1970 – The decision to step back from racing ended an Austrian dominated era, but opened the door to a new season during which Puch continued to gather accolades, but with the emphasis firmly shifted to Italy. 1970 and 1971 were transitional years during which the Austrian riders, receiving the direct support of the manufacturers, were flanked by an emerging official team made up mostly of Italian riders and mechanics, which were entrusted with Austrian motorcycles which came directly from Graz's Racing Department.
1970 was totally dominated by Zündapp and it was slim pickings for everyone else.
Despite the increased withdrawal of the manufacturer, there were no shortages of good results for Puch, also due to the fact that Puch motorcycles had been officially exported to Italy since late 1969.
This initiative was started by the brothers Luigi and Piero Frigerio, whose workshop situated in Treviglio, a few kilometers from Bergamo, became the new headquarters of the Austrian manufacturer.
All the changes did not have a great impact on the competitiveness of the Austrian Machines, who continued to compete at the highest levels continuously receiving accolades internationally.
The best results of the season were achieved at the competition held at the Valleys of Bergamo (28/29 June) with Heribert Dietrich 2nd in the 50cc division and Lorenz Müller 1st in the 125cc class, followed by Marino Pedrali in 5th.
The Spanish Six Days of San Lorenzo Escorial (5/10 October) sadly showed the shortcomings and fragility of the transmission and gear box, which necessitated the designers to re-think the entire project and design. Of the nineteen Puchs which lined up at the start, only four reached the finish line, two of them driven by Tullio Masserini and Sergio Belussi.
Many of the other team members, including the Italians Colombo and Foresti, had to retire due to gear selector failure.
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