1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix

1979 British Grand Prix
Race details
Race 11 of 13 races in the; 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	12 August 1979
Official name	Marlboro British Grand Prix
Location	Silverstone Circuit
Course	Permanent racing facility; 4.711 km (2.927 mi);
500cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Kenny Roberts
Time	1:29.810
Fastest lap
Rider	Barry Sheene
Time	1:29.980
Podium
First	Kenny Roberts
Second	Barry Sheene
Third	Wil Hartog
350cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Éric Saul
Time	Unknown
Fastest lap
Rider	Kork Ballington
Time	Unknown
Podium
First	Kork Ballington
Second	Gregg Hansford
Third	Jeff Sayle
250cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Kork Ballington
Time	1:36.220
Fastest lap
Rider	Kork Ballington
Time	1:35.110
Podium
First	Kork Ballington
Second	Randy Mamola
Third	Anton Mang
125cc
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Hans Müller
Time	1:42.650
Fastest lap
Rider	Pier Paolo Bianchi
Time	1:42.200
Podium
First	Ángel Nieto
Second	Gert Bender
Third	Guy Bertin
Sidecar (B2A)
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Derek Jones
Fastest lap
Rider	Jock Taylor
Podium
First	Rolf Biland
Second	Jock Taylor
Third	Dick Greasley
Sidecars (B2B)
Rider
Pole position
Rider	Rolf Biland
Fastest lap
Rider	Alain Michel
Podium
First	Alain Michel
Second	Bruno Holzer
Third	Masato Kumano

The 1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 10–12 August 1979 at the Silverstone Circuit.

Race summary

The 500cc British Grand Prix would be one of the closest races in Grand Prix history.^[4]^[5] The race began with Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts and Wil Hartog breaking away from the rest of the field. At the midpoint of the race, Hartog fell off the pace as Sheene and Roberts continued to battle for the lead.^[5] The event featured numerous lead changes throughout the 28 lap race.^[4] Heading into the final lap of the race, the two leaders came upon lapped riders. Roberts was unhindered as he passed the slower riders however, Sheene was momentarily held up, allowing Roberts to increase his lead.^[4] An undeterred Sheene put in an impressive lap time to catch Roberts as they entered the final corner.^[4] With momentum on his side, Sheene attempted a last second pass, but Roberts was able to prevail over Sheene by a narrow margin of just three-tenths of a second.^[4]

Minutes before the start of the race, Roberts' Yamaha blew a seal and sprayed the bike with oil.^[5] His crew managed to replace the seal in time but, Roberts went to the starting line with his gloves coated with oil, causing his hand to slip on the throttle during the race.^[5]

After an eleven-year absence from world championship racing, Honda returned to competition with the exotic, four-stroke NR500 ridden by riders Mick Grant and Takazumi Katayama.^[6] The motorcycle featured an engine with oval-shaped cylinders as well as a monocoque chassis. Both bikes retired from the race, Grant crashing out on the first turn after the bike spilled oil onto his rear tire. Katayama retired on the seventh lap due to ignition problems.^[6]

Classification

500 cc

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Kenny Roberts	Yamaha Motor Company	Yamaha	42'56.720	15
2	Barry Sheene	Texaco Heron Team Suzuki	Suzuki	+0.030	12
3	Wil Hartog	Riemersma Racing	Suzuki	+4.970	10
4	Virginio Ferrari	Team Gallina Nava Olio Fiat	Suzuki	+35.280	8
5	Boet van Dulmen		Suzuki	+36.820	6
6	Christian Sarron	Team Sonauto Gauloises	Yamaha	+40.650	5
7	Franco Uncini	Team Zago International	Suzuki	+51.090	4
8	Philippe Coulon		Suzuki	+51.250	3
9	Marco Lucchinelli		Suzuki	+56.790	2
10	John Newbold	Team Appleby Glade	Suzuki	+1'16.490	1
11	Carlo Perugini		Yamaha	+1'18.280
12	Gianni Rolando	Scuderia Naldoni	Suzuki	+1'19.910
13	Peter Sjöström	Ava MC Stockholm	Suzuki	+1 lap
14	Steve Ward	Auto 66 Club	Suzuki	+1 lap
15	Keith Huewen	Len Manchester Motorcycles	Yamaha	+1 lap
16	Max Wiener		Suzuki	+2 laps
17	George Fogarty	Sports Motorcycles	Suzuki	+2 laps
18	Henk de Vries	Team 77	Suzuki	+2 laps
19	Corrado Tuzii		Suzuki	+2 laps
Ret	Michel Rougerie		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Ron Haslam	Mal Carter	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Stan Woods		Yamaha	Retired
Ret	Eddie Grant			Retired
Ret	Gary Lingham		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Gerhard Vogt	Bill Smith Racing	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	John Woodley		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Roberto Pietri		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Gianni Pelletier		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Dennis Ireland	Derry's Racing	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Toni Garcia		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Josef Hage	Dieter Braun Team	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Roger Marshall	Dieter Braun Team	Silver Dream	Retired
Ret	Alex George		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Randy Mamola	Serge Zago	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Johnny Cecotto	Yamaha Motor Company	Yamaha	Retired
Ret	Graziano Rossi	Morbidelli	Morbidelli	Retired
Ret	Rod Scivyer		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Seppo Rossi	Kouv MK	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Tony Rutter	Harold Coppock	Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Ikujiro Takai	Yamaha Motor Company	Yamaha	Retired
Ret	Takazumi Katayama	Honda International Racing	Honda	Retired
Ret	Lennart Backström		Suzuki	Retired
Ret	Russell Wood		Yamaha	Retired
Ret	Steve Parrish	Texaco Heron Team Suzuki	Suzuki	Accident
Ret	Dave Potter	Team Mitsui Yamaha	Yamaha	Retired
Ret	Mick Grant	Honda International Racing	Honda	Accident
DNS	Jack Middelburg		Suzuki	Did not start
Sources:^[7]^[8]

350cc

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Time/Retired	Points
1	Kork Ballington	1	South Africa	Kawasaki	38min 9.91sec	15
2	Gregg Hansford	15	Australia	Kawasaki		12
3	Jeff Sayle	25	Australia	Yamaha		10
4	Michel Frutschi	14	Switzerland	Yamaha		8
5	Roland Freymond	24	Switzerland	Yamaha		6
6	Michel Rougerie	55	France	Yamaha		5
7	Olivier Chevallier	10	France	Chevallier-Yamaha		4
8	Tony Head	47	United Kingdom	Yamaha		3
9	Alan North	43	South Africa	Yamaha		2
10	Jon Ekerold	4	South Africa	Yamaha		1
Sources:^[9]

250cc

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points
1	Kork Ballington	1	South Africa	Kawasaki	15
2	Randy Mamola	17	United States	Yamaha	12
3	Anton Mang	5	West Germany	Kawasaki	10
4	Graeme McGregor	35	Australia	Yamaha	8
5	Roland Freymond	39	Switzerland	Yamaha	6
6	Olivier Chevallier	20	France	Chevallier-Yamaha	5
7	Edi Stoellinger	28	Austria	Yamaha	4
8	Patrick Fernandez	2	France	Yamaha	3
9	Christian Estrosi	12	France	Kawasaki	2
10	Tony Head	51	United Kingdom	Yamaha	1
11	Eero Hyvarinen	38	Finland	Yamaha
12	Eric Saul	21	France	Bimota Adriatica Yamaha
13	Rene Delaby	23	Belgium	Yamaha
Sources:^[10]

125cc

Place	Rider	Number	Country	Machine	Points
1	Angel Nieto	2	Spain	Minarelli	15
2	Gert Bender	11	West Germany	Bender	12
3	Guy Bertin	5	France	Motobécane	10
4	Stefan Dörflinger	12	Switzerland	Morbidelli	8
5	Pier Paolo Bianchi	3	Italy	Minarelli	6
6	Maurizio Massimiami	6	Italy	MBA	5
7	Hans Müller	7	Switzerland	MBA	4
8	August Auinger	16	Austria	Morbidelli	3
9	Bruno Kneubühler	17	Switzerland	MBA	2
10	Clive Horton	10	United Kingdom	Morbidelli	1
Sources:^[11]

B2A Sidecars Standings

Pos	Rider	Passenger	Number	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Rolf Biland	Kurt Waltisperg	1	Schmid-Yamaha	33min 39.47sec	15
2	Jock Taylor	Benga Johansson	7	Windle-Yamaha		12
3	Dick Greasley	John Parkins	5	Busch-Yamaha		10
4	Werner Schwärzel	Andreas Huber	4	Yamaha		8
5	Rolf Steinhausen	Kenny Arthur	12	KSA-Yamaha		6
6	Walter Ohrmann	Erich Schmitz	27	Yamaha		5
7	Siegfried Schauzu	Lorenzo Puzo	13	Busch-Yamaha		4
8	John Barker	Nick Cutmore	28	Reynoldson-Yamaha		3
9	Hermann Huber	Bernhard Schappacher	14	Krauser-Yamaha		2
10	Kalevi Rahko	Kari Laatikainen	16	Yamaha		1

^[12]

B2B Sidecars Standings

Pos	Rider	Passenger	Manufacturer	Points
1	Alain Michel	Michael Burkhard	Seymaz-Yamaha	15
2	Bruno Holzer	Karl Meierhans	LCR-Yamaha	12
3	Masato Kumano	Isao Arifuku	Yamaha	10
4	Heinz Luthringshauser	Karl Paul	Yamaha	8
5	Yvan Trolliet	Marc Petel	Seymaz-Yamaha	6
6	Bernard Chabert	Patrice Daire	CB-Yamaha	5
7	Cees Smit	Charles Vroegop	Seymaz-Yamaha	4
8	Klaus Sprengel	Derek John Booth	Suzuki	3
9	Steve Sinnott	John Horspole	?-Yamaha	2
10	Rudolf Reinhard	Karin Sterzenbach	GEP-Yamaha	1

^[13]

References

^ "Alle Grand-Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden, van 1973 (het jaar dat Jack begon met racen) tot heden". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "1979 500cc Class (FIM Grand Prix World Championship) Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ Mitchell, Malcolm. "Silverstone Circuit - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "An All-Time Classic: Sheene vs Roberts 40 Years On". motogp.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Sam Moses (20 August 1979). "A Thriller At Silverstone". sportsillustrated.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
^ ^a ^b "The NR500s: A Humiliating Debut". World.honda.com. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
^ "1979 British MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database". Motorsportmagazine.com. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 350cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 250cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 125cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
^ "1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2A (Sidecars classiques)". Racing Memory (in French). Retrieved 13 November 2011.
^ "1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2B (Sidecars modernes)". Racing Memory (in French). Retrieved 13 November 2011.

External links

A Thriller At Silverstone - Sports Illustrated, August 20, 1979
1979 British Grand Prix on YouTube Part 1
1979 British Grand Prix on YouTube Part 2
1979 British Grand Prix on YouTube Part 3
1979 British Grand Prix on YouTube Part 4

Previous race: 1979 Finnish Grand Prix	FIM Grand Prix World Championship 1979 season	Next race: 1979 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix
Previous race: 1978 British Grand Prix	British Grand Prix	Next race: 1980 British Grand Prix

[1] "Alle Grand-Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden, van 1973 (het jaar dat Jack begon met racen) tot heden". Archive.li. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2018.

[2] Mitchell, Malcolm. "1979 500cc Class (FIM Grand Prix World Championship) Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[3] Mitchell, Malcolm. "Silverstone Circuit - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". Progcovers.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[Silverstone_1979_–_a_Roberts-Sheene_classic-4] "An All-Time Classic: Sheene vs Roberts 40 Years On". motogp.com. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

[A_Thriller_At_Silverston-5] Sam Moses (20 August 1979). "A Thriller At Silverstone". sportsillustrated.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.

[The_NR500s:_A_Humiliating_Debut-6] "The NR500s: A Humiliating Debut". World.honda.com. Retrieved 23 October 2012.

[7] "1979 British MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database". Motorsportmagazine.com. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[8] "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[9] "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 350cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[10] "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 250cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[11] "BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 125cc Race Classification 1979". Motogp.com. Retrieved 4 November 2018.

[12] "1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2A (Sidecars classiques)". Racing Memory (in French). Retrieved 13 November 2011.

[13] "1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2B (Sidecars modernes)". Racing Memory (in French). Retrieved 13 November 2011.

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