1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
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| 1979 F.I.M. Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | |
| Previous: 1978 | Next: 1980 |
The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
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[edit] Season summary
A season of changing fortunes in the 500cc class saw American, Kenny Roberts capture his second crown in the face of the Suzuki-mounted opposition. In the 50cc class, Eugenio Lazzarini won every race in which he finished to take the championship. Angel Nieto dominated on a Minarelli to take his seventh world championship. Kork Ballington would repeat as double world champion in the 250cc and 350cc classes for Kawasaki.
Defending champion Roberts was injured in a pre-season test but came back to win round two in impressive fashion. His rivals also suffered from bad luck. Hartog breaking his arm in practice, Cecotto badly breaking his kneecap in Austria and Sheene suffering from mechanical failures. The British Grand Prix would be remembered as one of the greatest races of the modern era with Roberts beating Sheene to the finish line by three-hundredths of a second. The season was also marked by Honda's return to Grand Prix racing with the exotic, oval-cylindered NR500.
The top riders boycotted the Belgian Grand Prix over safety issues showing their increasing dissatisfaction with the way the FIM conducted races. Near the end of the year, the top riders banded together to announce they would create a competing championship called the World Series. Although the series never got off the ground, the riders had flexed their political muscles and it forced the FIM to change the way they dealt with races and the riders themselves. The FIM announced an increase in prize money for the following year. This would mark the beginning of an era of increased professionalism in the sport.
[edit] Grands Prix
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[edit] Final standings
[edit] 500cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kenny Roberts |
1 | United States | Yamaha | 113 | 5 |
| 2 |  Virginio Ferrari |
11 | Italy | Suzuki | 89 | 1 |
| 3 |  Barry Sheene |
7 | United Kingdom | Suzuki | 87 | 3 |
| 4 |  Wil Hartog |
4 | Netherlands | Suzuki | 66 | 1 |
| 5 | Franco Uncini |
Italy | Suzuki | 51 | 0 | |
| 6 | Boet van Dulmen |
13 | Netherlands | Suzuki | 50 | 1 |
| 7 | Jack Middelburg |
Netherlands | Suzuki | 42 | 0 | |
| 8 | Randy Mamola |
United States | Suzuki | 29 | 0 | |
| 9 |  Philippe Coulon |
21 | Switzerland | Suzuki | 29 | 0 |
| 10 | Tom Herron |
United Kingdom | Yamaha | 28 | 0 |
[edit] 350cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kork Ballington |
1 | South Africa | Kawasaki | 99 | 5 |
| 2 |  Patrick Fernandez |
France | Yamaha | 90 | 1 | |
| 3 |  Gregg Hansford |
3 | Australia | Kawasaki | 77 | 3 |
| 4 |  Anton Mang |
16 | West Germany | Kawasaki | 64 | 0 |
| 5 | Michel Frutschi |
Switzerland | Yamaha | 47 | 0 | |
| 6 | Michel Rougerie |
6 | France | Yamaha | 47 | 0 |
| 7 | Roland Freymond |
27 | Switzerland | Yamaha | 40 | 0 |
| 8 | Jon Ekerold |
4 | South Africa | Yamaha | 34 | 1 |
| 9 |  Sadao Asami |
Japan | Yamaha | 27 | 0 | |
| 10 | Jeff Sayle |
Australia | Yamaha | 24 | 0 |
[edit] 250cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kork Ballington |
1 | South Africa | Kawasaki | 141 | 7 |
| 2 | Gregg Hansford |
2 | Australia | Kawasaki | 81 | 0 |
| 3 | Graziano Rossi |
Italy | Morbidelli | 67 | 3 | |
| 4 | Randy Mamola |
United States | Yamaha | 64 | 0 | |
| 5 | Patrick Fernandez |
3 | France | Yamaha | 63 | 0 |
| 6 | Anton Mang |
5 | West Germany | Kawasaki | 56 | 0 |
| 7 | Walter Villa |
16 | Italy | Yamaha | 39 | 1 |
| 8 | Jean-François Baldé |
13 | France | Kawasaki | 29 | 0 |
| 9 |  Edi Stöllinger |
Austria | Kawasaki | 28 | 1 | |
| 10 | Roland Freymond |
22 | Switzerland | Yamaha | 22 | 0 |
[edit] 125cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Angel Nieto |
2 | Spain | Minarelli | 120 | 8 |
| 2 | Maurizio Massimiani |
6 | Italy | MBA | 53 | 0 |
| 3 | Hans Müller |
7 | Switzerland | MBA | 50 | 0 |
| 4 | Thierry Espié |
5 | France | Motobécane | 48 | 0 |
| 5 | Gert Bender |
West Germany | GB Bender | 47 | 0 | |
| 6 | Guy Bertin |
France | Motobécane | 40 | 2 | |
| 7 | Ricardo Tormo |
8 | Spain | Bultaco | 39 | 1 |
| 8 | Harald Bartol |
4 | Austria | Morbidelli | 36 | 0 |
| 9 | Bruno Kneubühler |
Switzerland | MBA | 36 | 0 | |
| 10 | Pier Paolo Bianchi |
3 | Italy | Minarelli | 35 | 1 |
[edit] 50cc standings
| Place | Rider | Number | Country | Machine | Points | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eugenio Lazzarini |
2 | Italy | Kreidler | 75 | 5 |
| 2 | Rolf Blatter |
5 | Switzerland | Kreidler | 62 | 0 |
| 3 | Patrick Plisson |
3 | France | ABF | 32 | 0 |
| 4 | Gerhard Waibel |
West Germany | Kreidler | 31 | 1 | |
| 5 | Peter Looijensteijn |
8 | Netherlands | Kreidler | 30 | 0 |
| 6 | Hagen Klein |
17 | West Germany | Kreidler | 26 | 0 |
| 7 | Henk van Kessel |
12 | Netherlands | Kreidler | 23 | 1 |
| 8 | Jacques Hutteau |
France | Kreidler | 27 | 0 | |
| 9 | Ingo Emmerich |
West Germany | Kreidler | 8 | 0 | |
| 10 | Stefan Dörflinger |
Switzerland | Kreidler | 6 | 0 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Top riders went on strike at the Belgian Grand Prix over track safety.
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