1978 Dywa Grand Prix Series season

1978 Dywa Grand Prix Series season
Season
Races	10
Start date	2 April 1978
Start Event	Enna-Pergusa
End date	17 September 1978
End Event	Monza
Awards
Driver's Champion	Gabriella Mondadori
Constructor's Champion	Euskadi Lasterketa
Seasons
Previous season	Next season
Inaugural	1979

The 1978 Dywa Grand Prix Series season was the inaugural season of the Dywa Grand Prix Series. All teams and drivers raced identical Dywa-001 chassis with Renzo DFV-2 3.0 V8 engines. Exactly how the previously tinpot Dywa Cars were able to put together the resources not only to supply dozens of vehicles, but also to arrange transport and race events at major European circuits is a question that perhaps should not be asked and in any case must not be answered directly.

The series featured drivers who already had or would go on to race in the Formula One World Championship such as Valentino Nicchi, Leonhard von Gottorp, Timo Fuchs and future 1991 WTCM World Champion Silvio Bachot, as well as many names known previously only to the anoraks who follow national Formula Ford racing. It has been described by motorsport historians as "the spiritual predecessor to the Life Grand Prix Series" for its low-cost cars and chaotic racing. Following a whirlwind of a season, Italian driver Gabriella Mondadori would emerge as the inaugural drivers' champion, while Basque outfit Euskadi Lasterketa won the Teams' Championship.

Teams and drivers

All teams and drivers raced identical Dywa-001 chassis with Renzo DFV-2 3.0 V8 engines.

Entrant	No.	Race Drivers	Rounds
Macchina Automobili Giorgio Armani [?]	1	Leonhard von Gottorp	1-3
		Marco Tortellini	4-10
	2	Valentino Nicchi	1
		Stefano Spaghetti	2-10
Dickenson-Lightley [?]	3	Earl of Sandwich	1-3
		Jehan-Jacques Graves	4-9
		Nikolai Zorbin	10
	4	George Lightley	All
Scuderia del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna [?]	5	Vittoria Tessarini	All
	6	Timo Fuchs	1-2, 4-10
		Javier Scarpetta	3
Reception Carrot Team [?]	7	Amada Castellón	1-9
		Sofía de Haro	10
	8	Jehan Duchamps	All
Scuderia Verona [?]	9	"Ouragan"	1-8, 10
		Nikolai Zorbin	9
	10	Leopoldo Faraldo	All
DYWA HARD [?]	11	Johannes Gruber	1-5, 8-9
		Nikolai Zorbin	6-7
		Yuri Komarov	10
	12	Peter Krieg	All
Scuderia Sighinolfi [?]	13	Luciano Sighinolfi	1-3
	14	Kelby Rogerson	1
		Nino Pilia	2-3
Motorsports de Boulangerie Cochon Rose [?]	15	Aimé Voulescons	All
	16	Giacomo Campatelli	All
Bambini di San Marino [?]	17	Giuseppe Gasperoni	All
	18	Silvio Bachot	1-3
		Nino Pilia	4-10
Euskadi Lasterketa [?]	19	Amalure Arrigorriagakoa	All
	20	Txatxu Etxeberria	1-5
		Javier Scarpetta	6-10
Latin Auto Technology Enterprises [?]	21	Gabriella Mondadori	All
	22	Alphonse Fabron	All
Great Leap Backward [?]	23	Lena Troscchi	1-3
		Hoji Imin	4-10
	24	Mike Zhen Hong	All
Vaillante Équipe Dywa France [?]	25	"Michel Vaillant"	All
	26	Tim Floc'h	All
Automotive SuperSport [?]	27	Barry McKockiner	All
	28	Heywood Jablowme	All
Black Swan Racing [?]	29	Charles Blanc	4-10
	30	Gerome Smith	4-9
		Leonhard von Gottorp	10

Driver Changes

• Stefano Spaghetti replaced Valentino Nicchi at Macchina Automobili Giorgio Armani after the first race.
• Kelby Rogerson sustained a career-ending broken back in the opening round at Enna-Pergusa. Seborgan driver Nino Pilia took his place at Scuderia Sighinolfi.
• Timo Fuchs sustained a sprained ankle at the second round at Imola. Uruguayan driver Javier Scarpetta would replace Fuchs at Scuderia del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna for the following race in Rouen.
• Lena Troscchi sustained grave neck, leg, and back injuries in a violent collision with Luciano Sighinolfi at Rouen, ruling her out for the rest of the season. South Yemeni driver Hoji Imin would replace her.
• Leonhard von Gottorp departed from the series after Rouen. His place at Macchina Automobili Giorgio Armani was taken by Italian driver Marco Tortellini.
• The Earl of Sandwich departed Dickenson-Lightley after the race at Rouen. Eclectic Frenchman Jehan-Jacques Graves would take his place.
• Silvio Bachot departed Bambini di San Marino as part of the mass exodus of competent drivers after Rouen. Nino Pilia, left without a drive after Scuderia Sighinofli's withdrawal, would replace him.
• Johannes Gruber broke his arm at Syracuse and as a result, had to sit out the following two races. Nikolai Zorbin would fill in for these races.
• Txatxu Etxeberria sustained a broken ankle at Syracuse and missed the following three races. Javier Scarpetta substituted for him. Scarpetta's impressive performances during these races, where he became the highest-placed Euskadi Lasterketa driver in the standings, convinced the Basque outfit to keep him in the car for the final two races instead of Etxeberria.
• "Ouragan" sustained an injury at Castle Combe and missed the following round at Charade. Nikolai Zorbin stood in for him at Moza.
• Amada Castellón got a broken leg at Charade and missed the final race of the season. Sofia de Haro would stand in for Monza.
• Johannes Gruber also broke his leg at Charade and missed the final round at Monza. Soviet driver Yuri Komarov would fill his seat for the final race at Monza.
• Gerome Smith suffered a horrifying career-ending crash at Charade resulting in paralysis. Black Swan Racing lured Leonhard von Gottorp back for the finale at Monza.
• Jehan-Jacques Graves was dismissed by Dickenson-Lightley following an altercation in the paddock after the race at Charade. Charade race-winner Nikolai Zorbin would take his place at Monza.

Mid-Season Team Changes

• Scuderia Sighinolfi withdrew from the series after Rouen, following the career-changing injury sustained by Kelby Rogerson at Enna and Luciano Sighinolfi causing similarly-grave injuries to Great Leap Backward driver Lena Troscchi in a collision during the race at Rouen.
• Black Swan Racing would take over Scuderia Sighinolfi's entry from the Norisring onwards.

Season Calendar

GP	Date	Title	Track	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Drive of the Day	Reject of the Race
1	2nd April	Coppa Renzo Bizzarri	Autodromo di Pergusa, Pergusa, Italy	Tim Floc'h	Mike Zhen Hong	Tim Floc'h	Vaillante Équipe Dywa France	Peter Krieg	The fuel tanks
2	16th April	Dywa Pirelli Gran Premio del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna	Autodromo Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy	Stefano Spaghetti	Johannes Gruber	"Michel Vaillant"	Vaillante Équipe Dywa France	"Michel Vaillant"	"Ouragan"
3	14th May	Dywa Grande Épreuve de France	Circuit de Rouen-Les-Essarts, Orival, France	Jehan Duchamps	Leonhard von Gottorp	Giacomo Campatelli	Motorsports de Boulangerie Cochon Rose	Txatxu Etxeberria	Scuderia Sighinolfi
4	28th May	Internationaler Dywapokal Frankens	Norisring, Nuremberg, West Germany	Vittoria Tessarini	Amalure Arrigorriagakoa	Jehan Duchamps	Reception Carrot Team	Timo Fuchs	"Michel Vaillant"'s car
5	18th June	Dywa Gran Premio di San Marino	Circuito di Siracusa, Syracuse, Italy	Leopoldo Faraldo	Gabriella Mondadori	Amada Castellón	Reception Carrot Team	George Lightley	The Dywa-001's rear half
6	25th June	Trofeo Flor Bath	Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero, Italy	Giacomo Campatelli	Timo Fuchs	Timo Fuchs	Scuderia del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna	Timo Fuchs	Gerome Smith
7	2nd July	Euskal Herriko Dywa Sari Nagusia	Pau Street Circuit, Pau, France	Tim Floc'h	Marco Tortellini	Nino Pilia	Bambini di San Marino	Aimé Voulescons	Heywood Jablowme
8	22nd July	The Castle Cup	Castle Combe, Wiltshire, United Kingdom	Amalure Arrigoriagakoa	Aimé Voulescons	Gabriella Mondadori	Latin Auto Technology Enterprises	Gabriella Mondadori	Nino Pilia
9	13th August	Dywa Granda Espròva d'Occitània	Circuit de Charade, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France	Gabriella Mondadori	Amalure Arrigorriagakoa	Nikolai Zorbin	Scuderia Verona	[REDACTED]	[REDACTED]
10	17th September	Coppa Monguzzi	Autodromo Internazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy	Nikolai Zorbin	"Michel Vaillant"	Gabriella Mondadori	Latin Auto Technology Enterprises	Barry McKockiner	Mike Zhen Hong

Standings

Scoring System

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	PP	FLAP
Points	9	6	4	3	2	1	1	1

Drivers' Championship

All results counted towards the championship.

Pos Driver PER ‡ IMO ROU NOR SYR MUG PAU CAS CHA MNZ Pts 1 Gabriella Mondadori 10 15 18 17 2 19 20 1 14 1 26 2 Mike Zhen Hong 3† 20 21 4 4 2 22 13 3 16 21 3 Amalure Arrigorriagakoa 6† 25 24 3 20 11 25 19 4 2 17 4 Nino Pilia 23 15 12 11 3 1 21 25 4 16 5 Peter Krieg 2† 11 17 25 21 17 3 2 22 17 16 6 "Michel Vaillant" 15 1 8 19 17 15 7 3 17 11 14 7 Timo Fuchs 22 14 INJ 7 16 1 11 22 13 3 14 8 Jehan Duchamps 21 18 14 1 13 4 14 17 15 6 14 9 Leopoldo Faraldo 23 2 11 2 12 16 23 12 26 22 13 10 Amada Castellón 16 17 13 16 1 8 9 4 23 INJ 12 11 Giacomo Campatelli 7 9 1 22 26 6† 17 23 11 9 11 12 Tim Floc'h 1† 7 10 24 7 22 18 15 9 18 11 13 Javier Scarpetta 22 26 2 5 5 26 10 14 Nikolai Zorbin 7 10 1 15 10 15 Hoji Imin 8 22 12 4 9 2 24 9 16 Aimé Voulescons 13 16 4 18 14 13 5 6 24 5 9 17 George Lightley 4† 26 3 9 6 18 15 26 18 25 7 18 Txatxu Etxeberria 12 24 2 26 23 INJ INJ INJ 6 19 Luciano Sighinolfi 18 3 5 6 20 Jehan-Jacques Graves 14 3 20 6† 18 8 5 21 Vittoria Tessarini 24 19 12 5 5 23 26 11 16 19 5 22 Johannes Gruber 26 4 25 15 24 INJ INJ 25 20 INJ 4 23 Stefano Spaghetti 5† 19 10 8 9 16 14 6 10 4 24 Leonhard von Gottorp 5† 22 7 23 3 25 Charles Blanc 23 18 5 8 8 12 8 2 26 Heywood Jablowme 9 6† 6† 20 25 21 19 DNQ DNQ DNQ 2 27 Giuseppe Gasperoni 20 13 16 6 15 14 13 20 19 20 1 28 Marco Tortellini 13 19 10 12 16 7 14 1 29 Alphonse Fabron DNQ DNQ 9 11 10 DNQ 21 7 DNQ 21 0 30 Yuri Komarov 7 0 31 Silvio Bachot 8 12 26 0 32 Lena Troscchi 17 8 23 INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ 0 33 Barry McKockiner 11 DNQ DNQ 21 9 DNQ 24 DNQ 10 13 0 34 Earl of Sandwich 14 10 20 0 35 Gerome Smith DNQ DNQ 25 DNQ 10 21 INJ 0 36 Sofia de Haro 12 0 37 Valentino Nicchi 19 0 38 "Ouragan" DNQ 21 DNQ DNQ DNQ 24 DNQ 24 INJ DNQ 0 39 Kelby Rogerson 25 INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ INJ 0

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Orange Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) Pale Blue Withdrawn (WD) Blank Did Not Enter (No text) Excluded (EX) Did not Start (DNS) Did not Arrive (DNA) Event cancelled (C) Injured (INJ) Bold denotes pole position Italics denote fastest lap † Classification despite retirement ‡ Race not run to scheduled distance

Teams' Championship

All results by each team's cars counted towards the championship.

Pos Team # PER ‡ IMO ROU NOR SYR MUG PAU CAS CHA MNZ Pts 1 Euskadi Lasterketa 19 6† 25 24 3 20 11 25 19 4 2 33 20 12 24 2 26 23 26 2 5 5 26 2 Great Leap Backward 23 17 8 23 8 22 12 4 9 2 24 30 24 3† 20 21 4 4 2 22 13 3 16 3 Latin Auto Technology Enterprises 21 10 15 18 17 2 19 20 1 14 1 26 22 DNQ DNQ 9 11 10 DNQ 21 7 DNQ 21 4 Reception Carrot Team 7 16 17 13 16 1 17 14 17 23 12 26 8 21 18 14 1 13 4 9 4 15 6 5 Vaillante Équipe Dywa France 25 15 1 8 19 17 15 18 3 17 11 25 26 1† 7 10 24 7 22 7 15 9 18 6 Scuderia Verona 9 DNQ 21 DNQ DNQ DNQ 24 DNQ 24 1 DNQ 21 10 23 2 11 2 12 16 23 12 26 22 7 DYWA HARD 11 26 4 25 15 24 7 10 25 20 7 20 12 2† 11 17 25 21 17 3 2 22 17 8 Motorsports de Boulangerie Cochon Rose 15 13 16 4 18 14 13 5 6 24 5 20 16 7 9 1 22 26 6† 17 23 11 9 9 Scuderia del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna 5 24 19 12 5 5 23 26 11 16 19 19 6 22 14 22 7 16 1 11 22 13 3 10 Bambini di San Marino 17 20 13 16 6 15 14 13 20 19 20 17 18 8 12 26 12 11 3 1 21 25 4 11 Dickenson-Lightley 3 14 26 20 14 3 20 6† 18 8 15 14 4 4† 10 3 9 6 18 15 26 18 25 12 Macchina Automobili Giorgio Armani 1 5† 22 7 13 19 10 12 16 7 14 8 2 19 5† 19 10 8 9 16 14 6 10 13 Scuderia Sighinolfi 13 18 3 5 6 14 25 23 15 14 Black Swan Racing 29 23 18 5 8 8 12 8 2 30 DNQ DNQ 25 DNQ 10 21 23 15 Automotive SuperSport 27 11 DNQ DNQ 21 9 DNQ 24 DNQ 10 13 2 28 9 6† 6† 20 25 21 19 DNQ DNQ DNQ