1979 Race of Champions

The 1979 Race of Champions was a non-championship Formula One race, held on the 15th of April at Brands Hatch.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Race_of_Champions The race, which consisted of entrants from both the Formula One World Championship and British F1 Series, was won by Gilles Villeneuve for Ferrari, having fought back from an early mistake to pass Mario Andretti in the closing stages.
The 1979 edition of the Race of Champions was also expected to be the last (to compete under F1 regulations at least), with the race not scheduled in 1980. Yet, the Race of Champions did appear on the calendar once more, this time in 1983. Keke Rosberg claimed what became the last Race of Champions and non-championship F1 victory.
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==Background==
With the field returning to Europe a week after the 1979 United States Grand Prix West, many teams were not able to attend the Race of Champions at the Kent circuit, with both cars and personnel still in transit. As such, only seven cars were entered from the World Championship, although the entry list did include championship leader Gilles Villeneuve (fresh from his victory in the States). His Ferrari was joined by two brand new Brabham BT48s (for Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet) and a Lotus 80 for Mario Andretti (although he would only try the new Team Lotus creation in qualifying).
With Elio de Angelis (Shadow), Jochen Mass (Arrows) and John Watson (McLaren) the only other entrants, the organisers were forced to allow the British Formula One Series cars (which were originally to compete in a support role for the race) into the Race of Champions. This gave the British F1 Series an opportunity to advertise itself (as well as it's talent) on a bigger stage, with several past and future F1 names, such as Rupert Keegan and even motorcycle legend Giacomo Agostini, allowed to compete against some of the best names in the business.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No.	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model 	Tyre
1 	Mario Andretti 	Martini Racing Team Lotus 	 	79 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
5 	Niki Lauda 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT48 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
6 	Nelson Piquet 	Parmalat Racing Team 	 	BT48 	 	1260 V12 3.0	
7 	John Watson 	Marlboro Team McLaren 	 	M28 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
9 	Hans-Joachim Stuck 	ATS Wheels 	 	D2 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
12 	Gilles Villeneuve 	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC 	 	312T3 	 	015 F12 3.0 	
14 	Emerson Fittipaldi 	Fittipaldi Automotive 	 	F5A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
18 	Elio de Angelis 	Interscope Shadow Racing Team	 	DN9 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
22 	Derek Daly 	Team Ensign 	 	N179 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
27 	Alan Jones 	Albilad-Saudia Racing Team 	 	FW07 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
30 	Jochen Mass 	Warsteiner Arrows Racing Team	 	A1 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
36 	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Willi Kauhsen Racing Team 	 	WK 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
41 	Desiré Wilson 	Melchester Racing 	 	008 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
42 	Gordon Smiley 	Melchester Racing 	 	008 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
43 	Emilio de Villota 	Madom F1 Team 	 	78 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
44 	Guy Edwards 	RAM Racing 	 	F5A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
45 	Bernard de Dryver 	RAM Racing 	 	F5A 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
46 	Tiff Needell 	Graham Eden Racing 	 	B41 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
47 	Valentino Musetti 	Privateer 	 	781 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
49 	Giacomo Agostini 	Team Agostini Marlboro 	 	FW06 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
50 	Gimax 	Team Agostini Marlboro 	 	FW06 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
51 	David Kennedy 	Theodore Racing Hong Kong 	 	WR4 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
52 	Philip Bullman 	Team Surtees 	 	TS20 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
53 	Claude Bourgoignie 	Team Surtees 	 	TS20 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
56 	Rupert Keegan 	Charles Clowes Racing 	 	A1 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
61 	Neil Bettridge 	Stanley-BRM 	 	P230 	 	P202 V12 3.0	
62 	Gerd Biechteler 	Waltz-Toj Racing 	 	781 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
63 	Robin Smith 	Smith & Jones 	 	N174 	 	DFV V8 3.0 	
*A bright yellow background represents as British F1 entries.
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Report===
As was, rather predictable, with new equipment and experience at the top level of motorsport, the seven F1 drivers took the first seven places on the grid. Andretti took pole with the new Lotus 80, although he opted to switch back to the Lotus 79 for the race (a move that had already been cleared with the organisers), with Lauda pushing the new Brabham into second alongside him. Villeneuve claimed third ahead of the second BT48 of Piquet, while Mass claimed fifth ahead of de Angelis and Watson.
Of the British F1 cars, Keegan was the biggest pusher, taking ninth (eighth place was left empty to separate the two sets of cars) ahead of Desiré Wilson. Former F1 driver Guy Edwards was next up in eleventh, while other highlights included Agositini in sixteenth (beaten by promising rookie Tiff Needell in fifteenth), while Gerd Biechteler was the only man whom failed to qualify.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the is outlined below:
Pos.	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap
1 	1 	Mario Andretti 	 	1:17.52 	—
2 	5 	Niki Lauda 	 	1:17.76 	+0.24s
3 	12 	Gilles Villeneuve	 	1:17.85 	+0.33s
4 	6 	Nelson Piquet 	 	1:17.98 	+0.46s
5 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	1:18.93 	+1.41s
6 	18 	Elio de Angelis 	 	1:19.57 	+2.05s
7 	7 	John Watson 	 	1:20.30 	+2.78s
8 	Not rewarded*	Not rewarded* 	Not rewarded*	Not rewarded*	Not rewarded*
9 	56 	Rupert Keegan 	 	1:20.65 	+3.13s
10 	41 	Desiré Wilson 	 	1:20.80 	+3.28s
11 	44 	Guy Edwards 	 	1:20.90 	+3.38s
12 	43 	Emilio de Villota	 	1:21.67 	+4.15s
13† 	51 	David Kennedy 	 	1:22.35 	+4.83s
14 	52 	Philip Bullman 	 	1:22.41 	+4.89s
15 	46 	Tiff Needell 	 	1:22.50 	+4.98s
16 	49 	Giacomo Agostini 	 	1:22.60 	+5.08s
17 	42 	Gordon Smiley 	 	1:23.20 	+5.68s
18 	45 	Bernard de Dryver	 	1:23.44 	+5.92s
19 	47 	Valentino Musetti	 	1:25.61 	+8.09s
20 	63 	Robin Smith 	 	1:26.67 	+9.15s
DNQ 	62 	Gerd Biechteler 	 	— 	—
** Eighth place was not awarded to keep the World Championship and British Championship cars separate at the start.
*† Kennedy could not take the start of the race as he had gearbox trouble.
===Grid===
==Race==
With Brabham only expecting to use the race as a test session for their new car, and Gilles Villeneuve in impressive form, it was expected that the Canadian would take an easy victory, with his only real challenger in the form of Mario Andretti. Interest would also lay in the British Formula One series drivers, and whether they could keep up with the World Championship cars over the fourty lap race. David Kennedy was the only man not to start, suffering a gearbox failure on his way to the grid.
===Report===
A poor start for Andretti saw him slip to third, as Niki Lauda swung around the American to take the lead, beating Villeneuve into the Paddock Hill Bend. Nelson Piquet quickly got onto the back of the Lotus, while Lauda began to build a small lead over the trio. By lap eight, however, the trio caught up to the leading , with the quartet now battling at every turn for the lead. Their battle would only last a lap, however, as Lauda came into the pits for a tire change, with Piquet following him in a few laps later.
Villeneuve inherited the lead, although Andretti remained on his gearbox, putting pressure on the Ferrari for the lead. The pressure proved too much for Villeneuve, as he ran wide at Hawthorn on the eleventh lap, allowing Andretti to pass. Jochen Mass was also showing his pace, as through the Brabham stops and lead squabbles, he had pushed the into a comfortable third place.
On lap eighteen the only British interest (from the World Championship perspective) fell, as John Watson suffered a gearbox failure, while the British F1 cars battled over seventh place, Guy Edwards and Rupert Keegan leading the group. Meanwhile, the order at the front of the race remained the same, although the Brabhams were slowly drawing in Mass' Arrows. Villeneuve was also pushing hard, slowly closing the four second gap that his mistake had given Andretti.
With fourteen laps to go, Villeneuve made his move, sweeping inside the Lotus through Paddock Hill Bend, before completing his move at Druids. Andretti lacked a response, and soon fell into the hands of Piquet, whom took Mass at around the same time as Villeneuve took the lead. With a few laps to go, the Brazilian was second, with Andretti continuing to fall away, although the chequered flag dropped before Mass could catch him. For Villeneuve, the victory was his second in a week and first at Brands Hatch, while Piquet and Lauda (whom finished fifth) showed that the new Brabham would be a force to be reckoned with.
But what of the British Formula One series cars? Well Keegan, whom had dominated the pack, taking Guy Edwards with him, fell away with just five laps to go with an engine failure. This handed victory to Edwards, whom kept the final World Championship car of Elio de Angelis in sight for most of the race.
===Results===
The full results for the is outlined below:
Pos.	No.	Driver 	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid
1 	12 	Gilles Villeneuve	 	40 	53:17.12 	3
2 	6 	Nelson Piquet 	 	40 	+14.07s 	4
3 	1 	Mario Andretti 	 	40 	+23.17s 	1
4 	30 	Jochen Mass 	 	40 	+40.76s 	5
5 	5 	Niki Lauda 	 	39 	+1 lap 	2
6 	18 	Elio de Angelis 	 	39 	+1 lap 	6
7 	44 	Guy Edwards 	 	39 	+1 lap 	11
8 	45 	Bernard de Dryver	 	39 	+1 lap 	18
9 	41 	Desiré Wilson 	 	38 	+2 laps 	10
10 	42 	Gordon Smiley 	 	38 	+2 laps 	17
11 	49 	Giacomo Agostini 	 	38 	+2 laps 	16
12 	47 	Valentino Musetti	 	36 	+4 laps 	19
13 	63 	Robin Smith 	 	36 	+4 laps 	20
Ret 	56 	Rupert Keegan 	 	35 	Engine 	9
Ret 	43 	Emilio de Villota	 	34 	Engine 	12
Ret 	52 	Philip Bullman 	 	24 	Spin 	14
Ret 	7 	John Watson 	 	18 	Gearbox 	7
Ret 	46 	Tiff Needell 	 	16 	Accident 	15
DNS 	51 	David Kennedy 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	62 	Gerd Biechteler 	 	 	 	
==Milestones==
*Last edition of the Race of Champions until 1983.
*First time that the British Formula One Series had raced against Formula One World Championship cars.
*First race for the Brabham BT48.
==References==
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:1979 Non-championship Grand Prix
Category:Race of Champions
Category:Non-Championship races
Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom