The 1979 Race of Champions was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

non-championship motor race held at

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...

, United Kingdom on 15 April 1979. The field was made up of seven

Formula One car A Formula One car (also known as an F1 car) is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel formula racing car with substantial front and rear wings, and an engine positioned behind the driver, intended to be used in competition at Formul ...

s that competed in the

World championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

while the rest of the field usually competed in the Aurora series.

Race summary

Brabham had brought two brand new BT48s onto the circuit. Another new car introduced was the

Lotus 80 The Lotus 80 was a Formula One car used by Team Lotus in . The car, designed by Colin Chapman, Martin Ogilvie, Peter Wright and Tony Rudd, was an attempt to take ground effect as far as possible. Design Ogilvie and Rudd reasoned that to t ...

, but

Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...

only used it in qualifying. Ferrari's

Gilles Villeneuve Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve () (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) was a Canadian racing driver, who spent six years in Grand Prix motor racing with Ferrari, winning six races and widespread acclaim for his performances. An enthusiast of ...

drove a slightly modified 1978 Ferrari 312 T3 instead of the new 312 T4. At the start

Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...

got away well from the front row and quickly pulled a lead of a few seconds, while the pole sitter Mario Andretti was dropped down to third. Gilles Villeneuve was second, followed closely by Andretti and

Nelson Piquet Nelson Piquet Souto Maior (, born 17 August 1952) is a Brazilian retired racing driver and businessman. Since his retirement, Piquet, a three-time World Champion, has been ranked among the greatest Formula One (F1) drivers in various motorspo ...

. By lap eight the chasing three drivers had caught Lauda and they were going nose to tail. But that didn't last for long, as Lauda had to pit at the end of the eight lap, but he was able to rejoin rather quickly. Villeneuve took over the lead, only to lose it a few laps later as he ran wide at the exit of Hawthorn corner. Andretti moved into the lead in his Lotus 79. On lap 11 Piquet was also forced to pit in, so the leading battle was between Andretti and Villeneuve, while Jochen Mass in the Arrows had taken advantage of the pitstops and moved up to third place. The positions in the front of the field remained the same for the next 12 laps. Andretti's lead was up to four seconds after Villeneuve's mistake, but the Canadian closed the gap slowly but surely. By lap 26 Villeneuve was all over the back of Andretti and a few laps later took the inside line into Paddock Hill bend and retook the lead. Andretti had no answer to Villeneuve's pace and the gap increased rapidly. Piquet had moved ahead of Mass into third and his team mate Lauda, who had pitted twice, was fifth. A few laps from the end Piquet overtook the slowing Andretti as well. But in the end it was Villeneuve who crossed the line first, lapping everyone up to the fourth place man.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Notes

* Pole position: Mario Andretti – 1:17.52 * Fastest lap: Nelson Piquet – 1:17.46

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1979 Race Of Champions Race of Champions (Brands Hatch)

Race of Champions The Race of Champions (ROC) is an international motorsport event held at the end/start of each year, featuring some of the world's best racing and rally drivers. It is the only competition in the world where stars from Formula One, World Ral ...