The 1979 Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix, the first of 13 rounds of the F.I.M.

1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season The 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 31st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Season summary A season of changing fortunes in the 500cc class saw American, Kenny Roberts capture his second crown in the face of the Suzu ...

, was held on 18 March at the

San Carlos Circuit San Carlos Circuit is a motorsport race track located in San Carlos, Venezuela. From 1977 to 1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child ...

. British rider

Barry Sheene Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing and was a two-time world champion, winning consecutive 500cc titles in 1976 and 1977 ...

, world champion in 1976 and 1977, won the 500cc GP by 18 seconds from Italian

Virginio Ferrari Virginio Ferrari (born 19 October 1952) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best season was in the 1979 500cc world championship, when he finished second to Kenny Roberts. Motorcycle racing career Ferrari ...

to make it three successive Venezuelan GPs. Venezuelan racer Carlos Lavado won the 350cc class from Italian

Walter Villa Walter Villa (born 13 August 1943 - 18 June 2002) was an Italian four-time Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. He was known for his quiet, unassuming nature off the bike who became a ruthless competitor once the races began. Moto ...

and Frenchman

Patrick Fernandez Patrick Fernandez (born 4 March 1952) is a French former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. His best year was in 1979 when he rode a Yamaha to finish second to Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) is a South ...

. Villa won the 250cc event, ahead of South African rider

Kork Ballington Hugh Neville "Kork" Ballington (born 10 April 1951) is a South African former professional motorcycle racer. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1976 to 1982, most prominently as a member of the Kawasaki f ...

by 20 seconds, marking the final Grand Prix victory of Villa's motorcycle racing career. Spanish rider

Ángel Nieto Ángel Nieto Roldán (25 January 1947 – 3 August 2017) was a Spanish professional Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in the history of the sport, winning 13 World Championships and 90 Grand Prix ...

won the 125cc class from Frenchman Thierry Espié and Italian

Maurizio Massimiani Maurizio Massimiani (born 22 September 1953) is an Italian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Massimiani was born in Scandriglia, Italy. His best year was in 1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secret ...

. Nieto would later win the 125cc season championship.Noyes, Dennis; Scott, Michael (1999). ''Motocourse: 50 Years Of Moto Grand Prix''. Hazleton Publishing Ltd.

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

won two races, and Suzuki and

Minarelli Minarelli is an Italian motorcycle engine manufacturer. It is part of the Fantic Motor group. History Minarelli was founded in Bologna in 1951 as a motorcycle manufacturer. In 1954 it also began to build mopeds. Two years later Minarelli swi ...

one each.

Classifications

500 cc

350 cc

250 cc

125 cc

References

{{MotoGP_race report , Name_of_race = Venezuelan Grand Prix , Year_of_race = 1979 , Previous_race_in_season = 1978 Yugoslavian Grand Prix , Next_race_in_season =

1979 Austrian Grand Prix The 1979 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 August 1979 at Österreichring. Qualifying Qualifying classification Race Classification Championship standings after the race ;Drivers' Championship standing ...

, Previous_year's_race = 1978 Venezuelan Grand Prix , Next_year's_race = None Venezuelan motorcycle Grand Prix Venezuelan Motorcycle Grand Prix