The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M.

Road Racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

World Championship season.

Season summary

A season of changing fortunes in the 500cc class saw American,

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 ...

capture his second crown in the face of the

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

-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 1979 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. 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 ...

at the British Grand Prix. 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. The top riders boycotted the Belgian Grand Prix over safety issues showing their increasing dissatisfaction with the way the

FIM FIM may refer to: Organizations and companies * Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation * Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States * Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media * ...

conducted races. After several safety issues, the top riders banded together near the end of the year to announce that 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.

1979 Grand Prix season calendar

Final standings

500cc standings

350cc standings

250cc standings

125cc standings

50cc standings

Notes

References

* Büla, Maurice & Schertenleib, Jean-Claude (2001). ''Continental Circus 1949-2000''. Chronosports S.A. * {{Grand Prix motorcycle racing Grand Prix motorcycle racing seasons Grand Prix motorcycle racing season