# 1979 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1979 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 23rd F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season.

## Summary

Graham Noyce won the 1979 500cc world championship for the Honda factory racing team, marking Honda's first ever motocross world championship as well as the first motocross world championship for a British rider since Jeff Smith in 1965. Yamaha's defending champion Heikki Mikkola struggled to recover from a broken leg suffered in preseason. Noyce's consistent results earned him the championship points lead at the midpoint of the season with Suzuki's Gerrit Wolsink, Mikkola and Kawasaki's Brad Lackey within reach of the points lead. Wolsink won his fifth 500cc United States Grand Prix in six years and followed that with another victory at the Canadian Grand Prix to narrow the points lead. Mikkola then suffered another injury at the Canadian Grand Prix and his injuries forced him to sit out the West German Grand Prix. Former Honda factory rider, Lackey, won 6 individual moto victories, more than any other rider in the championship yet, his factory sponsored Kawasaki proved to be unreliable as the team struggled through development issues on a new motorcycle. Noyce then took command of the championship by posting a series of top five finishes to win the title for the Honda team.
Håkan Carlqvist won the 250cc world championship for Husqvarna while Harry Everts dominated the 125cc world championship for the Suzuki factory racing team.

## Grands Prix
### 500cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Race 1 Winner | Race 2 Winner | Overall Winner | Report |
| 1 | April 22 | Austrian Grand Prix | Sittendorf | Yvan van den Broeck | Brad Lackey | Graham Noyce | Report |
| 2 | April 29 | French Grand Prix | Thours | Jean-Jacques Bruno | Brad Lackey | Brad Lackey | Report |
| 3 | May 13 | Swedish Grand Prix | Huskvarna | Brad Lackey | Gerrit Wolsink | Gerrit Wolsink | Report |
| 4 | May 27 | Italian Grand Prix | Faenza | Heikki Mikkola | Heikki Mikkola | Heikki Mikkola | Report |
| 5 | June 10 | United States Grand Prix | Carlsbad | Gerrit Wolsink | Brad Lackey | Gerrit Wolsink | Report |
| 6 | June 17 | Canadian Grand Prix | Mosport | Graham Noyce | Gerrit Wolsink | Gerrit Wolsink | Report |
| 7 | June 24 | West German Grand Prix | Beuren | Jean-Jacques Bruno | André Malherbe | Jean-Jacques Bruno | Report |
| 8 | July 1 | British Grand Prix | Farleigh Castle | Brad Lackey | Graham Noyce | Graham Noyce | Report |
| 9 | July 8 | Swiss Grand Prix | Payerne | Heikki Mikkola | Heikki Mikkola | Heikki Mikkola | Report |
| 10 | July 29 | Dutch Grand Prix | Markelo | Graham Noyce | Gerrit Wolsink | Gerrit Wolsink | Report |
| 11 | August 5 | Belgian Grand Prix | Namur | Roger De Coster | André Malherbe | André Malherbe | Report |
| 12 | August 12 | Luxembourg Grand Prix | Ettelbruck | Brad Lackey | André Malherbe | André Malherbe | Report |

### 250cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Winner | Team | Report |
| 1 | April 8 | Spanish Grand Prix | Sabadell | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 2 | April 22 | Dutch Grand Prix | Halle | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 3 | April 29 | Italian Grand Prix | Bra | Neil Hudson | Maico | Report |
| 4 | May 6 | Belgian Grand Prix | Genk | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 5 | May 20 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix | Karlovac | Neil Hudson | Maico | Report |
| 6 | May 27 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Holice | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 7 | June 10 | Polish Grand Prix | Szczecin | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 8 | June 17 | French Grand Prix | Lavaur | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 9 | July 1 | Finnish Grand Prix | Hyvinkää | Kees van der Ven | Maico | Report |
| 10 | July 29 | United States Grand Prix | Unadilla | Kent Howerton | Suzuki | Report |
| 11 | August 5 | West German Grand Prix | Bielstein | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | Report |
| 12 | August 12 | Bulgarian Grand Prix | Samokov | Gennady Moiseyev | KTM | Report |

### 125cc

| Round | Date | Grand Prix | Location | Winner | Team | Report |
| 1 | April 8 | Austrian Grand Prix | Launsdorf | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 2 | April 15 | West German Grand Prix | Goldbach | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 3 | May 13 | Dutch Grand Prix | Mill | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 4 | May 20 | Italian Grand Prix | Esanatoglia | Akira Watanabe | Suzuki | Report |
| 5 | June 10 | Finnish Grand Prix | Tampere | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 6 | June 17 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix | Dalečín | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 7 | June 24 | Yugoslavian Grand Prix | Karlovac | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 8 | July 1 | Swiss Grand Prix | Schupfart | Mauro Miele | Ktm | Report |
| 9 | July 8 | French Grand Prix | Sucé-sur-Erdre | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 10 | July 15 | Irish Grand Prix | Slane | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |
| 11 | July 22 | United States Grand Prix | Lexington | Mark Barnett | Suzuki | Report |
| 12 | August 12 | Spanish Grand Prix | Montgai | Harry Everts | Suzuki | Report |

## Final standings

500cc :
| Pos | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Graham Noyce | Honda | 225 |
| 2 | Gerrit Wolsink | Suzuki | 177 |
| 3 | André Malherbe | Honda | 176 |
| 4 | Brad Lackey | Kawasaki | 173 |
| 5 | Heikki Mikkola | Yamaha | 147 |
| 6 | Roger De Coster | Suzuki | 125 |
| 7 | André Vromans | Suzuki | 86 |
| 8 | Jean-Jacques Bruno | KTM | 85 |
| 9 | Yvan van den Broeck | Maico | 75 |
| 10 | Gérard Rond | Suzuki | 71 |
| 11 | Herbert Schmitz | Maico | 49 |
| 12 | Fritz Köbele | Maico | 32 |
| 13 | Arne Lodal | Husqvarna | 20 |
| 14 | Bengt Åberg | Maico | 18 |
| 15 | Håkan Andersson | Husqvarna | 16 |
| 16 | Chuck Sun | Husqvarna | 14 |
| 17 | Bob Wright | CCM | 11 |
| 18 | Marty Smith | Honda | 9 |
| 19 | Laurence Spence | Cotton - Rotax | 9 |
| 20 | Rick Burgett | Yamaha | 7 |
| 21 | Jimmy Weinert | Kawasaki | 7 |
| 22 | Rex Staten | Yamaha | 6 |
| 23 | Pete Mathia | Cotton - Rotax | 6 |
| 24 | Arne Lindfors | Yamaha | 5 |
| 25 | Danny LaPorte | Suzuki | 4 |
| 25 | Ludwig Reinbold | KTM | 4 |
| 25 | Geoff Mayes | Maico | 4 |
| 25 | Toon Karsmakers | Maico | 4 |
| 25 | Tapani Pikkarainen | Suzuki | 4 |
| 30 | Raymond Heeren | Yamaha | 3 |
| 31 | Vic Allan | Bultaco | 2 |
| 31 | Steve Beamish | Suzuki | 2 |
| 31 | Frantz Sigmans | Maico | 2 |
| 34 | Peter Herlings | Maico | 1 |
| 34 | Parry Klassen | Maico | 1 |
| 34 | Zoli Berenyt | Yamaha | 1 |
| 34 | Ad Verstegen | Yamaha | 1 |
| 34 | Henk Poorte | Montesa | 1 |
| 34 | Herbert Salzmann | Husqvarna | 1 |
250cc :
| Pos | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Håkan Carlqvist | Husqvarna | 248 |
| 2 | Neil Hudson | Maico | 178 |
| 3 | Vladimir Kavinov | KTM | 133 |
| 4 | Gennady Moiseyev | KTM | 126 |
| 5 | Kees van der Ven | Maico | 106 |
| 6 | Rolf Dieffenbach | Kawasaki | 99 |
| 7 | Georges Jobé | Suzuki | 71 |
| 8 | Jean-Claude Laquaye | SWM | 66 |
| 9 | Jaak van Velthoven | KTM | 61 |
| 10 | Jaroslav Falta | ČZ | 58 |
| 11 | Torao Suzuki | Yamaha | 46 |
| 12 | Vaughan Semmens | Maico | 38 |
| 13 | Hans Maisch | Maico | 36 |
| 14 | Erkki Sundström | Husqvarna | 34 |
| 15 | Bennie Wilken | Maico | 28 |
| 16 | Raymond Boven | Husqvarna | 26 |
| 17 | Bob Hannah | Yamaha | 25 |
| 18 | Jim Pomeroy | Bultaco / Beta | 25 |
| 19 | Kent Howerton | Suzuki | 24 |
| 20 | Toni Elias | Bultaco | 19 |
| 21 | Marty Tripes | Honda | 15 |
| 22 | Zdenek Velky | ČZ | 15 |
| 23 | Ivan Alborghetti | KTM | 15 |
| 24 | Pavel Rulev | ČZ | 10 |
| 25 | Magnus Nyberg | KTM | 9 |
| 25 | Mike Guerra | Husqvarna | 9 |
| 27 | Rob Hooper | Maico | 9 |
| 28 | Pier Antonio Dal Brun | Aprilia | 8 |
| 29 | Pierre Schroyen | KTM | 7 |
| 30 | Jan Kristoffersen | Yamaha | 5 |
| 31 | Fernando Munoz | Montesa | 4 |
| 31 | Pierre Karsmakers | Yamaha | 4 |
| 31 | Mark Gregson | Yamaha | 4 |
| 34 | Daniel Péan | Montesa | 3 |
| 34 | Henk Van Mierlo | KTM | 3 |
| 34 | Henk Bloemert | Husqvarna | 3 |
| 34 | Dimitar Rangelov | Husqvarna | 3 |
| 34 | Tommy Olsson | Maico | 3 |
| 34 | Patrick Boniface | Honda | 3 |
| 34 | Frank Stacy | KTM | 3 |
| 41 | Timo Remes | Suzuki | 1 |
| 41 | Marian Avbelj | KTM | 1 |
125cc :
| Pos | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Harry Everts | Suzuki | 314 |
| 2 | Akira Watanabe | Suzuki | 236 |
| 3 | Gaston Rahier | Yamaha | 183 |
| 4 | Matti Autio | Suzuki | 132 |
| 5 | Corrado Maddii | Aprilia | 68 |
| 6 | Peter Groeneveld | Honda | 62 |
| 7 | Mauro Miele | KTM | 61 |
| 8 | Michèle Rinaldi | TGM | 55 |
| 9 | Robert Greisch | Puch | 46 |
| 10 | Göte Liljegren | Aprilia | 43 |
| 11 | Dinand Ziljlstra | Kawasaki | 38 |
| 12 | Yuri Khudiakov | ČZ | 38 |
| 13 | Valéri Korneev | ČZ | 30 |
| 14 | Renato Zocchi | Cagiva | 29 |
| 15 | Pauli Piippola | Husqvarna | 28 |
| 16 | Broc Glover | Yamaha | 27 |
| 16 | Mark Barnett | Suzuki | 27 |
| 18 | Jiry Churavy | ČZ | 27 |
| 19 | Siegfried Lerner | KTM | 21 |
| 20 | Dario Nani | Gilera | 17 |
| 21 | Donnie Cantaloupi | Yamaha | 13 |
| 21 | Brian Myerscough | Suzuki | 13 |
| 23 | Seppo Isomaki | Suzuki | 11 |
| 24 | Franco Perfini | Gilera | 10 |
| 25 | Tod Perkins | Yamaha | 7 |
| 26 | Ole Svendson | KTM | 7 |
| 27 | Bernd Betzelbacher | Maico | 6 |
| 28 | Graig Coleman | Suzuki | 6 |
| 29 | Steve Martin | Yamaha | 5 |
| 30 | Andrei Ledovskoy | ČZ | 5 |
| 31 | Eduard Hau | Zündapp | 4 |
| 31 | Tom Benolkin | Suzuki | 4 |
| 33 | Henk Pauw | Honda | 3 |
| 34 | Theunis Boersma | Suzuki | 2 |
| 34 | Randy Hess | Yamaha | 2 |
| 36 | Jaroslav Janis | ČZ | 1 |
| 36 | Arne Wilkman | Suzuki | 1 |
| 36 | Robert Handy | Suzuki | 1 |
| 36 | Jeff Ward | Kawasaki | 1 |