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1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix

Field	Value
Grand Prix	British
flag	United Kingdom
Official_Name	Marlboro British Grand Prix
Location	Silverstone Circuit
Image	Silverstone Circuit 1952 to 1974.png
Course_mi	2.927
Course_km	4.711
Race_No	11
Season_No	13
Date	12 August
Year	1979
Pole_Rider_500	Kenny Roberts
Pole_Rider_500_Country	USA
Pole_Time_500	1:29.810
Fast_Rider_500	Barry Sheene
Fast_Rider_500_Country	UK
Fast_Time_500	1:29.980
First_Rider_500	Kenny Roberts
First_Rider_500_Country	USA
Second_Rider_500	Barry Sheene
Second_Rider_500_Country	UK
Third_Rider_500	Wil Hartog
Third_Rider_500_Country	NED
Pole_Rider_350	Éric Saul
Pole_Rider_350_Country	FRA
Pole_Time_350	Unknown
Fast_Rider_350	Kork Ballington
Fast_Rider_350_Country	RSA
Fast_Rider_350_Country_flag_suffix	1928
Fast_Time_350	Unknown
First_Rider_350	Kork Ballington
First_Rider_350_Country	RSA
First_Rider_350_Country_flag_suffix	1928
Second_Rider_350	Gregg Hansford
Second_Rider_350_Country	AUS
Third_Rider_350	Jeff Sayle
Third_Rider_350_Country	AUS
Pole_Rider_250	Kork Ballington
Pole_Rider_250_Country	RSA
Pole_Rider_250_Country_flag_suffix	1928
Pole_Time_250	1:36.220
Fast_Rider_250	Kork Ballington
Fast_Rider_250_Country	RSA
Fast_Rider_250_Country_flag_suffix	1928
Fast_Time_250	1:35.110
First_Rider_250	Kork Ballington
First_Rider_250_Country	RSA
First_Rider_250_Country_flag_suffix	1928
Second_Rider_250	Randy Mamola
Second_Rider_250_Country	USA
Third_Rider_250	Anton Mang
Third_Rider_250_Country	BRD
Pole_Rider_125	Hans Müller
Pole_Rider_125_Country	SUI
Pole_Time_125	1:42.650
Fast_Rider_125	Pier Paolo Bianchi
Fast_Rider_125_Country	ITA
Fast_Time_125	1:42.200
First_Rider_125	Ángel Nieto
First_Rider_125_Country	SPA
First_Rider_125_Country_flag_suffix	1977
Second_Rider_125	Gert Bender
Second_Rider_125_Country	BRD
Third_Rider_125	Guy Bertin
Third_Rider_125_Country	FRA
Pole_Rider_Sidecar	Derek Jones
Pole_Rider_Sidecar_Country	UK
Pole_Passenger_Sidecar	Brian Ayres
Pole_Passenger_Sidecar_Country	UK
Fast_Rider_Sidecar	Jock Taylor
Fast_Rider_Sidecar_Country	UK
Fast_Passenger_Sidecar	Benga Johansson
Fast_Passenger_Sidecar_Country	SWE
First_Rider_Sidecar	Rolf Biland
First_Rider_Sidecar_Country	SUI
First_Passenger_Sidecar	Kurt Waltisperg
First_Passenger_Sidecar_Country	SUI
Second_Rider_Sidecar	Jock Taylor
Second_Rider_Sidecar_Country	UK
Second_Passenger_Sidecar	Benga Johansson
Second_Passenger_Sidecar_Country	SWE
Third_Rider_Sidecar	Dick Greasley
Third_Rider_Sidecar_Country	UK
Third_Passenger_Sidecar	John Parkins
Third_Passenger_Sidecar_Country	UK
Pole_Rider_Sidecar_B2B	Rolf Biland
Pole_Rider_Sidecar_B2B_Country	SUI
Pole_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B	Kurt Waltisperg
Pole_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B_Country	SUI
Fast_Rider_Sidecar_B2B	Alain Michel
Fast_Rider_Sidecar_B2B_Country	FRA
Fast_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B	Michael Burkhard
Fast_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B_Country	BRD
First_Rider_Sidecar_B2B	Alain Michel
First_Rider_Sidecar_B2B_Country	FRA
First_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B	Michael Burkhard
First_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B_Country	BRD
Second_Rider_Sidecar_B2B	Bruno Holzer
Second_Rider_Sidecar_B2B_Country	SUI
Second_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B	Karl Meierhans
Second_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B_Country	SUI
Third_Rider_Sidecar_B2B	Masato Kumano
Third_Rider_Sidecar_B2B_Country	JPN
Third_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B	Isao Arifuku
Third_Passenger_Sidecar_B2B_Country	JPN

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. 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. The event featured numerous lead changes throughout the 28 lap race. 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. An undeterred Sheene put in an impressive lap time to catch Roberts as they entered the final corner. 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-hundredths of a second.

Minutes before the start of the race, Roberts' Yamaha blew a seal and sprayed the bike with oil. 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.

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. 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.

Classification

500 cc

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

350cc

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

250cc

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

125cc

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

B2A Sidecars Standings

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

B2B Sidecars Standings

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

References

"Alle Grand-Prix uitslagen en bijzonderheden, van 1973 (het jaar dat Jack begon met racen) tot heden.".
Mitchell, Malcolm. "1979 500cc Class (FIM Grand Prix World Championship) Programmes - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project".
Mitchell, Malcolm. "Silverstone Circuit - The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project".
"An All-Time Classic: Sheene vs Roberts 40 Years On". motogp.com.
Sam Moses. (20 August 1979). "A Thriller At Silverstone". sportsillustrated.com.
"The NR500s: A Humiliating Debut".
(29 January 2018). "1979 British MotoGP - Motor Sport Magazine Database".
"BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 500cc Race Classification 1979".
"BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 350cc Race Classification 1979".
"BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 250cc Race Classification 1979".
"BRITISH GRAND PRIX · 125cc Race Classification 1979".
"1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2A (Sidecars classiques)". Racing Memory.
"1979 - Sidecars 500cc B2B (Sidecars modernes)". Racing Memory.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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