Yamaha – World Champions 1977-1980 released on DVD
In the late 1970s, Yamaha rose to dominance in the ultra-competitive world of motorcycle Grand Prix racing, helped in no small part by the arrival of American sensation Kenny Roberts.
For four years, the Japanese giants grabbed the headlines with stunning success and World Championship glory. Now this amazing story can be relieved with the release of Yamaha – World Champions 1977-1980 on DVD.
Four action-packed archive race films, including behind-the-scenes access and contributions from the racing stars, take viewers behind the headline-grabbing triumphs. The DVD includes drama from legendary circuits like Assen, Le Mans, Silverstone, Spa and more as the greats of motorcycle racing, including Roberts, Barry Sheene, Giacomo Agostini, Johnny Cecetto and Randy Mamola, do elbow-to-elbow battle for World Championship honours.
The first of these unique films follows the fortunes of American Steve Baker in his first season of World Championship racing. With exceptional footage from 500cc and 750cc races of 1977, plus interviews with Baker and other stars of the season, we discover how the ‘rookie’ claimed a World Championship at his first attempt, and was only beaten to the 500cc crown by the mercurial Sheene.
In the next three films we relive one of the most amazing eras of motorcycle Grand Prix racing, the reign of ‘King’ Kenny. Roberts burst onto the 500cc GP scene in 1978 and proved unstoppable, taking the title not only in his first season, but in 1979 and 1980 as well. He made it look easy, but as these extraordinary films remind us, the American superstar had to battle with the very best all the way to secure his hard-earned World Championship victories.
The down-to-the-wire title chases of 1978 and 1980 are exceptional edge-of-the-seat viewing.
For most fans, however, the real gem in this DVD is the coverage of the 1979 British Grand Prix, the Silverstone battle which is still regarded as one of the greatest motorcycle showdowns ever. The incredible footage on this DVD shows exactly why.
Viewers are also treated to rare on-board footage with Roberts, contributions from experts like Kel Carruthers and the story of Christian Sarron’s assault on the 750cc title in 1979.
Yamaha – World Champions 1977-1980 is more than a simple racing review; unparalleled access to the riders and team members reveals the stories behind the headlines, and how history was made.
Yamaha – World Champions 1977-1980 is Out Now on DVD, priced at £19.99 and will be available from leading video outlets or direct from Duke Video: Tel 01624 640 000, fax 01624 640 001 or email mail@dukevideo.com. Visit www.DukeVideo.com online.
