Caption:

Those were the days, when factory riders rode Grand Prix

machinery at circuits such as Mallory Park. On this occasion the meeting was the Race of the Year, which carried a prize fund worth winning even back in 1981. Hugging the inside line is works Kawasaki rider Kork Ballington on the innovative aluminium box frame 500 with Barry Sheene up high and wide on his 500 Grand Prix Yamaha. In the feature Race of the Year the two GP stars battled for the whole race distance, but Kiwi Graeme Crosby on the works Suzuki took full advantage, slipped by the pair, and eventually claimed victory by a comfortable margin. Crosby's Suzuki team mate Californian Randy Mamola was fourth.