The 1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the

1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Season summary A season of changing fortunes in the 500cc class saw American, Kenny Roberts capture his second crown in the face of the Suzu ...

. It took place on the weekend of 10–12 August 1979 at the

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...

Race summary

The 500cc British Grand Prix would be one of the closest races in Grand Prix history. The race began with

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Su ...

Kenny Roberts Kenneth Leroy Roberts (born December 31, 1951) is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time w ...

and

Wil Hartog Wil Hartog (born 28 May 1948) is a Dutch former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1970 to 1981. Hartog was the first Dutch competitor to win a 500cc Grand P ...

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 commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

returned to competition with the exotic, four-stroke

NR500 NR500 was a racing motorcycle developed by Honda HRC in 1979 to compete in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. "NR" stands for "New Racing". Model history The motivation behind the NR500 was company founder Soichiro Honda's desire to compete using ...

ridden by riders

Mick Grant Mick Grant (born 10 July 1944) is an English people, English former professional motorcycle road racing, road racer and TT rider. A works-supported rider for Norton, Kawasaki, Honda and Suzuki, he is a seven-time winner of the Isle of Man TT m ...

and

Takazumi Katayama Takazumi Katayama (片山敬済, born April 16, 1951) is a Korean former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion who raced as a Japanese. Motorcycle racing career Katayama was the first Asian rider to win a motorcycle road racing worl ...

. The motorcycle featured an engine with oval-shaped cylinders as well as a

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

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

350cc

250cc

125cc

B2A Sidecars Standings

B2B Sidecars Standings

References

External links

A Thriller At Silverstone
- Sports Illustrated, August 20, 1979 * Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4 {{MotoGP_race report , Name_of_race =

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...

, Year_of_race = 1979 , Previous_race_in_season = 1979 Finnish Grand Prix , Next_race_in_season = 1979 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix , Previous_year's_race =

1978 British Grand Prix The 1978 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXI John Player British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 16 July 1978. It was the tenth race of the 1978 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1978 International Cup ...

, Next_year's_race =

1980 British Grand Prix The 1980 British Grand Prix (formally the XXXIII Marlboro British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on 13 July 1980. It was the eighth round of the 1980 Formula One season. The race was held over 76 laps of the 4.207-k ...

British motorcycle Grand Prix

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Motorcycle Grand Prix Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

British Motorcycle Grand Prix The British motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. History Before 1977, the only British round was the Isle of Man TT, which was part of the FIM championship from its inaugu ...