1979 British Formula One Championship

The 1979 British Formula One Championship (formally the 1979 Aurora AFX F1 Championship) was the second season of the British Formula One Championship. It commenced on 1 April 1979 and ended on 7 October after fifteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Englishman Rupert Keegan who drove an Arrows A1 entered by Charles Clowes.^[1]

Teams and drivers

Entry List^[2]
Team	No.	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Rounds
Formula 1
Melchester Racing	1	Desiré Wilson	Tyrrell 008	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	All
	2	Gordon Smiley			1-4
		Neil Bettridge			8-13
		Gordon Smiley	McLaren M23		5-7
		Neil Bettridge	Arrows A1		14-15
Madom F1 Team	3	Emilio de Villota	Lotus 78	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	All
Mopar Ultramar Racing Team	4	Guy Edwards	Fittipaldi F5A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	All
Mopar Ultramar Racing Team	5	Bernard de Dryver	Fittipaldi F5A	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	All
Graham Eden Racing	6	Tiff Needell	Chevron B41	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1-4, 7, 11, 15
		Ray Mallock			5
		David Leslie			8-9, 11-12
		Kim Mather			13-14
Valentino Musetti	7	Valentino Musetti	March 752/771	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1
Valentino Musetti	7	Valentino Musetti	March 781	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	2-5
John Cooper	8	John Cooper	Ensign N177	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	5-8
John Cooper	8	Tiff Needell	Ensign N177	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	10
Team Agostini Marlboro	9	Giacomo Agostini	Williams FW06	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	All
	10	Gimax			4, 6, 10-11
		Marco Micangeli			12, 14
		Guido Pardini			13
	44	Lella Lombardi			4
Theodore Racing with Hi-Line	11	David Kennedy	Wolf WR4	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1-11
	11	David Kennedy	Wolf WR6		12-15
	7	Valentino Musetti	Wolf WR3		8-9
	7	Valentino Musetti	Wolf WR4		12
	12	Geoff Lees	Wolf WR4		15
Frank Williams Racing	14	Giorgio Pianta	Williams FW06	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	10
C. W. Clowes Racing	16	Rupert Keegan	Arrows A1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	2-9, 11-15
C. W. Clowes Racing	17	Ricardo Zunino	Arrows A1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	8-14
BS Fabrications	17	Ricardo Zunino	McLaren M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	6
BS Fabrications	17	Ricardo Zunino	Arrows A1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	7
Team Surtees	22	Philip Bullman	Surtees TS20	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1-3
		Gordon Smiley	Surtees TS20		9-10, 12
		Gordon Smiley	Surtees TS20+		13-15
	23	Claude Bourgoignie	Surtees TS20		1
	23	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud	Surtees TS20		10
Dennis Leech	24	Dennis Leech	McLaren M23	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	13
LEC Refrigeration Racing	27	David Purley	LEC CRP1	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	12-13
LEC Refrigeration Racing	27	David Purley	Shadow DN9	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	14-15
Smith & Jones	33	Robin Smith	Ensign N174	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1, 3
		Richard Jones	Ensign N174		2, 5
		Robin Smith	Surtees TS19		7, 9, 12, 14
		Richard Jones	Surtees TS19		8, 11, 15
Willi Kauhsen	39	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Kauhsen WK	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1
Walz Toj Racing	42	Gerd Biechteler	March 781	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	1-3
Iain McLaren	88	Iain McLaren	McLaren M26	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	2, 4, 8
Formula 2
Cooper Industries	8	John Cooper	March 792	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1-2, 4, 13
Divina Galica	13	Divina Galica	March 792	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	2, 8
Pontin Racing	15	Kim Mather	March 772P	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1
			March 772P	BMW M12 2.0 L4	2, 4-9
			March 772P/782	Ford BDG Eden 2.0 L4	11
		Mike Wilds		Ford BDG Eden 2.0 L4	13
		Kim Mather		Ford BDG Richardson 2.0 L4	15
A. G. Dean Racing	18	Tony Dean	Chevron B42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1-2, 4-5, 8-10
	19	Brian Robinson	Chevron B42		1-2, 4-5, 7-9, 11-14
	19	Brian Robinson	Chevron B48		15
Adrian Russell	20	Adrian Russell	March 782	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1, 4-8, 10
RAM Racing	25	Germain Garon	Chevron B42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1-2, 10
RAM Racing	25	Hervé Regout	Chevron B42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	4-9, 11-15
Onyx Race Engineering	26	Patrick Nève	Pilbeam MP42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	5-6
Onyx Race Engineering	26	Neil Bettridge	Pilbeam MP42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	7
Kenneth Brill	28	Kenneth Brill	Chevron B35D	Ford BDG 2.0 L4	2, 4, 6-8, 11
Warren Booth	29	Warren Booth	Chevron B42	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	2, 4, 6, 8-9
Dicksons of Perth	30	Norman Dickson	March 792	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	1-2, 4-9, 11-13, 15
	31	Gianfranco Brancatelli	March 772P		5
	34	Pascal Witmeur	March 772P		1
Ecurie Motul Nogaro	34	Alain Couderc	AGS JH15	BMW M12 2.0 L4	10
Walz Toj Racing	65	Klaus Walz	March 782	BMW M12 2.0 L4	1-2
Theodore Racing	77	Derek Warwick	March 792	Hart 420R 2.0 L4	4, 13-14

Results and standings

Races

Rnd	Track	Date	Laps	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Race Winner	Constructor
1	Zolder	1 April	40	David Kennedy	Desiré Wilson	David Kennedy	Wolf
2	Oulton Park	13 April	65	Guy Edwards	David Kennedy	David Kennedy	Wolf
3	Brands Hatch	15 April	39	Rupert Keegan	Rupert Keegan	Guy Edwards	Fittipaldi
4	Mallory Park	7 May	75	Bernard de Dryver	Guy Edwards	Rupert Keegan	Arrows
5	Snetterton	20 May	53	Guy Edwards	Rupert Keegan	Rupert Keegan	Arrows
6	Thruxton	28 May	50	Guy Edwards	David Kennedy	Emilio de Villota	Lotus
7	Zandvoort	4 June	40	Guy Edwards	Emilio de Villota	Emilio de Villota	Lotus
8	Donington Park	24 June	52	Rupert Keegan	Ricardo Zunino	Rupert Keegan	Arrows
9	Oulton Park	30 June	65	Guy Edwards	Emilio de Villota	Emilio de Villota	Lotus
10	Nogaro	8 July	50	Ricardo Zunino	Ricardo Zunino	Emilio de Villota	Lotus
11	Mallory Park	29 July	75	Emilio de Villota	Ricardo Zunino	David Kennedy	Wolf
12	Brands Hatch	27 August	40	Rupert Keegan	Guy Edwards	Ricardo Zunino	Arrows
13	Thruxton	9 September	50	Ricardo Zunino	Emilio de Villota	Rupert Keegan	Arrows
14	Snetterton	23 September	55	Rupert Keegan	Rupert Keegan	Rupert Keegan	Arrows
15	Silverstone	7 October	35	Rupert Keegan	Rupert Keegan	Gordon Smiley	Surtees

Drivers' standings

Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers using the following structure:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	PP	FL
Points	9	6	4	3	2	1	2	1

Pos.	Driver	ZOL	OUL	BRH	MAL	SNE	THR	ZAN	DON	OUL	NOG	MAL	BRH	THR	SNE	SIL	Pts
1	Rupert Keegan		11	Ret	1	1	Ret	NC	1	Ret		Ret	DNS	1	1	2	65
2	David Kennedy	1	1	DNS	3	NC	2	2	10	Ret	3	1	3	3	3	Ret	63
3	Emilio de Villota	Ret	7	Ret	4	3	1	1	2	1	1	6	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	55
4	Bernard de Dryver	5	Ret	2	Ret	4	DNS	6	3	2	2	Ret	4	4	5	4	41
5	Guy Edwards	DSQ	2	1	5	Ret	Ret	7	6	Ret	Ret	3	2	Ret	Ret	8	40
6	Ricardo Zunino						5	Ret	4	Ret	7	2	1	2	2		39
7	Desiré Wilson	3	3	3	11	Ret	3	4	Ret	5	4	Ret	7	7	6	5	28
8	Giacomo Agostini	9	6	5	Ret	2	6	3	9	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	7	7	19
9	Gordon Smiley	DNS	9	4	Ret	7	4	5		10	DNS		6	Ret	Ret	1	18
10	Tiff Needell	2	10	Ret	7			8			Ret	Ret				6	7
11	Norman Dickson	6	4		6	6	DNS	10	7	Ret		NC	Ret	14		10	6
=^[1]	Derek Warwick				2									13	Ret		6
13	Philip Bullman	4	5	Ret													5
14	Kim Mather	7	8		Ret	10	8	NC	8	6		4		DNS	Ret	Ret	4
=^[1]	Neil Bettridge							Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	5	Ret	12	4
=^[1]	Geoff Lees															3	4
17	David Leslie								14	4		DNS	Ret				3
=^[1]	David Purley												Ret	10	4	9	3
19	John Cooper	DNS	Ret		10	5	7	9	DSQ					11			2
=^[1]	Divina Galica		Ret						5								2
=^[1]	Gimax				Ret		9				Ret	5					2
=^[1]	Giorgio Pianta										5						2
23	Tony Dean	12	NC		9				11	Ret	6						1
=^[1]	Valentino Musetti	Ret	Ret	6	NC	Ret			13	DNS			NC				1
—	Robin Smith	11		7				11		8			8		Ret		0
—	Brian Robinson	13	12		12	9		13	Ret	7		NC	9	Ret	9	11	0
—	Richard Jones		Ret			DNS			Ret			7				13	0
—	Hervé Regout				8	DNS	Ret	12	Ret	11		NC	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	0
—	Adrian Russell	Ret			DNQ	8	Ret	14	Ret		Ret						0
—	Germain Garon	14	Ret								8						0
—	Klaus Walz	8	NC														0
—	Guido Pardini													8			0
—	Warren Booth		13		13		10		15	9							0
—	Dennis Leech													9			0
—	Gerd Biechteler	10	DNS	DNQ													0
—	Mike Wilds													12			0
—	Lella Lombardi				14												0
—	Kenneth Brill		DNQ		DNQ		NC	Ret	DNS			DNS					0
—	Patrick Nève					Ret	NC										0
—	Gianfranco Brancatelli	Ret				Ret											0
—	Marco Micangeli												Ret		Ret		0
—	Pascal Witmeur	Ret															0
—	Claude Bourgoignie	Ret															0
—	Ray Mallock					Ret											0
—	Alain Couderc										Ret						0
—	Jean-Pierre Jaussaud										Ret						0
—	Iain McLaren		DNS		DNQ				DNS								0
Pos.	Driver	ZOL	OUL	BRH	MAL	SNE	THR	ZAN	DON	OUL	NOG	MAL	BRH	THR	SNE	SIL	Pts

Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	Second place
Bronze	Third place
Green	Points finish
Blue	Non-points finish
Blue	Non-classified finish (NC)
Purple	Retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
	Withdrew (WD)
	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Excluded (EX)

Bold – Pole
Italics – Fastest Lap

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "1979 AURORA AFX BRITISH F1 CHAMPIONSHIP". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
^ "Formula 1 - 3-litre Formula 1 (1966 - 1985)". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved July 17, 2018.

[British_F1_1979-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "1979 AURORA AFX BRITISH F1 CHAMPIONSHIP". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.

[2] "Formula 1 - 3-litre Formula 1 (1966 - 1985)". oldracingcars.com. Retrieved July 17, 2018.

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