The 1979 Hitachi Trophy was a non-championship race open to

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

and

Formula Atlantic Formula Atlantic is a specification of open-wheel racing car developed in the 1970s. It was used in professional racing through the IMSA Atlantic Championship until 2009 and is currently primarily used in amateur racing through Sports Car Club ...

cars. The race was held at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

on 15 April 1979 as a support race for the

1979 Race of Champions The 1979 Race of Champions was a Formula One non-championship motor race held at Brands Hatch, United Kingdom on 15 April 1979. The field was made up of seven Formula One cars that competed in the World championship while the rest of the field usu ...

. It was won by British driver Norman Dickson in the Dickson's of Perth's

March March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 2 ...

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

792. The Formula Atlantic class win went to Ray Mallock, who finished in fourth place in the overall standings.

Report

Entry

Only nine F2 cars were entered for the event, however of those, only seven took part in qualifying and race compared with the maximum grid of 26 starters which took part in the European Formula 2 race at Thruxton the next day. An additional 16

cars were entered, of which five of these did not arrive.

Qualifying

Norman Dickson took

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

, with a lap time of 1:26.2. This time would have placed Dickson 19th on the grid for the

Race of Champions The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the start or end of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers from Formula One, World Rally Championship, IndyCar, NASCAR, sports car racin ...

race being run the same day. John Cooper was only one tenth of a second behind in his

792, with

Divina Galica Divina Mary Galica MBE (last name pronounced "Galitsa"; born 13 August 1944) is a British sportswoman. She competed in four Winter Olympics as a skier, captaining the British Women's Olympic Ski Team in 1968 and 1972. She also pursued a care ...

took an encouraging third place. Next up was

Ray Mallock Anthony Raymond Mallock (born 12 April 1951 in Barton on Sea) is a British former racing driver. He competed in the British Formula One Championship from 1978 to 1980. He is chairman of RML Group Ray Mallock Ltd., also known as RML Group, i ...

Ralt Ralt was a manufacturer of single-seater racing cars, founded by ex-Jack Brabham associate Ron Tauranac after he sold out his interest in Brabham to Bernie Ecclestone. Ron and his brother had built some specials in Australia in the 1950s under ...

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

RT1 who was the top Formula Atlantic qualifier in fourth place.

Race

After 25 laps of the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit, Dickson took the chequered flag after 35:16.1 mins. of racing, averaging a speed of 111.16 mph. Second place went to Galica, who was the only other driver on the lead lap. She was too eager at the start, however and incurred a 60sec penalty for a false start. Brian Robinson rounded out the podium for the F2 brigade.

Report

Entry

Qualifying

Race

Classification

Race

References