# 1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix

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-tenths 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 | 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: ||||||

### 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: |||||||

### 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: ||||||

### 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: ||||||

## 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 |

## 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 |