The 1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix, the first of 13 rounds of the F.I.M. 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, was held on 18 March at the San Carlos Circuit. British rider Barry Sheene, world champion in 1976 and 1977, won the 500cc GP by 18 seconds from Italian Virginio Ferrari to make it three successive Venezuelan GPs. Venezuelan racer Carlos Lavado won the 350cc class from Italian Walter Villa and Frenchman Patrick Fernandez.
Villa won the 250cc event, ahead of South African rider Kork Ballington by 20 seconds, marking the final Grand Prix victory of Villa's motorcycle racing career. Spanish rider Ángel Nieto won the 125cc class from Frenchman Thierry Espié 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 won two races, and Suzuki and Minarelli one each.
Classifications
500 cc Pos. Rider Team Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 Barry Sheene Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki 30 47'52.900 1 15 2 Virginio Ferrari Team Gallina Nava Olio Fiat Suzuki 30 +18.600 4 12 3 Tom Herron Texaco Heron Team Suzuki Suzuki 30 +30.900 2 10 4 Franco Uncini Team Zago International Suzuki 30 +1'34.800 6 8 5 Michel Rougerie Suzuki 29 +1 lap 10 6 6 Roberto Pietri Suzuki 29 +1 lap 11 5 7 Christian Sarron Team Sonauto Gauloises Yamaha 29 +1 lap 12 4 8 Gerhard Vogt Bill Smith Racing Suzuki 28 +2 laps 13 3 9 Stefan Pellandini Suzuki 27 +3 laps 15 2 10 Dennis Ireland Derry's Racing Suzuki 27 +3 laps 16 1 Johnny Cecotto Yamaha Motor Company Yamaha 3 Wil Hartog Riemersma Racing Suzuki 5 Steve Parrish Suzuki 7 Mick Grant Suzuki 8 Gianni Pelletier Suzuki 9 Carlos Delgado de San Antonio Suzuki 14 Sources:
350 cc Pos Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 Carlos Lavado Yamaha 29 46:48.4 1 15 2 Walter Villa Yamaha 29 +15.3 2 12 3 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 29 +23.5 4 10 4 Kork Ballington Kawasaki 29 +28.1 6 8 5 Jon Ekerold Yamaha 29 +33.8 3 6 6 Christian Estrosi Kawasaki 29 +40.0 9 5 7 Eric Saul Yamaha 29 +1:11.9 11 4 8 Victor Soussan Yamaha 29 +1:22.4 8 3 9 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 29 +1:25.6 12 2 10 Patrick Pons Yamaha 29 +1:35.7 7 1 11 Eduardo Alemán Yamaha 28 +1 lap 14 12 Gregg Hansford Kawasaki 28 +1 lap 10 13 Randy Mamola Yamaha 28 +1 lap 14 Barry Woodland Yamaha 28 +1 lap 15 J. Gonzalez Yamaha 27 +2 laps Iván Palazzese Yamaha 5 C. Giroto Yamaha 13 Franco Uncini Yamaha 15 30 starters in total, 18 finishers
250 cc Pos Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 Walter Villa Yamaha 28 46:13.5 2 15 2 Kork Ballington Kawasaki 28 +20.6 3 12 3 Victor Soussan Yamaha 28 +1:14.2 9 10 4 Olivier Chevallier Yamaha 28 +1:17.6 7 8 5 Randy Mamola Bimota 28 +1:21.5 13 6 6 Eric Saul Yamaha 28 +1:27.1 8 5 7 Gregg Hansford Kawasaki 28 +1:40.5 5 4 8 Maurizio Massimiani MBA 27 +1 lap 12 3 9 Chas Mortimer Yamaha 27 +1 lap 11 2 10 Fernando Gonzalez Yamaha 27 +1 lap 1 11 A. Rubio Yamaha 27 +1 lap 12 I. Troisi Yamaha 27 +1 lap 13 B. Jull Yamaha 27 +1 lap 14 G. Di Carlo Yamaha 27 +1 lap 15 Carlos Morante Yamaha 24 +4 laps 16 Eduardo Alemán Yamaha 24 +4 laps 10 Carlos Lavado Yamaha 1 Patrick Fernandez Yamaha 4 Christian Estrosi Kawasaki 6 Graziano Rossi Morbidelli 14 26 starters in total, ? finishers
125 cc Pos Rider Manufacturer Laps Time Grid Points 1 Ángel Nieto Minarelli 26 45:39.3 3 15 2 Thierry Espié Motobécane 26 +6.1 4 12 3 Maurizio Massimiani MBA 26 +40.6 6 10 4 Patrick Herouard MBA 26 +58.5 7 8 5 Jean Lecureux Morbidelli 26 +1:12.9 6 6 Ivan Troisi Yamaha 26 +1:18.4 8 5 7 Francois Granon Morbidelli 26 +1:28.5 13 4 8 Hans Müller Morbidelli 26 +1:44.2 10 3 9 Jean Paul Magnoni Morbidelli 25 +1 lap 15 2 10 Patrick Plisson Motoshop 25 +1 lap 11 1 11 Bernie Wilbers MBA 25 +1 lap 12 H. Vigneti Morbidelli 25 +1 lap 13 Eduardo Cereda MBA 25 +1 lap 12 14 J. Huberts MBA 25 +1 lap 15 D. Abreu Honda 23 +3 laps Ivan Palazzese MBA 1 Eugenio Lazzarini MBA 2 Bam Carlson Morbidelli 5 Jean P. Marchetti MBA 9 Fernando Gonzalez Morbidelli 14 25 starters in total, 17 finishers
References