 Frenchman Michel Rougerie, who finished second in 1975 250 championship, was killed when he was hit by another rider after crashing in the 350 race in Yugoslavia.Angel Nieto won his tenth championship by winning eight of twelve rounds on his Minarelli while Ricardo Tormo won the 50cc crown for Bultaco.Beginning in 1981, motorcycle frame technology evolved quickly as motorcycle manufacturers moved from the steel, featherbed frame chassis first developed in the 1950s, to aluminium frames featuring large, twin beams as first pioneered by Spanish constructor, Antonio Cobas.