[4][5] The race began with Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts and Wil Hartog breaking away from the rest of the field.

At the midpoint of the race, Hartog fell off the pace as Sheene and Roberts continued to battle for the lead.

[4] An undeterred Sheene put in an impressive lap time to catch Roberts as they entered the final corner.

[5] His crew managed to replace the seal in time but, Roberts went to the starting line with his gloves coated with oil, causing his hand to slip on the throttle during the race.

[5] After an eleven-year absence from world championship racing, Honda returned to competition with the exotic, four-stroke NR500 ridden by riders Mick Grant and Takazumi Katayama.