The 1979 British motorcycle Grand Prix was the eleventh round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 10–12 August 1979 at the Silverstone Circuit.

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  1979 British Grand Prix

Race details
Race 11 of 13 races in the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
Date	12 August 1979
Official name	Marlboro British Grand Prix[1][2][3]
Location	Silverstone Circuit
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.711 km (2.927 mi)
500 cc
Pole position Rider Kenny Roberts Time 1:29.810 Fastest lap Rider Barry Sheene Time 1:29.980 Podium First Kenny Roberts Second Barry Sheene Third Wil Hartog
350 cc
Pole position Rider Éric Saul Time Unknown Fastest lap Rider Kork Ballington Time Unknown Podium First Kork Ballington Second Gregg Hansford Third Jeff Sayle
250 cc
Pole position Rider Kork Ballington Time 1:36.220 Fastest lap Rider Kork Ballington Time 1:35.110 Podium First Kork Ballington Second Randy Mamola Third Anton Mang
125 cc
Pole position Rider Hans Müller Time 1:42.650 Fastest lap Rider Pier Paolo Bianchi Time 1:42.200 Podium First Ángel Nieto Second Gert Bender Third Guy Bertin
Sidecar (B2A)
Pole position Rider Derek Jones Fastest lap Rider Jock Taylor Podium First Rolf Biland Second Jock Taylor Third Dick Greasley
Sidecars (B2B)
Pole position Rider Rolf Biland Fastest lap Rider Alain Michel Podium First Alain Michel Second Bruno Holzer Third Masato Kumano

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The 500cc British Grand Prix would be one of the closest races in Grand Prix history.^[4][5] The race began with Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts and Wil Hartog breaking away from the rest of the field. At the midpoint of the race, Hartog fell off the pace as Sheene and Roberts continued to battle for the lead.^[5] The event featured numerous lead changes throughout the 28 lap race.^[4] Heading into the final lap of the race, the two leaders came upon lapped riders. Roberts was unhindered as he passed the slower riders however, Sheene was momentarily held up, allowing Roberts to increase his lead.^[4] An undeterred Sheene put in an impressive lap time to catch Roberts as they entered the final corner.^[4] With momentum on his side, Sheene attempted a last second pass, but Roberts was able to prevail over Sheene by a narrow margin of just three-tenths of a second.^[4]

Minutes before the start of the race, Roberts' Yamaha blew a seal and sprayed the bike with oil.^[5] His crew managed to replace the seal in time but, Roberts went to the starting line with his gloves coated with oil, causing his hand to slip on the throttle during the race.^[5]

After an eleven-year absence from world championship racing, Honda returned to competition with the exotic, four-stroke NR500 ridden by riders Mick Grant and Takazumi Katayama.^[6] The motorcycle featured an engine with oval-shaped cylinders as well as a monocoque chassis. Both bikes retired from the race, Grant crashing out on the first turn after the bike spilled oil onto his rear tire. Katayama retired on the seventh lap due to ignition problems.^[6]

More information Pos, Rider ...

Pos	Rider	Passenger	Number	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Rolf Biland	Kurt Waltisperg	1	Schmid-Yamaha	33min 39.47sec	15
2	Jock Taylor	Benga Johansson	7	Windle-Yamaha		12
3	Dick Greasley	John Parkins	5	Busch-Yamaha		10
4	Werner Schwärzel	Andreas Huber	4	Yamaha		8
5	Rolf Steinhausen	Kenny Arthur	12	KSA-Yamaha		6
6	Walter Ohrmann	Erich Schmitz	27	Yamaha		5
7	Siegfried Schauzu	Lorenzo Puzo	13	Busch-Yamaha		4
8	John Barker	Nick Cutmore	28	Reynoldson-Yamaha		3
9	Hermann Huber	Bernhard Schappacher	14	Krauser-Yamaha		2
10	Kalevi Rahko	Kari Laatikainen	16	Yamaha		1

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^[12]

More information Pos, Rider ...

Pos	Rider	Passenger	Manufacturer	Time/Retired	Points
1	Alain Michel	Michael Burkhard	Seymaz-Yamaha		15
2	Bruno Holzer	Karl Meierhans	LCR-Yamaha		12
3	Masato Kumano	Isao Arifuku	Yamaha		10
4	Heinz Luthringshauser	Karl Paul	Yamaha		8
5	Yvan Trolliet	Marc Petel	Seymaz-Yamaha		6
6	Bernard Chabert	Patrice Daire	CB-Yamaha		5
7	Cees Smit	Charles Vroegop	Seymaz-Yamaha		4
8	Klaus Sprengel	Derek John Booth	Suzuki		3
9	Steve Sinnott	John Horspole	?-Yamaha		2
10	Rudolf Reinhard	Karin Sterzenbach	GEP-Yamaha		1

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