1979 FIM Motocross World Championship

1979 FIM Motocross World Championship
Organizer	FIM
Duration	8 April/12 August
Number of races	36
Number of manufacturers	18
Champions
500cc	Graham Noyce
250cc	Håkan Carlqvist
125cc	Harry Everts
FIM Motocross World Championship seasons
← 1978 1980 →

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

Summary

As the 1970s came to an end, it also marked a changing of the guard in the 500cc Motocross World Championships. Roger De Coster (Suzuki) and Heikki Mikkola (Yamaha) had dominated the premier class during the 1970s, between them winning every World Championship from 1971 to 1978. That streak came to an end in 1979 as Mikkola struggled to recover from a broken leg suffered in preseason and De Coster was still feeling the effects from his serious injuries in 1978. ^{[1] [2]}

Despite only winning two Grand Prix races, Graham Noyce (Honda) won the 1979 500cc World Championship by consistently scoring points in all but two races. Noyce earned 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.

The victory marked the Honda factory's first ever motocross world championship as well as the first motocross world championship for a British rider since Jeff Smith in 1965. Four-time World Champion Mikkola made the decision to retire from competition at the end of the 1979 season.

Håkan Carlqvist won six of the twelve Grand Prix events, finishing comfortably ahead of second-placed Neil Hudson to be crowned the 250cc World Champion. 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	Beuren	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
Sources: [3]

250cc

Round	Date	Grand Prix	Location	Race 1 Winner	Race 2 Winner	Overall Winner	Report
1	April 8	Spanish Grand Prix	Sabadell	Jaroslav Falta	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
2	April 22	Dutch Grand Prix	Halle	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
3	April 29	Italian Grand Prix	Bra	Neil Hudson	Håkan Carlqvist	Neil Hudson	Report
4	May 6	Belgian Grand Prix	Genk	Neil Hudson	Håkan Carlqvist	Neil Hudson	Report
5	May 20	Yugoslavian Grand Prix	Karlovac	Håkan Carlqvist	Neil Hudson	Neil Hudson	Report
6	May 27	Czechoslovak Grand Prix	Holice	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
7	June 10	Polish Grand Prix	Szczecin	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
8	June 17	French Grand Prix	Lavaur	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
9	July 1	Finnish Grand Prix	Hyvinkää	Kees van der Ven	Neil Hudson	Kees van der Ven	Report
10	July 29	United States Grand Prix	Unadilla	Marty Tripes	Bob Hannah	Kent Howerton	Report
11	August 5	West German Grand Prix	Bielstein	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Håkan Carlqvist	Report
12	August 12	Bulgarian Grand Prix	Samokov	Gennady Moiseyev	Gennady Moiseyev	Gennady Moiseyev	Report
Sources: [4]

125cc

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

Final standings

Points are awarded based on the results of each individual heat race. The top 10 classified finishers in each heat race score points according to the following scale;

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	15	12	10	8	6	5	4	3	2	1

500cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	AUT		FRA		SWE		ITA		USA		CAN		RFA		UK		CH		NED		BEL		LUX		Points
1	Graham Noyce	Honda	2	2	2	7	2	6	3	3	3	5	1	3	6	2	2	1	2	5	1	2	3		4		225
2	Gerrit Wolsink	Suzuki	3	3	7	8	4	1	10	6	1	3	2	1	5	3	4	8		6	2	1				3	177
3	André Malherbe	Honda	6		5	2	6		5	4			5	4	7	1	6	2	3	2		4	2	1	2	1	176
4	Brad Lackey	Kawasaki	5	1	3	1	1		4			1	4	2		9	1	4		4		8	9	7	1	2	173
5	Heikki Mikkola	Yamaha			4	3	3	2	1	1		2						5	1	1	3	3			10	4	147
6	Roger De Coster	Suzuki	10	4	6			3	2	7	2			7	3	4	3	3		3			1	5			125
7	André Vromans	Suzuki		8		6	5		9	2	5		7	5			5	6			4	5	8	6	5	8	86
8	Jean-Jacques Bruno	KTM	4	9	1	5		7		8	7		8	6	1	5			5					4			85
9	Yvan van den Broeck	Maico	1	6	8	9	8						3	8	9		9	7	4	8				3	6		75
10	Gérard Rond	Suzuki	8	5	9	4	7	4					6		8				7	7	5		4	2			73
11	Herbert Schmitz	Maico	7				10		6	9	6		9		4					10	8		6		3		46
12	Fritz Köbele	Maico	9	7		10		5	8							7			6				5				31
13	Arne Lodal	Husqvarna												9		10			8	9	6	6				7	22
14	Bengt Åberg	Maico		10											2	6											18
15	Håkan Andersson	Husqvarna					9																7		7	5	16
16	Chuck Sun	Husqvarna			10			9		10	4	9															14
17	Bob Wright	CCM							7	5																	10
18	Marty Smith	Honda									10	4															9
	Laurence Spence	Cotton - Rotax															8		10					10	9	9	9
20	Rick Burgett	Yamaha									9	6															7
	Jimmy Weinert	Kawasaki																						9		6	7
22	Peter Mathia	Maico																				9	10	8			6
	Rex Staten	Yamaha									8	8															6
24	Arne Lindfors	Yamaha						8											9								5
25	Danny LaPorte	Suzuki										7															4
	Geoff Mayes	Maico															7										4
	Toon Karsmakers	Maico																			7						4
	Tapani Pikkarainen	Suzuki																				7					4
	Ludwig Reinbold	KTM													10	8											4
30	Raymond Heeren	Yamaha																							8		3
	Parry Klassen	Maico										10	10	10													3
32	Steve Beamish	Suzuki																9									2
	Frantz Sigmans	Maico																			9						2
	Vic Allan	Bultaco															10	10									2
35	Peter Herlings	Maico						10																			1
	Ad Verstegen	Maico																			10						1
	Henk Poorte	Montesa																				10					1
	Herbert Salzmann	Husqvarna																								10	1
Sources: [7] [8]

250cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	ESP		NED		ITA		BEL		YUG		CZE		POL		FRA		FIN		USA		GER		BUL		Points
1	Håkan Carlqvist	Husqvarna	2	1	1	1		1	3	1	1	5	1	1	1	1	1	1				3	1	1			248
2	Neil Hudson	Maico	5	3	4	5	1	4	1	2	2	1	2		3			3		1			2	2			178
3	Vladimir Kavinov	KTM	6	8	6		2	3			5	3		5	6	4	2	4	2	2	5		6	4			133
4	Gennady Moiseyev	KTM		6	2	3		2	2	3			3						8	5	4	4			1	1	126
5	Kees van der Ven	Maico			5	2			5					9	2	8	10	7	1	3	8	5	5	3	7	5	106
6	Rolf Dieffenbach	Kawasaki	3	7			3	6	4	9		4			4	3		2	3					7	4		99
7	Georges Jobé	Suzuki				8	9			5	6	8		3	7	2	3		4		9		9		9	9	71
8	Jean-Claude Laquaye	SWM					10				3	6	5	6	5	5		6				10	7		2	6	66
9	Jaak van Velthoven	KTM	10	10		6	4	9	6	4				8		7	5							10	6	2	61
10	Jaroslav Falta	ČZ	1	5			6	7			7		4						5						3		58
11	Torao Suzuki	Montesa									9	7	6	4				5		6				5		3	46
12	Vaughan Semmens	Maico	4				7	10							10		6		9	7			3		8		38
13	Hans Maisch	Maico		4		9	5	5				2				9											36
14	Erkki Sundström	Husqvarna			10	7			9				7	10	8	6	8					8				4	34
15	Bennie Wilken	Maico			3	4			10	6							9							9			28
16	Raymond Boven	Husqvarna								7		9						10	6			6	10	6		8	26
17	Bob Hannah	Yamaha																			3	1					25
	Jim Pomeroy	Bultaco / Beta		9			8				4			7									4				25
19	Kent Howerton	Suzuki																			2	2					24
20	Antonio Elias	Bultaco	8	2								10						8									19
21	Zdeněk Velký	ČZ											9	2											10		15
	Marty Tripes	Honda																			1						15
	Ivan Alborghetti	KTM						8			8						7	9						8			15
24	Pavel Rulev	ČZ																							5	7	10
25	Magnus Nyberg	KTM																	10	4							9
	Mike Guerra	Husqvarna																			6	7					9
	Rob Hooper	Husqvarna									10		10			10			7	9							9
28	Pier Antonio Dal Brun	Aprilia															4										8
29	Pierre Schroyen	KTM							7	8																	7
30	Jan Kristoffersen	Yamaha	9							10					9												5
31	Fernando Muñoz	Montesa	7																								4
	Pierre Karsmakers	Yamaha			7																						4
	Mark Gregson	Yamaha																			7						4
34	Henk Van Mierlo	KTM			8																						3
	Daniel Péan	Montesa							8																		3
	Dimitar Rangelov	ČZ											8														3
	Tommy Olsson	Maico																		8							3
	Patrick Boniface	Honda																					8				3
	Henk Bloemert	Husqvarna			9	10																					3
	Frank Stacy	KTM																			10	9					3
41	Timo Remes	Yamaha																		10							1
	Marian Avbelj	KTM																								10	1
Sources: [9] [10]

125cc

(Results in italics indicate overall winner)

Pos	Rider	Machine	AUT		GER		NED		ITA		FIN		CZE		YUG		CH		FRA		IRL		USA		ESP		Points
1	Harry Everts	Suzuki	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	3	1	1	1	1	2	1	1		1	1	1	1		3	1	1	314
2	Akira Watanabe	Suzuki	3	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2	4		1	2	2	8	2	4	2		5		2	2	236
3	Gaston Rahier	Yamaha	2				4		5		4	3	3	3	4	3	4	1	3	2	3	3	3	5	3	3	183
4	Matti Autio	Suzuki			5	6	3	4	4	2	3	4	2	2	3			6		5	4	2					132
5	Corrado Maddii	Aprilia		8					8	5	9	10	7	5		8	7	4	5	6	6	6			7	8	68
6	Peter Groeneveld	Honda		7		8	6	3				6		9	7	6			10	7		4			5	6	62
7	Mauro Miele	KTM	10	9	7	4							5	4		4	3	2		10						10	61
8	Michele Rinaldi	TGM	9	6	9				7	4	7		6	6	5	5	6								8		55
9	Robert Greisch	Puch			10			9		10		9	8		8		5	3	4	3							46
10	Göte Liljegren	Aprilia		5	6	5	10			8	8	8		8	10			9	9		9	10			6		43
11	Yuri Khudiakov	ČZ	7			3			10				9			7			6	9	7					5	38
	Dinand Ziljlstra	Kawasaki					5	5			5	7	10	7				10	7		8	8					38
13	Valéri Korneev	ČZ					8								9		8	5			5	5			9	9	30
14	Renato Zocchi	Cagiva	8		3	7		10	6	6						10											29
15	Pauli Piippola	Husqvarna								7				10					8	8	10				4	4	28
16	Mark Barnett	Suzuki																					2	1			27
	Broc Glover	Yamaha																					1	2			27
	Jiří Churavý	ČZ	4		4		7								6	9											27
19	Siegfried Lerner	KTM	5	3				6																			21
20	Dario Nani	Gilera	6			9			3																		17
21	Donnie Cantaloupi	Yamaha																					4	6			13
	Brian Myerscough	Suzuki																					6	4			13
23	Seppo Isomaki	Suzuki									6	5															11
24	Franco Perfini	Gilera		4					9																		10
25	Tod Perkins	Yamaha																					8	7			7
	Ole Svendson	KTM						7														9			10		7
27	Bernd Betzelbacher	Maico															9	7									6
	Graig Coleman	Suzuki								9												7					6
29	Andrei Ledovskoy	ČZ															10									7	5
	Steve Martin	Yamaha																					9	8			5
31	Tom Benolkin	Suzuki																					7				4
	Eddy Hau	Zündapp			8	10																					4
33	Henk Pauw	Honda						8																			3
34	Randy Hess	Yamaha																						9			2
	Theunis Boersma	Suzuki					9																				2
36	Jaroslav Janis	ČZ		10																							1
	Arne Wilkman	Suzuki									10																1
	Jeff Ward	Kawasaki																						10			1
	Robert Handy	Suzuki																					10				1
Sources: [11] [12]

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 250cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
5. "Fairyhouse To Host The Irish Motocross Grand Prix". motocross.ie. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
6. "1979 125cc motocross world championship race results". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
7. "1979 500cc motocross world championship final results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
8. "1979 500cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
9. "1979 250cc motocross world championship final results" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
10. "1979 250cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
11. "1979 125cc motocross world championship final results"" (PDF). memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
12. "1979 125cc motocross world championship final standings". memotocross.fr. Retrieved 31 October 2025.

External links

• Official website