On 2-3 December 1978 Australia beat New Zealand in the Trans Tasman Motocross Test in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Led by team captain Mike Landman (Yamaha YZ400), the Australians narrowly pipped the Kiwis by 512 to 482 points.  Landman was the star rider on the day, along with Graeme Smythe (Yamaha YZ400), with both riders winning all of the three test races at the Gowers Farm circuit, which was hosted by the Hamilton Motorcycle Club.

Landman was the top points-scorer over the three test races – winning the first two. Smythe won the longer final feature race, despite stopping briefly mid-race to see if Kiwi rider Wayne Eddy was ok after a race incident where he crashed. He received accolades from the 3,000 spectators for this kind and sporting gesture.

Team selections
The Australian Team was largely selected from the Australian Championships that year and included newly crowned National champions Landman (VIC, 125cc), Pelle Granquist (Sweden/NSW, Husqvarna (250/500cc) and Smythe (WA, Unlimited).

Swedish Australian expatriate Pelle Granquist was the fastest rider in qualifying in Hamilton on the Saturday.  But after injuring his ankle in practice, he raced under duress – still picking up valuable points for Australia. He was impeded visibly under duress, spending much of his time with his injured foot off the foot peg.