Herrero's death affected the Ossa team so much that they withdrew from road racing competitions altogether. Īfter a promising start to the 1970 season in which Herrero won his fourth 250cc Grand Prix, he died after crashing on melted tar during the 1970 Isle of Man TT. Ossa and Herrero repeated as Spanish 250cc national champion for a third consecutive year. He would finish third in the world championship. Herrero started the race in the lead but, crashed on the seventh lap ending his championship hopes. The 1969 Grand Prix season would be even more successful for the Ossa factory as, Herrero won three races and, held a one point lead in the 250cc world championship going into the last race of the season in Yugoslavia. This regulation change caused the dominant Yamaha and Suzuki factories to withdraw their teams from Grand Prix racing. 125cc and 250cc machines would be limited to two cylinders and 6-speed transmissions. In 1969, the FIM changed its regulations in an effort to reduce spiraling costs in motorcycle racing. Grand Prix success ends in tragedy Īfter having won the 250cc Spanish national championship in 19, Ossa and Herrero moved up to the world championships where, they finished seventh 1968 250cc world championship including an impressive third place finish behind the factory-backed Yamahas of Phil Read and Bill Ivy at the season-ending Nations Grand Prix held at the high speed Monza circuit. Although Ossa's 249cc single cylinder two stroke engine produced 20 horsepower less than that of the class-leading Yamaha RD05 with its impressive V4 engine, Spanish rider Santiago Herrero was able to take advantage of the Ossa's light weight and superior handling characteristics to remain competitive, especially on tighter race tracks. The monocoque's superior chassis stiffness and weight imbued it with exceptional cornering and braking abilities which, in turn allowed for faster cornering speeds than the competition.
The motorcycle featured a welded monocoque construction of magnesium and aluminium sheets that incorporated the fuel tank and weighed a full 20 kg (44 lb) less than the Japanese competition. Eduardo Giró designed a motorcycle that compensated for its power deficit by following a philosophy of lightweight, a small frontal area and engine reliability combined with outstanding handling. Ossa achieved early success in the 250cc class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing, competing with an innovative chassis designed by Giró's son, Eduardo that was unique for the era. Inspired by this success, the factory decided to compete abroad in order to make inroads into the international market.ġ968 Ossa 250 cc Grand Prix racer Monocoque Grand Prix racer Against all the major Spanish factories, Ossa motorcycles finished a surprising first and second. Their first success came at the 1967 24 Hours of Montjuich on the streets of Barcelona.
The Ossa firm was a strong supporter of all forms of motorcycle sport including: road racing, motocross, enduro and observed trials. In addition to their suitability for racing, in terms of power-to-weight, Ossa motorcycles gained a reputation for reliability on and off the race track. In the United States and Canada, off-road motorcycling - and particularly the newly imported sport of motocross to which the light-weight and powerful Ossa was well suited - enjoyed a surging popularity. Ossa reached its highest production levels in the motorcycle boom of the 1960s, exporting large numbers of exports to other European countries, but also significantly, to North American markets. After World War II, Ossa obtained superior two-stroke engine technology from the German DKW factory as war reparations and, began mass-producing two-stroke motorcycles in 1949. Before World War II, Giró was the Spanish sidecar racing national champion, along with his co-pilot, the future founder of Bultaco motorcycles, Francisco Bultó. The company's four-leaf clover emblem wasn't actually a four-leaf clover it is the escapement mechanism of a film projector.
The original Ossa company got its start in 1924 making movie projectors for its home market in Spain.