Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 1 of 13 races in the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date | 18 March 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Official name | Gran Premio de Venezuela[ citation needed ] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | San Carlos Circuit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Course |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
500 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
350 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
250 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
125 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
50 cc | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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 [1] 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. [2]
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. [3] Spanish rider Ángel Nieto won the 125cc class from Frenchman Thierry Espié and Italian Maurizio Massimiani. [4] Nieto would later win the 125cc season championship. [5] Yamaha won two races, and Suzuki and Minarelli one each.
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: [6] [7] [8] |
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 | ||||||
[6] |
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 | ||||||
[6] |
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 | ||||||
[6] |
The 1972 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 24th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 30 April, with West German Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 23 September.
The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1998 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 50th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1969 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 21st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 4 May, with Spanish Grand Prix and ended with Yugoslavian Grand Prix on 14 September.
The 1976 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 28th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 29th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1980 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 32nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1971 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 23rd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix season. The season consisted of twelve Grand Prix races in six classes: 500cc, 350cc, 250cc, 125cc, 50cc and Sidecars 500cc. It began on 9 May, with Austrian Grand Prix and ended with Spanish Grand Prix on 26 September.
The 1994 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 46th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 49th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
Iván Palazzese was an Italian born Venezuelan professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix road racing world championships from 1977 to 1989. In 1977, he became the youngest person at the time to stand on a Grand Prix podium, when he finished third behind Angel Nieto and Anton Mang at the 125cc Venezuelan Grand Prix at the age of 15.
The 2002 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 54th Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Road Racing World Championship season. The season consist of 16 races, which started with the Japanese Grand Prix on 7 April and ended with the Valencian Community Grand Prix on 3 November.
Marco Simoncelli, nicknamed Sic, was an Italian professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the MotoGP World Championship for 10 years from 2002 to 2011. He started in the 125cc class before moving up to the 250cc class in 2006. He won the 2008 250cc World Championship with Gilera. After four years in the intermediate class, he stepped up to the top MotoGP class in 2010, racing with the Honda Gresini Team. He died in an accident at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
Suzuki MotoGP is the factory-backed team of Japanese motorcycle manufacturer Suzuki in the MotoGP World Championship, using the name Team Suzuki Ecstar for sponsorship purposes. Suzuki withdrew from competition at the end of the 2011 season, later announcing in June 2013 they would return to MotoGP with a factory team in 2015.
The 1998 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1998 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 17 May 1998 at the Mugello Circuit.
The 1999 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 9 May 1999 at the Circuito Permanente de Jerez. The event is notable for being the last round that 5-time 500cc and reigning World Champion Mick Doohan participated in. Doohan did not start the race due to crashing in the wet qualifying session, resulting in career-ending leg injuries.
The 2000 Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2000 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 3 September 2000 at Estoril.
The 2001 Spanish motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 2001 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 May 2001 at the Circuito de Jerez.
The 1977 Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix was the second round of the 1977 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on 1 May 1977 at the Salzburgring circuit.