1979 FIM Motocross World Championship

The 1979 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 23rd F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season.

1979 Motocross World Championship
Previous: 1978 Next: 1980

Summary

Graham Noyce won the 1979 500cc world championship for the Honda factory racing team, marking Honda's first ever motocross world championship as well as the first motocross world championship for a British rider since Jeff Smith in 1965.[1][2] Yamaha's defending champion Heikki Mikkola struggled to recover from a broken leg suffered in preseason.[1] Noyce's consistent results earned him the championship points lead at the midpoint of the season with Suzuki's Gerrit Wolsink, Mikkola and Kawasaki's Brad Lackey within reach of the points lead.[1] Wolsink won his fifth 500cc United States Grand Prix in six years and followed that with another victory at the Canadian Grand Prix to narrow the points lead.[1] Mikkola then suffered another injury at the Canadian Grand Prix and his injuries forced him to sit out the West German Grand Prix.[1] Former Honda factory rider, Lackey, won 6 individual moto victories, more than any other rider in the championship yet, his factory sponsored Kawasaki proved to be unreliable as the team struggled through development issues on a new motorcycle.[1] Noyce then took command of the championship by posting a series of top five finishes to win the title for the Honda team.

Håkan Carlqvist won the 250cc world championship for Husqvarna while Harry Everts dominated the 125cc world championship for the Suzuki factory racing team.

Grands Prix

500cc
Round Date Grand Prix Location Race 1 Winner Race 2 Winner Overall Winner Report
1 April 22 Austrian Grand Prix Sittendorf Yvan van den Broeck Brad Lackey Graham Noyce Report
2 April 29 French Grand Prix Thours Jean-Jacques Bruno Brad Lackey Brad Lackey Report
3 May 13 Swedish Grand Prix Huskvarna Brad Lackey Gerrit Wolsink Gerrit Wolsink Report
4 May 27 Italian Grand Prix Faenza Heikki Mikkola Heikki Mikkola Heikki Mikkola Report
5 June 10 United States Grand Prix Carlsbad Gerrit Wolsink Brad Lackey Gerrit Wolsink Report
6 June 17 Canadian Grand Prix Mosport Graham Noyce Gerrit Wolsink Gerrit Wolsink Report
7 June 24 West German Grand Prix Beuern Jean-Jacques Bruno André Malherbe Jean-Jacques Bruno Report
8 July 1 British Grand Prix Farleigh Castle Brad Lackey Graham Noyce Graham Noyce Report
9 July 8 Swiss Grand Prix Payerne Heikki Mikkola Heikki Mikkola Heikki Mikkola Report
10 July 29 Dutch Grand Prix Markelo Graham Noyce Gerrit Wolsink Gerrit Wolsink Report
11 August 5 Belgian Grand Prix Namur Roger De Coster André Malherbe André Malherbe Report
12 August 12 Luxembourg Grand Prix Ettelbruck Brad Lackey André Malherbe André Malherbe Report

[3][4]

250cc
Round Date Grand Prix Location Winner Team Report
1 April 8 Spanish Grand Prix Sabadell Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
2 April 22 Dutch Grand Prix Halle Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
3 April 29 Italian Grand Prix Bra Neil Hudson Maico Report
4 May 6 Belgian Grand Prix Genk Harry Everts Suzuki Report
5 May 20 Yugoslavian Grand Prix Karlovac Neil Hudson Maico Report
6 May 27 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Holice Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
7 June 10 Polish Grand Prix Szczecin Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
8 June 17 French Grand Prix Lavaur Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
9 July 1 Finnish Grand Prix Hyvinkää Kees van der Ven Maico Report
10 July 29 United States Grand Prix Unadilla Kent Howerton Suzuki Report
11 August 5 West German Grand Prix Bielstein Håkan Carlqvist Husqvarna Report
12 August 12 Bulgarian Grand Prix Samokov Guennady Moisseev KTM Report

[5]

125cc
Round Date Grand Prix Location Winner Team Report
1 April 8 Austrian Grand Prix Launsdorf Harry Everts Suzuki Report
2 April 15 West German Grand Prix Goldbach Harry Everts Suzuki Report
3 May 13 Dutch Grand Prix Mill Harry Everts Suzuki Report
4 May 20 Italian Grand Prix Esanatoglia Akira Watanabe Suzuki Report
5 June 10 Finnish Grand Prix Tampere Harry Everts Suzuki Report
6 June 17 Czechoslovakian Grand Prix Dalečín Harry Everts Suzuki Report
7 June 24 Yugoslavian Grand Prix Karlovac Harry Everts Suzuki Report
8 July 1 Swiss Grand Prix Schupfart Gaston Rahier Suzuki Report
9 July 8 French Grand Prix Sucé-sur-Erdre Harry Everts Suzuki Report
10 July 15 Irish Grand Prix Slane[6] Harry Everts Suzuki Report
11 July 22 United States Grand Prix Lexington Mark Barnett Suzuki Report
12 August 12 Spanish Grand Prix Montgai Harry Everts Suzuki Report

[7]

Final standings

References
  1. Assoc, American Motorcyclist (September 1979). Noyce makes his mark with run for the title. American Motorcyclist. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  2. "History MXGP". hondaracingcorporation.com. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  3. "1979 500cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  4. "1979 500cc motocross world championship race results". jwvanessen.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  5. "1979 250cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  6. "Fairyhouse To Host The Irish Motocross Grand Prix". motocross.ie. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  7. "1979 125cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  8. "1979 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  9. "1979 500cc motocross world championship final standings". jwvanessen.com. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
  10. "1979 250cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  11. "1979 125cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
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