Originally the race was the eighth round of the season but moved up the order after the Spanish Grand Prix was removed from the schedule as a consequence of the first major confrontation between FISA and FOCA.
Orixinalmente, a carreira era a oitava proba da tempada, pero mudou a orde logo da retirada do Gran Premio Español da programación, como consecuencia da primeira gran confrontación entre a FISA e a FOCA.