply.
On Friday, May 7, 1982, before the start of the activity on the track, the riders presented the sheet with their claims to the FIM and the Paul Armagnac Motor Club, collected their gear and disappeared from the circuit, leading a notorious boycott without giving them an option. to any reply or negotiation.
A total of 27 riders supported the lineup, five in each of the 125 and 250cc classes, three in 350cc and 14 riders from the premier class, supported by their respective manufacturers, the official Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki teams.
Among the drivers who decided not to race were the top stars of the time, such as Randy Mamola (Suzuki), Loris Reggiani (Suzuki), Kenny Roberts (Yamaha), Barry Sheene (Yamaha), Franco Uncini (Suzuki), as well as the Honda riders: Takazumi Katayama , Marco Lucchinelli and Freddie Spencer (current MotoGP Race Director), for which the golden wing mark did not score on that May 9, 1982. In the other classes, in addition to the aforementioned Ángel Nieto, also Carlos Lavado , Anton Mang or Ricardo Tormo , among others, joined the boycott.
The Paul Armagnac Motor Club, despite the heavy blow of losing the main stars of the event, went ahead with the Grand Prix, contesting the four races, in which Michel Frutschi (Sanvenero 500cc), Jean-François Baldé (Kawasaki 350cc), Jean-Louis Tournadre (Yamaha 250cc) and Jean-Claude Selini (MBA 125cc). As data, provide that in the 500 race 28 pilots took part, of which ten did not complete the distance of the test, among them the ill-fated Spanish pilot Víctor Palomo (Suzuki), who did not support the boycott, nor did the then very young Sito Pons , who did not finish the 250cc race either.
The promoter, after the grand prix, raised a formal protest to the FIM for the protest, demanding harsh sporting and economic sanctions to the striking drivers and manufacturers, a demand flatly rejected by the international federation, which only punished one driver for saying insults against the organizers… Ángel Nieto.
The World Championship, although the organizers had promised to remodel the circuit for 1983, has never returned to Nogaro, running at Le Mans the following year and alternating the tracks of Paul Ricard , Magny-Cours until finally establishing itself in the circuit of the department of La Sarthe since 2000.
