The 1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix, the first of 13 rounds of the F.I.M.

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 ...

, was held on 18 March at the San Carlos Circuit. British rider

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 ...

, world champion in 1976 and 1977, won the 500cc GP by 18 seconds from Italian

Virginio Ferrari Virginio Ferrari (born 19 October 1952) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in the 1979 500cc world championship, when he finished second to Kenny Roberts. Motorcycle racing career Ferrari ...

to make it three successive Venezuelan GPs. Venezuelan racer

Carlos Lavado Carlos Alberto Lavado Jones (born May 25, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He competed in the FIM motorcycle Grand Prix world championships from 1978 to 1992. Lavado is notable for winning two 250cc road raci ...

won the 350cc class from Italian

Walter Villa Walter Villa (13 August 1943 – 18 June 2002) was an Italian four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. He was known for his quiet, unassuming nature off the bike who became a ruthless competitor once the races began. Motorcyc ...

and Frenchman

Patrick Fernandez Patrick Fernandez (born 4 March 1952) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1979 when he rode a Yamaha to finish second to Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) is a South A ...

. Villa won the 250cc event, ahead of South African rider

Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to , most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki factory rac ...

by 20 seconds, marking the final Grand Prix victory of Villa's motorcycle racing career. Spanish rider

Ángel Nieto Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...

won the 125cc class from Frenchman

Thierry Espié Thierry Espié (born 2 February 1952) is a French former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle road racing from 1977 to 1985. Espié was born in Vanves, France. His best years were in 1979 when he finished in fourt ...

and Italian Maurizio Massimiani. Nieto would later win the 125cc season championship.Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999). ''Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix''. Hazleton Publishing Ltd.

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: People * Torakusu Yamaha, a Japanese businessman and founder of the Yamaha Corporation Companies * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese musical instrument and audio equipment manufacturer ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organi ...

won two races, and

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 ...

and

Minarelli Motori Minarelli is an Italian motorcycle engine manufacturer. It is part of the Fantic Motor group. History Motori Minarelli was founded in Bologna in 1951 as a motorcycle manufacturer. In 1954 it also began to build mopeds. Two years later Mi ...

one each.

Classifications

500 cc

350 cc

250 cc

125 cc

References

{{MotoGP_race report , Name_of_race = Venezuelan Grand Prix , Year_of_race = 1979 , Previous_race_in_season = 1978 Yugoslavian Grand Prix , Next_race_in_season =

1979 Austrian Grand Prix The 1979 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 August 1979 at Österreichring. Qualifying Qualifying classification Race Classification Notes * This was the 50th Grand Prix start for a Canadian driver. C ...

, Previous_year's_race = 1978 Venezuelan Grand Prix , Next_year's_race = None Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

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 ...