1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Mississippi State
Putting two touchdowns on the scoreboard in the final six minutes of the first half, Florida State held on with its defense in the closing two quarters and claimed a 17-6 victory over Mississippi State. FSU scored on a one yard run by Mike Whiting, and on an 18 yard pass from Jimmy Jordan to Jackie Flowers. Dave Cappelen kicked a 46 yard field goal.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, LSU
Jimmy Jordan gunned three touchdown passes as Florida State muscled past Louisiana State 24-19 before 67,197 in Tiger Stadium. Jordan completed 14 passes for 312 yards. In the 1st half, the Seminoles forced three LSU fumbles and recovered all three. Florida State, in the 2nd half, intercepted two passes. Monk Bonasorte recovered a fumble and intercepted two passes. Florida State totaled 436 yards of offense. Jordan’s TD passes went to Sam Platt (3 yards), Jackie Flowers (40 yards) and Hardis Johnson (53 yards).


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Cincinnati
The sixth ranked Seminoles squeezed past Cincinnati 26-21 when Mike Whiting crashed into the end zone from eight yards out with 1:38 left to play. The Seminoles trailed 21-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Ahead 7-0 after their first offensive series, FSU was stunned by a 21 point 2nd quarter onslaught by Cincinnati, a 17 1/2 point underdog. Wally Woodham led the charge in the 4th quarter with touchdown passes to Mark Lyles (7 yards) and Jackie Flowers (5 yards), followed by Whiting’s game winner.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, South Carolina
A record Doak Campbell Stadium crowd of 49,490 saw the 9-0 Seminoles beat South Carolina 27-7. Wally Woodham completed 15 of 25 passes for 145 yards. Florida State cominated possession, 83 plays to 52, and totaled 381 yards to Carolina's 265. Mark Lyles ran for 132 yards on 25 carries and a 1 yard touchdown run. Dave Capellen kicked four field goals. Jimmy Jordan threw a 7 yard TD pass to Sam Childers.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Memphis State
Florida State clobbered Memphis State 66-17 before 48,021 at Doak Campbell Stadium. Memphis State's defense had given up just three touchdown passes. Quarterback Jimmy Jordan threw for that many in the second quarter. Two of those Jordan TD shots came in the last 45 seconds of the half, stretching a 10-3 lead to 24-3. Jordan’s touchdown passes were to Jackie Flowers (24 yards), Hardis Johnson (4 yards) and Grady King (5 yards).


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Memphis State
The defense and special teams got their shots in as well with Paul Piurowski returning an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and Keith Jones returning a blocked punt (by Bobby Butler) 16 yards for a touchdown. Mark Lyles, Ricky Williams, Keith Kennedy and Kelly Burney ran for touchdowns for the Noles.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Florida
Florida hosted Florida State at Florida Field in a regionally televised contest on ABC-TV. A debatable ruling on an interception by FSU’s Walter Carter led to a Bill Capece field goal that gave the Seminoles a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter. The game had been tied 10-10 early in the final period. Mark Lyles’ two fourth quarter touchdowns however, would be just what the Seminoles needed as FSU completed a perfect regular season. Lyles rushed for 151 yards while teammate Michael Whiting added 123 yards on the ground. Defensively, Florida State forced six turnovers for their third straight victory over rival Florida. The Noles went on to a 27-16 victory.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Orange Bowl
Mike Whiting gave the Seminoles a lead with his touchdown run, but that was their only score of the night. A fumbled field goal snap, three turnovers, over 100 yards of rushing by quarterback J. C. Watts and halfback Billy Sims, and 24 unanswered points by Oklahoma doomed the Seminoles. It all started with a Watts run for a touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game at seven. After the kickoff, the Seminoles turned the ball over on an interception, giving the ball back to Oklahoma. Stanley Wilson then scored a touchdown run to make it 14–7.


1979 Florida State Seminoles football team, Season summary, Orange Bowl
Mike Keeling added a field goal late in the quarter to give the Sooners a 17–7 lead at halftime. The second half scoring was limited to one Oklahoma touchdown from 22 yards out in the fourth quarter; Watts ran for twelve yards before pitching the ball to Sims, who took it the rest of the way for a 24–7 lead, the final score. The Sooners ran for 411 yards on 59 carries, an average of nearly seven yards per attempt, while having twice as many total yards as the Seminoles.


1979 Football League Cup Final
The 1979 Football League Cup Final took place on 17 March 1979 at Wembley Stadium. It was the nineteenth Football League Cup final and the thirteenth to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Nottingham Forest and Southampton. Forest were the hot favourites to win being the holders of the League Cup and the reigning First Division champions. The match finished 3–2 to Forest. Forest's goals came from Garry Birtles (2) and Tony Woodcock. Southampton's goals came from David Peach and Nick Holmes.


1979 Football League Cup Final, Match details
Team:1  Peter Shilton  (GK)2  Colin Barrett3  Frank Clark4  John McGovern  (c)5  Larry Lloyd6  David Needham7  Martin O'Neill8  Archie Gemmill9  Garry Birtles10  Tony Woodcock11  John RobertsonSubstitute:12  Ian Bowyer


1979 Football League Cup Final, Match details
Match rules:90 minutes.30 minutes extra-time if necessary. Match replayed if scores still level. One named substitute.


1979 Football League Cup Final, Match details
Team:1  Terry Gennoe (GK)2  Ivan Golac3  David Peach4  Steve Williams5  Chris Nicholl6  Malcolm Waldron7  Alan Ball (c)8  Phil Boyer9  Austin Hayes  83'10  Nick Holmes11  Terry CurranSubstitute:12  Tony Sealy  83'


1979 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Nottingham Forest
Forest began their defence of the competition with a replayed victory over Oldham Athletic, before a 5–0 win at Oxford United. That set up a clash with fellow First Division side Everton, and Forest won 3–2 at Goodison Park. A quarter-final win over Brighton & Hove Albion set up the semi-final with Third Division side Watford. Forest won the 1st leg at home 3–1, and the 2nd leg was scoreless, and thus Forest qualified for their second successive final.


1979 Football League Cup Final, Road to Wembley, Southampton
Southampton began their run with wins over First Division Birmingham City and Derby County. In the fourth round they needed a replay to beat Fourth Division side Reading; Southampton then defeated Manchester City 2–1 in the quarter-final. In the first leg of their semi-final with Leeds United they drew 2–2 away, before a 1–0 second leg victory.


1979 Formula 750 season
The 1979 Formula 750 season was the seventh and last season of the FIM Formula 750 World Championship and the third season to have full world championship status. Patrick Pons was crowned champion and became the first Frenchman to win an F.I.M. world championship.


1979 Formula One season
The 1979 Formula One season was the 33rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently over a fifteen-round series which commenced on 21 January 1979, and ended on 7 October. The season also included three non-championship Formula One races. Jody Scheckter of Scuderia Ferrari won the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers while Scuderia Ferrari won 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.


1979 Formula One season
Gilles Villeneuve made it a 1–2 for Ferrari in the championship, concluding a successful second half of the 1970s for Ferrari (three drivers' and four constructors' titles). Alan Jones finished the season strongly for Williams, finishing third in the championship and with teammate Clay Regazzoni scoring Williams's first ever Grand Prix win as a constructor. Scheckter's title was Ferrari's last drivers' title for 21 years, before Michael Schumacher won five consecutive titles for the team between 2000 and 2004.


1979 Formula One season, Drivers and constructors
The following drivers and constructors contested the 1979 World Championship of F1 Drivers and the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors.


1979 Formula One season, Drivers and constructors
Several high-profile changes happened among the leading teams for this season, as the death of Swedish driver Ronnie Peterson the previous September precipitated a merry-go-round of some of the most highly regarded drivers on the grid.


1979 Formula One season, Drivers and constructors
The dominant Lotus team signed Carlos Reutemann from Ferrari to replace Peterson. Ferrari took on Jody Scheckter to fill the gap, and the Wolf team hired James Hunt in his place. McLaren, who had originally signed Peterson, replaced Hunt with fellow British contender John Watson, whose place at Brabham was taken by the highly regarded but inexperienced Nelson Piquet, who had competed at the last race of the previous season in Canada.


1979 Formula One season, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Belgian Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix swapped places on the calendar so that the Monaco round follows the Belgian Grand Prix.


1979 Formula One season, Calendar, Calendar changes
The French Grand Prix was moved from Paul Ricard Circuit to Dijon-Prenois, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.


1979 Formula One season, Calendar, Calendar changes
The British Grand Prix was moved from Brands Hatch to Silverstone, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.


1979 Formula One season, Calendar, Calendar changes
The United States Grand Prix and Canadian Grand Prix swapped places on the calendar so that the United States round follows the Canadian Grand Prix.


1979 Formula One season, Calendar, Calendar changes
The Swedish Grand Prix was originally scheduled to be held on 16 June at Anderstorp Raceway, but was cancelled as enthusiasm for Formula One in Sweden had faded as a result of the deaths of Swedish drivers Ronnie Peterson and Gunnar Nilsson in 1978 and as a result, there was no money for the race to be held, resulting in its cancellation.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Pre-season
The domination of the Lotus 79 meant that all the teams had to build new "ground-effect" cars for the 1979 season. Team Lotus, aiming to stay one step ahead, was designing the new Lotus 80. Cigarette maker John Player Special withdrew from F1 and Olympus moved to Wolf and Lotus landed a new sponsorship package with Martini, Tissot and Essex Petroleum. Mario Andretti was retained and Carlos Reutemann had been signed to drive even before Ronnie Peterson's death at Monza. Peterson had signed a deal to join McLaren, to replace James Hunt.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Pre-season
After Peterson was killed McLaren turned to John Watson, who was out of work having been dropped by Brabham. The McLaren team produced a new McLaren M28 for Watson and Patrick Tambay to drive. Hunt had received a huge offer to drive for Wolf Racing with Harvey Postlethwaite designing a new WR7. Jody Scheckter had joined Gilles Villeneuve at Ferrari and the team produced the ungainly 312T4, which was handicapped aerodynamically by the flat-12 engine, which made ground-effect difficult. The engine was however very powerful.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Pre-season
Ligier expanded to two cars with Patrick Depailler being hired from Tyrrell to partner Jacques Laffite. The team gave up with the old Matra engine and ran Cosworths instead and Gerard Ducarouge designed the JS11. Williams also expanded to two cars and signed Clay Regazzoni to partner Alan Jones while Patrick Head finished off the new FW07 design. Also expanding was Renault Sport which hired Rene Arnoux to partner Jean-Pierre Jabouille. The pair started the year with the old RS1 while the new RS10 was finished.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Pre-season
Brabham had a new Alfa Romeo V12 engine and Niki Lauda was joined by rising star Nelson Piquet in the Parmalat-sponsored team. Tyrrell was struggling for money as Elf had decided to put its money behind Renault and First National City Travelers Checks had decided not to continue. The team had hired Jean-Pierre Jarier to partner Didier Pironi and Maurice Philippe designed a new 008 chassis. Arrows hired Jochen Mass to partner Riccardo Patrese and continued with the A1 chassis, although the bullet-nosed A2 was under development.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Pre-season
ATS hired Hans Stuck to drive its new D3 chassis while Ensign had Derek Daly, Fittipaldi continued with his own car while Shadow was left without any drivers and so hired youngsters Elio de Angelis and Jan Lammers to drive. Surtees and Theodore disappeared while Hector Rebaque bought a 1978 Lotus and pushed ahead with his own car. Arturo Merzario was also struggling on with his own design, while Kauhsen and Alfa Romeo were both preparing their own teams.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 1: Argentina
Like in previous years, the opening race of the season was in Argentina at the Buenos Aires circuit located on the outskirts of the capital city. Most people expected the Lotus cars driven by defending champion Mario Andretti, and his new teammate Carlos Reutemann to dominate but, to many people's surprise, it was the Ligier team that dominated qualifying, with Jacques Laffite on pole ahead of Patrick Depailler, leaving home favorite Reutemann to qualify third, with Jarier fourth ahead of Scheckter, Watson, Andretti, Pironi, Tambay and Villeneuve.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 1: Argentina
Laffite led at the start with Depailler following, but the two men starting on the third row, John Watson in the McLaren collided with Jody Scheckter's Ferrari at the very fast first 2 corners, creating chaos behind. The resulting accident involved Pironi, Tambay, Piquet, Merzario and Andretti; Piquet was taken to hospital) and the race was red-flagged, and aside from Piquet's injury, no one else was injured.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 1: Argentina
The race restarted after the mess was cleared, and this time Depailler set off into the lead with Jean-Pierre Jarier's Tyrrell and Watson (in his spare car) following him. But soon Laffite was up to second, and a few laps later he took the lead from Depailler. The Ligiers drove away, whereas Jarier struggled and dropped down the order with engine troubles, leaving Watson third before he was passed by a recovering Reutemann. Reutemann drove a stirring race in front of his home crowd, but it wasn't enough as Laffite went on and won comfortably, but teammate Depailler suffered a misfire and dropped to fourth, leaving Reutemann second and Watson third.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 2: Brazil
The drivers stayed in South America for the second round which was held in Brazil, returning to the 5-mile Interlagos circuit in São Paulo; the longest circuit on the calendar. The Ligiers were in top form again, Laffite taking pole comfortably with Depailler alongside, with the Lotuses led by Reutemann on the second row.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 2: Brazil
The second row featured the Lotuses of Carlos Reutemann and Mario Andretti and the third row featured the Ferraris of Gilles Villeneuve and Jody Scheckter. Jean-Pierre Jabouille put his Renault seventh, just ahead of Didier Pironi's Tyrrell. The top 10 was completed by Emerson Fittipaldi (Fittipaldi) and James Hunt (Wolf). Brabham was in trouble on this occasion with Niki Lauda down in 12th place and the hobbling Nelson Piquet 22nd.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 2: Brazil
This time, Laffite was able to lead right from the first corner with Reutemann taking second from Depailler, but Depailler regained the place soon after and Andretti also passed his teammate to take third. Andretti however soon retired with a misfire, and so Reutemann was back in third. In the race Laffite took the lead while Reutemann briefly grabbed second place before Depailler seized it back again. Reutemann lost third place as well as Andretti went past him. Behind them came Scheckter and Fittipaldi.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 2: Brazil
Fittipaldi then overtook Scheckter and moved to fourth when Andretti's Lotus began to misfire and went into the pits. Piquet retired from his first home race after losing his front wing in an attempt to overtake Regazzoni, who later also collided with Tambay, eliminating Tambay. Fittipaldi then attacked Reutemann while behind them Scheckter came under pressure from Pironi. Pironi got ahead but then spun and found himself behind again. He repeated the overtaking move and began to pull away from the Ferrari.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 2: Brazil
On the twenty-second lap Fittipaldi's fine charge ended when a rear wheel worked itself loose and he had to pit. Both Ferraris pitted for new tires and Villeneuve got ahead and they finished fifth and sixth behind Laffite, Depailler, Reutemann and Pironi. Laffite dominated as he had in Buenos Aires, completing his clean sweep of the South American segment of this Formula One season, although he was pushed by Depailler all the way – Depailler finished 2nd to Laffite to complete a 1–2 for Ligier and Reutemann completing the podium.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
There was a four-week break between the Brazilian and South African GPs and the battle for control of the sport between the Formula One Constructors Association and the newly-formed FISA under Jean-Marie Balestre was heating up but the South African race went ahead anyway.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
At the high-altitude Kyalami circuit between Johannesburg and Pretoria, Ferrari debuted their new ground-effect 312T4 to replace the 312T3 at this race, which had been used for the South American rounds; teams often debuted their new cars after the Argentine and Brazilian rounds, although some often debuted their new cars in Argentina, like Ligier, Brabham and Tyrrell. Since the dominant Ligier performances in South America the opposition had been working hard to perfect ground-effect technolog.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
There were no changes in the driver lineup but after practice there was the rather surprising sight of the old non-ground effect Renault RS1 of Jean-Pierre Jabouille on pole position. This was largely due to the extra horsepower the car had at high altitude. Jabouille was ahead of the Ferraris of Scheckter and Villeneuve. Niki Lauda was fourth fastest in the Brabham while the two Ligiers were fifth and sixth, Patrick Depailler setting a faster time than Jacques Laffite. The top 10 was completed by Didier Pironi's Tyrrell, Mario Andretti's Lotus, Jean-Pierre Jarier's Tyrrell and the second Renault of Rene Arnoux.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
It was overcast when the race started but Jabouille stayed ahead of Scheckter and Villeneuve, even banging wheels through the fast Barbecue and Jukskei corners. Within a few moments however a cloudburst resulted in the race being stopped but before that happened Villeneuve had managed to get ahead of Scheckter and Jabouille. As a result he was on pole for the restart. The weather was still uncertain and several drivers (notably Scheckter, Depailler, Patrick Tambay (McLaren) and Nelson Piquet (Brabham) decided to race on slicks.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
At the restart Villeneuve was able to build up a lead but as the track dried it became clear that the men who had gambled on slicks were in a much better position and Scheckter took the lead when Villeneuve pitted on lap 15. He rejoined second ahead of Tambay and Piquet. Villeneuve charged after Scheckter. Piquet began to suffer engine trouble and fell behind Jarier and Andretti and a few laps later the pair were also ahead of Tambay. Jabouille then moved back up to fifth with Reutemann and Laffite following him until the Renault engine failed again. With Laffite having spun off because of a puncture, Reutemann moved to fifth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
When the race restarted, most drivers were on wets, but Scheckter and a few others opted for slicks. Villeneuve led at the restart and built up a gap, but the track dried and he had to pit for slicks along with most of the field. This left Scheckter leading comfortably, and he looked well set for a home win until he had to pit for new tyres, handing the lead back to Villeneuve and in behind, Patrick Tambay briefly ran third in his McLaren, until he was passed by Jarier.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 3: South Africa
It was Villeneuve who won the race with Scheckter close behind, and Jarier taking the final spot on the podium. On lap 52 Scheckter pitted for new tires and so Villeneuve took the lead with Scheckter now chasing him. The gap closed to within four seconds at the flag but victory went to Villeneuve, with Scheckter 2nd for a Ferrari 1-2. Jarier was a distant third with Andretti fourth, Reutemann fifth and Lauda sixth. Piquet nursed his car to seventh.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
Five weeks after the South African race, the field went to the United States to compete at the gruelling Long Beach street circuit near Los Angeles, California. There were no changes in the driver lineup for Long Beach and South African GP winner Gilles Villeneuve took pole position in his 312T4. His former Ferrari teammate Reutemann was second in the Lotus while Scheckter was third quickest ahead of the two Ligiers of Depailler and Laffite.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
Home favorite Mario Andretti completed the top six in his Lotus while the top 10 was rounded off by Jean-Pierre Jarier's Tyrrell, James Hunt (Wolf), Riccardo Patrese (Arrows) and Alan Jones (Williams). The Brabhams were again not very competitive with Niki Lauda 11th and Nelson Piquet 12th while Jan Lammers did a good job to put his Shadow 14th. The McLarens were uncompetitive with John Watson and Patrick Tambay 18th and 19th. It was a disastrous practice for Renault as Arnoux and Jabouille were breaking gearboxes all throughout practice, so the Renault team decided to withdraw their entries on grounds of safety.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
The starting procedure was a mess with Reutemann being forced to start from the pits half a lap behind because of an electrical failure. Villeneuve overshot his grid position and decided to lead the field around again. When the grid arrived on the grid for the second time, Laffite's car locked up and turned sideways and so Villeneuve led half the field around again, the rest having been stopped by officials. The leaders had to then weave through the backmarkers to take up their positions.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
Finally the race got underway with Villeneuve taking off into the lead with Depailler holding off Scheckter to grab second. In the process the South African damaged a front wing. Further back in the field Tambay ran into the back of Lammers and was launched through the air and landed on top of Lauda's Brabham. Both cars were out.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
Villeneuve thus led Depailler, Scheckter and Jarier and Andretti but it was Jarier who was on the move and he soon overtook both Scheckter and Depailler to run second. Depailler then dropped behind Scheckter and the Ferrari driver then attacked Jarier and finally on lap 27 he moved to second place. The two Ferraris were out ahead and interest centered on the battle for third with Jarier under pressure from Depailler, Andretti and Jones.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
The Williams driver managed to get ahead of Andretti and all three then overtook Jarier and so as the race went into its closing stages Jones was challenging Depailler. On lap 62 he got ahead, but it wasn't enough to catch Villeneuve and Scheckter, who finished 1-2. In the closing laps Depailler lost fourth gear and dropped behind Andretti, while Jarier finished sixth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 4: United States West
One week after Long Beach, the Race of Champions at the fast, undulating Brands Hatch circuit in southern England featured another victory for Gilles Villeneuve.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 5: Spain
After another long break, this time for three weeks, the Spanish Grand Prix was next, at the tight and twisty Jarama circuit near the Spanish capital of Madrid, starting a trilogy of Grands Prix at tight and twisty circuits. The Spanish Grand Prix, held at theJarama for the fifth round of the World Championship. Lotus had the new 80 ready for Mario Andretti while Renault had a new RS10 and Williams had a pair of the new FW07s. McLaren had modified the M28 after a disappointing start to the year.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 5: Spain
The Kauhsen team made its first appearance with driver Gianfranco Brancatelli but the car was a long way off the pace and failed to qualify as did Arturo Merzario in his A2 and Derek Daly in his Ensign. At the front the Ligiers were back on top again with Jacques Laffite taking pole position from Patrick Depailler. Villeneuve was third quickest with Andretti fourth in the new Lotus. Jody Scheckter was fifth in his Ferrari with Niki Lauda and Nelson Piquet sixth and seventh in their improving, but untrustworthy Brabhams. Then came Carlos Reutemann in an old Lotus 79 and the top 10 was rounded off by Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the new Renault and Didier Pironi's Tyrrell.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 5: Spain
At the start Depailler took the lead from Laffite while Villeneuve tried to challenge the Ligiers and dropped behind the fast-starting Reutemann. Keen to win back his place Villeneuve spun and dropped down the order. Laffite tried to find a way to pass Depailler but eventually missed a gear and blew up his engine. This left Reutemann second with Scheckter third until lap 60 when he dropped behind Lauda. The Austrian then went out with an engine failure, matching Piquet's early exit so Scheckter regained the position only to lose it a few laps later to Andretti. So Depailler won ahead of the Lotus pair of Reutemann and Andretti, while Scheckter thus had to settle for fourth place with Jarier fifth and Pironi sixth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
The Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder was 2 weeks after Spain, and the F1 field had grown to 28 cars with the appearance of Bruno Giacomelli in the new Alfa Romeo F1 car, the company's first official entry in the World Championship since the end of 1951. This was using the old flat-12 engines while a new car was being built for the new V12, which was being run by the Brabham team. The entry was otherwise unchanged although Tyrrell had managed to find some much-needed sponsorship from Italian domestic appliance maker Candy.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
Qualifying resulted in the usual story of Ligier domination with Jacques Laffite ahead of Patrick Depailler. Nelson Piquet impressed many by qualifying third in his Brabham while Alan Jones gave the first hint that the Williams FW07 was going to be a competitive car by qualifying fourth. The third row featured Mario Andretti, who had decided to use the old Lotus 79 instead of the new 80 and Gilles Villeneuve in his Ferrari.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
His team mate Jody Scheckter was on the fourth row, alongside Carlos Reutemann's Lotus while the top 10 was rounded off by the two Tyrrells of Jean-Pierre Jarier and Didier Pironi. Niki Lauda was 11th in his Brabham and Giacomelli was 12th in the Alfa. At the back of the grid McLaren's woes continued with Patrick Tambay failing to qualify an old M26 after John Watson destroyed the difficult M28 in testing.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
At the start of the race Depailler went into the lead with Jones grabbing second from Piquet while Laffite dropped to fourth. On the second lap Scheckter collided with Clay Regazzoni's Williams and Villeneuve was also involved as he snagged the rear wheel of the Williams at the chicane. Both Ferraris were able to keep going by Regazzoni was out. Villeneuve had to pit for a new nose cone.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
On the fourth lap, Laffite overtook Piquet, while behind them Scheckter was able to get ahead of Andretti and soon afterwards Scheckter also overtook Piquet who was having tyre trouble after a promising start. The order settled for a while and then Laffite slipped ahead of Jones and on lap 19 took the lead. Depailler quickly dropped behind Jones as well and on lap 24 Jones went into the lead. Both Brabhams again expired with engine trouble on lap 23.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 6: Belgium
Jones's hopes of victory ended on lap 40 with electrical failure and as Laffite had fallen behind Depailler again it was the second Ligier driver who went back into the lead until lap 47 when he understeered off into the barriers at the first corner and Laffite went back into the lead. Behind him was Scheckter and the Ferrari closed gradually in and on lap 54 went ahead. All this left Reutemann in third place but in the closing laps he was caught and passed by Pironi. So Scheckter won in front of Laffite, Pironi and Reutemann, while Patrese finished fifth with Watson sixth. Villeneuve finished seventh after running out of fuel on the final lap.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
The next race was the illustrious Monaco GP, Jody Scheckter's victory in Belgium had moved the South African to the top of the standings in the World Championship with 25 points but he was only a point clear of Jacques Laffite with Lotus's Carlos Reutemann (21) and Gilles Villeneuve and Patrick Depailler (20 apiece) close behind. The title was wide open. With only 20 starters at Monaco there was a pre-qualifying session for Jochen Mass (Arrows), Hans Stuck (ATS) and Gianfranco Brancatelli (who was standing in for Merzario as he was injured and the Kauhsen team had closed its doors).


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
With Rebaque failing to appear and Alfa Romeo staying at home only one man needed to be weeded out and the Merzario was not a match for the Arrows and the ATS, so Brancatelli went home early. Ferrari seemed to be developing faster than Ligier and the front row featured Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve in the red cars. Patrick Depailler was third in his Ligier but Niki Lauda (Brabham) was slightly fastest that Jacques Laffite (Ligier) and so took fourth place.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell) was sixth fastest with his team mate Didier Pironi matching his time, while Mass was an impressive eighth ahead of Alan Jones (Williams) and James Hunt (Wolf). The two Lotuses were off the pace with Mario Andretti (in the Lotus 80) in 13th and Carlos Reutemann (in an old 79) 11th. McLaren had a new version of the M28 for John Watson and he qualified 14th but Patrick Tambay failed to make it in the earlier version of the car.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
At the start Scheckter took the lead with Lauda getting ahead of Villeneuve and Depailler in the run to Ste Devote. Laffite was fifth with Pironi sixth and Jones seventh. On the third lap Villeneuve was able to get ahead of Lauda and set off in pursuit of Scheckter. For the next few laps it was quiet as Villeneuve closed the gap to the leader while Lauda ran third under pressure from Depailler, Laffite, Pironi, Jones and the rest. On lap 16 Pironi ran into the back of Laffite, which forced the Ligier driver into pits.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
Three laps later Pironi punted Depailler out of the way at the Loews Hairpin. On lap 22 Pironi tried to pass Lauda and the two collided and retired. This left Jones in third place but he survived only until lap 43 when he retired having damaged his steering. As fourth placed Jarier had disappeared with a transmission problem a little earlier Mass found himself third but he was in gearbox trouble and dropped behind Clay Regazzoni's Williams. On lap 54 Villeneuve's race ended with transmission failure and so Scheckter seemed to have everything under control.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 7: Monaco
But in the closing laps Regazzoni closed in dramatically (despite a gearbox problem). At the same time Depailler was closing on Reutemann for third. The last lap provided an exciting battle but Scheckter got to the line first, four-tenths ahead of Regazzoni. Reutemann was third because Depailler's engine had blown, so fourth went to Watson with Depailler classified fifth and Mass sixth, although the German driver was seven laps behind.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
With the two Swedish drivers in Formula 1 having died (Ronnie Peterson after an accident at Monza and Gunnar Nilsson a few weeks later from cancer), there was no interest and therefore no money for a Swedish GP in 1979 and so there was a 5-week gap between Monaco at the end of May and the French GP at the fast Dijon-Prenois circuit.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
The break was used for testing and a lot of the cars were modified. Just after Monaco James Hunt announced that he was quitting F1 and so he was replaced by Keke Rosberg. Patrick Depailler blew all hopes he had of a successful season by breaking both his legs in a hang-gliding accident and so Ligier asked Jacky Ickx to take over its second car.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
Derek Daly also decided that he was wasting his time with Ensign and went back to Formula 2. Ensign tried to hire Tiff Needell but he was denied a superlicence and so the drive went to Patrick Gaillard. The entry also included Bruno Giacomelli in the Alfa Romeo, Arturo Merzario and Hector Rebaque. Renault had made a big effort to be competitive in France and the result was that Jean-Pierre Jabouille and won pole with Rene Arnoux second fastest. Then came Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) and Nelson Piquet (Brabham).


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
The third row featured World Championship leader Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) and Niki Lauda in the second Brabham while the top 10 was completed by Alan Jones (Williams), Jacques Laffite (Ligier), Clay Regazzoni (Williams) and Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell). With ATS withdrawing Hans Stuck because of a fight with Goodyear only Gaillard and Merzario failed to qualify.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
In the race Villeneuve took the lead with Jabouille second, Scheckter third. Arnoux made a poor start and dropped to ninth. The early part of the race witnessed Arnoux climbing back through the field. By the 10th lap he was fourth and on lap 15 he took third place. At the front Villeneuve's Ferrari began to handle less well and on lap 47 Jabouille moved ahead as Villeneuve fell back towards Arnoux. Piquet blew his chances of a good position soon afterwards by spinning from fourth place (having overtaken Scheckter) and so the place went to Jones.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 8: France
In the closing laps, a legendary battle between Arnoux and Villeneuve was to take place, cementing this race's place in F1 history. Arnoux caught Villeneuve and on lap 78 he went ahead. On the next lap, the penultimate lap, Arnoux's engine began to splutter and Villeneuve was back ahead and for the last lap the pair indulged in a wild battle as they ducked and dived and banged wheels. With half a lap to go Arnoux drifted a little wide and Villeneuve was able to go down the inside and secure second place. The two crossed the line just two-tenths of a second apart. Jones was fourth, Jarier fifth and Regazzoni sixth. Renault's first victory and the first for a turbocharged engine marked an important turning point in F1 history. The turbocharged engine had become competitive.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 9: Great Britain
The second half of the year started in Britain at the fastest circuit of the year, the airfield Silverstone circuit 40 miles east of Birmingham. The Williams FW07 had been improving rapidly and new modifications to correct aerodynamic leakage and a new system to keep the skirts touching the ground at all times resulted in the car being fastest in pre-British GP testing. John Watson also had a new McLaren M29, to replace the troublesome M28 and so there was much excitement as the teams gathered at Silverstone just a fortnight after Jean-Pierre Jabouille's first victory for Renault at Dijon.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 9: Great Britain
The Alfa Romeo team did not appear and so only Hans Stuck (ATS) and Arturo Merzario (in a new Merzario chassis, based on the Kauhsen F1 car) failed to qualify. Alan Jones was very quick in qualifying and took pole position by 0.6sec with Jabouille alongside him. Then came Nelson Piquet (Brabham), Clay Regazzoni in the second Williams, Rene Arnoux (Renault), Niki Lauda (Brabham), Watson, Carlos Reutemann and Mario Andretti (Lotus) and Jacques Laffite's Ligier. World Championship leader Jody Scheckter was a disappointing 11th while Elio de Angelis impressed by putting his Shadow 12th on the grid, ahead of Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari and Keke Rosberg in the new Wolf WR9.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 9: Great Britain
At the start Jones went into the lead with Jabouille chasing and the fast-starting Regazzoni third. Piquet ran fourth but soon spun off and so Lauda took the position although he quickly fell behind Arnoux and Villeneuve who had stormed through from the midfield. He was followed by Scheckter. Jabouille's challenge faded with his tires and on lap 17 Regazzoni moved to second place and Jabouille then headed for the pits. The stop went wrong he had to pit again and then his engine overheated. This elevated Arnoux to third place with Scheckter fourth and Villeneuve fifth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 9: Great Britain
Jones remained in the lead until lap 39 when he retired with an overheating engine. Regazzoni went into the lead and won to give Frank Williams his first Grand Prix victory. Arnoux finished second with Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell) climbing through the leaders in the closing stages to take third place, ahead of Watson, the fading Scheckter and Ickx after Laffite and Villeneuve both went out with mechanical troubles.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 10: Germany
The tenth race of the year was held in Germany, and on the ultra-fast, straight dominated Hockenheim circuit near Stuttgart, where the entry was the same as it had been at Silverstone. Tyrrell's Jean-Pierre Jarier was in hospital with a liver problem and so the team had replaced him with Formula 2 driver Geoff Lees. Qualifying resulted in Jean-Pierre Jabouille taking pole for Renault on the fast Hockenheim track but Alan Jones was second in the Williams and Jacques Laffite seemed to be rather off than usual in the Ligier. Nelson Piquet was fourth in his Brabham, ahead of Scheckter, Regazzoni, Lauda, Pironi, Villeneuve, and Arnoux.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 10: Germany
In the race Jones took the lead at the start with Jabouille second, Laffite third, Scheckter fourth and Regazzoni fifth. Jones held off intense pressure from Jabouille in the early stages of the race, until the latter tried too hard and spun off giving second to Laffite and third to Regazzoni. Regazzoni was soon past Laffite, and the two Williams cars dominated the rest of race, with Jones getting his first win of the season and Regazzoni completing the 1–2 leaving Laffite to take the final spot on the podium.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 10: Germany
Regazzoni then closed up on Laffite and went into second place on lap 13. The Williams 1-2 lasted all the way to the finish with Laffite third and Scheckter fourth. For much of the race fifth place belonged to Villeneuve but he had to pit to have a rear wing adjusted and that gave Lauda the position for a brief moment before he suffered engine failure. Piquet then took the place but he too suffered engine failure and so the position went to John Watson (McLaren) with Jochen Mass of Arrows in sixth place, just ahead of Lees.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 11: Austria
The field went to the very high-speed Österreichring circuit in Austria, and in qualifying once again the Renault turbo was the car to beat, Arnoux taking his first career pole, with Jones forcing Jabouille to settle for the second row. The entry was the same as it had been in Hockenheim but there had been a change at Tyrrell with Derek Daly being brought in to stand-in for the unwell Jean-Pierre Jarier.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 11: Austria
ATS had undergone a restructuring with former Grand Prix driver Vic Elford becoming team manager and the team had the brand new D2, which had been designed by Nigel Stroud. As the Österreichring is high up in the Austrian Alps, the Renault turbo had an advantage and Rene Arnoux was on pole position with Alan Jones second. Then came Jabouille and Niki Lauda in the fastest of the two Brabham-Alfa Romeos. The third row featured Villeneuve and Regazzoni, and the top 10 was completed by Piquet, Laffite, Scheckter and Pironi.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 11: Austria
Villeneuve made a sensational start to take the lead from Jones, Lauda and Arnoux, who made a bad start. Jabouille lost his clutch at the start and dropped to ninth but quickly caught up. Villeneuve stayed ahead until the third lap when Jones breezed ahead, while Arnoux quickly dispensed with Lauda. On lap 11 Arnoux moved to second place but he was then overtaken by Jabouille. The Renault team leader lasted only a couple of laps before the clutch finally stopped him and so Arnoux settled into second place with Villeneuve third, Scheckter fourth, Regazzoni fifth and Laffite sixth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 11: Austria
Lauda and Piquet raced behind but yet again the Alfa Romeo engines on both Brabhams failed. Laffite soon moved ahead of Regazzoni and the order then stayed unchanged up front until the closing laps when Arnoux began to have fuel pickup problems in the final laps and had to pit. He dropped to sixth place. On the last lap Laffite overtook Scheckter to grab third place behind Jones and Villeneuve. Scheckter added to his World Championship total with fourth place and the final points went to Regazzoni and Arnoux.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 11: Austria
Villeneuve led for three laps before Jones passed him, and Arnoux was up to third after passing Lauda. Arnoux then took Villeneuve for second, before Jabouille set off on a charge and took second himself. The two Renaults set off after Jones, but Jabouille's gearbox failed. Arnoux continued to chase down Jones until he suffered fuel pressure problems and dropped down to sixth place, and handing second back to Villeneuve. With the Renault challenge finished, Jones was able to cruise to victory with Villeneuve second and Laffite completing the podium.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
F1 arrived at the beach-side Zandvoort circuit near Amsterdam, and the fast Zandvoort circuit had been modified with an awkward chicane placed between both of the most dangerous parts of the track, the very fast Hondenvlak and Tunnel Oost corners. The chicane didn't slow down the cars much and the new corner proved to be more of a nuisance than a reduction in danger. Williams was in dominant form, the team having won three successive victories at Silverstone, Hockenheim and Zeltweg.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
The scoring system meant that each driver could keep only his four best finishes from each half of the season and as Jones had collected only four points at the midway point he knew that his maximum score for the year would be 40 points. Jody Scheckter had amassed 30 points in the first part of the season and so Jones was not really a threat and the South African had picked up five points and needed only six more to be sure of beating Jones. The threat to Ferrari from Ligier and Lotus had faded completely.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
Scheckter's only real challenge therefore came from his teammate Villeneuve but as he was the Ferrari number two driver, Scheckter's position was solid. The only change in the driver lineup was the return to action of Jean-Pierre Jarier after being out of action with hepatitis for two races. In qualifying Arnoux was on pole from Jones, Regazzoni, Jabouille and the two Ferraris, Scheckter ahead of Villeneuve on this occasion. The top 10 was completed by Laffite, Keke Rosberg (Wolf), Lauda and Pironi.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
At the start Jones took the lead but Arnoux found himself in a sandwich with Regazzoni on the inside and Jabouille and Villeneuve on the outside. Arnoux thus collided with Regazzoni (the Williams losing its left front wheel) and Arnoux damaging his rear suspension. Thus Jones was followed into the first corner by Villeneuve, Jabouille and Pironi. Scheckter was left behind and started at the very back of the field. Lauda did not last long as he had hurt his wrist in a Procar accident and he was forced to withdraw.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
While Scheckter charged up through the midfield, the order remained stable at the front although fifth-placed Laffite dropped away early on because of a misfire. Rosberg took over. On lap 11 Villeneuve overtook Jones on the outside at Tarzan Corner to grab the lead and on the next lap Rosberg moved the Wolf ahead of Pironi's Tyrrell in fourth place. Pironi later drifted behind Scheckter who then caught and passed Rosberg and profited from Jabouille's retirement with a clutch failure.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 12: Holland
On lap 47 Villeneuve spun and Jones went back into the lead (despite having gearbox trouble) and four laps later Villeneuve's left rear tire exploded and he spun again. He rejoined and drove an entire lap on three wheels. When he got to the pits the suspension was too badly damaged to continue. So Jones won again for Williams while Scheckter finished second and after Pironi went out with a suspension failure third place went to Laffite with Piquet fourth, Jacky Ickx fifth for Ligier and Jochen Mass sixth in his Arrows.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
The Italian Grand Prix at the very fast Monza Autodrome near Milan was next, and the Milan Auto Club's response to driver's concerns about the safety and almost total lack of run off at the Monza Park circuit had been responded to, with huge improvements in safety added to the circuit, including new and expansive run off areas at the Lesmos and the Curva Grande, and a new track surface.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
The field was slightly larger than normal at Monza with the return to the World Championship of Alfa Romeo which fielded a new 179 chassis for Bruno Giacomelli and the old 177 for Vittorio Brambilla, back in action for the first time since the crash at Monza the previous season. Ensign decided to give Formula 2 star Marc Surer a run in its car in place of Patrick Gaillard, while Hector Rebaque had his HR100 chassis ready for the first time. In qualifying it was no surprise to see the powerful Renault turbos first and second with Jean-Pierre Jabouille ahead of Rene Arnoux. Then came Scheckter, Jones, Villeneuve, and Regazzoni. The top 10 was completed by Laffite, Piquet and Lauda in the two Brabham-Alfa Romeos and Mario Andretti in the Lotus.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
As usual the Renaults were slow off the line and so Scheckter grabbed the lead from Arnoux. Behind then Villeneuve grabbed third while Laffite made a good start to get into fourth place. Jones dropped to the back of the field. On the second lap Arnoux was able to pass Scheckter to take the lead and for the next few laps the five front-runners were nose-to-tail, while Regazzoni ran in a lonely sixth position. On Lap 2 Piquet tangled with Regazzoni and had a huge accident at Curva Grande that tore off the back half of the Brabham.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
Arnoux's lead lasted until lap 13 when Arnoux's car began to misfire and he dropped away leaving Scheckter, Villeneuve, Laffite and Jabouille by themselves. Later in the race Jabouille dropped away with engine trouble and Laffite stopped with a similar problem and so third place went to Regazzoni with Lauda, Andretti and Jarier picking up the other points.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
This proved to be a memorable day for Ferrari- as Jody Scheckter and Gilles Villeneuve made it a Ferrari 1–2 and with this victory, Scheckter won the Drivers' Championship and Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship with a car that proved to have a 100% reliability record thus far – an incredible achievement in 1979. Clay Regazzoni finished 3rd, ahead of Lauda, Andretti and Jarier.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 13: Italy
One week after the Italian GP, the non-championship Dino Ferrari Grand Prix at the Imola circuit near Bologna was held, this race was won by Niki Lauda.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 14: Canada
At the Ile-Notre Dame circuit in Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, it was Lauda in the news, announcing in the middle of practice that he no longer wanted to be a Formula 1 driver, after completing a few laps in the all-new Brabham-Cosworth BT49. Brabham boss Bernie Ecclestone decided to put Argentina's Ricardo Zunino in the car. The other changes to the field were a third Tyrrell for Derek Daly and a second Fittipaldi for Alex Ribeiro.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 14: Canada
The Alfa Romeo team appeared with two 179 chassis for Bruno Giacomelli and Vittorio Brambilla but the organizers refused to let them practice if they did not pre-qualify and the team refused to pre-qualify. After qualifying Alan Jones (Williams) was on pole position with local hero Gilles Villeneuve second in his Ferrari then came Clay Regazzoni (Williams) and Nelson Piquet in one of the new Brabham-Cosworths. Fifth on the grid was Jacques Laffite (Ligier) with Didier Pironi (Tyrrell), Jean-Pierre Jabouille (Renault), Rene Arnoux (Renault), the new World Champion Jody Scheckter (Ferrari) and Mario Andretti (Lotus) completing the top 10. Zunino qualified 19th and Hector Rebaque put his own HR100 chassis 22nd. There were political battles over whether or not Alfa Romeo would be allowed to run and eventually a compromise was reached with Brambilla allowed to run but Giacomelli being refused an entry.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 14: Canada
In the race, which turned out to be a classic Villeneuve took the lead at the start with Jones and Regazzoni chasing him. Piquet ran fourth but then moved ahead of Regazzoni to take third. Jones shadowed Villeneuve for the early part of the race and eventually slipped ahead at the hairpin, the two cars banging wheels. Jones was then able to stay ahead and win but Villeneuve was only a second behind him at the finish- it was revealed later by Williams engineer Frank Dernie that Jones's car was on the verge of failing right at the end. Piquet ran third until the closing laps when he dropped behind Regazzoni again and retired soon afterwards with a gearbox problem. Scheckter finished fourth with Pironi fifth and John Watson (McLaren) sixth.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 15: United States (East)
1 week after Canada, the teams traveled 5 hours south into the United States, to the spectacular, bumpy and fast Watkins Glen circuit in rural western New York, 4 hours from New York City. At this race, the last race of the season it saw a field of 30 cars fighting for 24 grid positions. There were no driver changes and after qualifying Alan Jones, winner of four of the previous five races, was on pole position again.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 15: United States (East)
The main interest of the event was whether or not Jones would finish runner-up to the new World Champion Jody Scheckter or whether his Ferrari team mate Gilles Villeneuve would be able to hold him off. Second on the grid was Nelson Piquet in the promising new Brabham-Cosworth BT49 which had appeared at the previous race. Villeneuve was third in his Ferrari with Jacques Laffite (Ligier) fourth, Clay Regazzoni (Williams) fifth and Carlos Reutemann (Lotus) sixth. The top 10 was completed by the two Renaults of Rene Arnoux and Jean-Pierre Jabouille, the Brabham of Ricardo Zunino and Didier Pironi's Tyrrell.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 15: United States (East)
The area was mostly soaked with rain, and this made conditions treacherous. On Saturday, during one of the periods when it stopped raining and the track dried out, Jones took pole again from Nelson Piquet in the new Brabham BT49 in his first ever visit to Watkins Glen. Come race day, it started to rain and become windy 20 minutes before the start of the race. At the start, Villeneuve, 3rd on the grid blasted through to take the lead at the first corner.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 15: United States (East)
Bruno Giacomelli crashed at Turn 9 and then Jacky Ickx, in his last F1 Grand Prix in a career stretching back to 1967 with 8 Grand Prix victories spun off on Lap 3 and his teammate Laffite compounded Ligier's misery by also spinning off on Lap 4 at the fast Turn 11. The race itself was another battle between Villeneuve and Jones, with the Canadian out in front.


1979 Formula One season, Season Review, Race 15: United States (East)
Once Jones came in to change to dry tires, Jones left the pit lane too fast before one of the mechanics had put the left rear tire on properly; he only made it between Turns 7 and 8 before the wheel came off and he had to retire. This left Villeneuve with no problems at all and he went on to win his 3rd GP of the year in front of Frenchmen Arnoux and Didier Pironi in a Tyrrell.


1979 Formula One season, Results and standings, World Drivers' Championship standings
Points towards the 1979 World Championship of Drivers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in each race.


1979 Formula One season, Results and standings, World Drivers' Championship standings
Only the best four results from the first seven races and the best four results from the remaining eight races could be retained by each driver.


1979 Formula One season, Results and standings, International Cup for F1 Constructors standings
Points towards the 1979 International Cup for F1 Constructors were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis for the first six positions in each race. This was the first year in which more than one car from each constructor could score points at the same race (previously only the best-placed car from each constructor was eligible to score points).


1979 Formula One season, Results and standings, Non-championship races
Three other Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers or the International Cup for F1 Constructors, were also held in 1979.


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers indoor season
The 1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was part of the club's twelfth season in professional soccer.


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers indoor season, Background
This was not the first instance of the Strikers playing indoors. Their first ever match, indoor or out, was an exhibition match played on February 27, 1977 versus their arch-rival, Tampa Bay Rowdies at the Bayfront Center. In January 1978 they played the Washington Diplomats indoors at the D.C. Armory on back-to-back days. The Strikers lost all of three of these matches.


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers indoor season, Review
In January 1979 four NASL teams participated in the Budweiser Indoor Soccer Invitational at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. The teams were the Dallas Tornado, Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, Tulsa Roughnecks, and the host, Tampa Bay Rowdies. The event was held over two days. The Strikers finished the tournament in fourth place. The team wore a very basic, green and white, adidas uniform for the invitational. It was very similar to the away kit that the West German national team wore during that era, except that the Strikers's numbers on the backs were red and there was no team crest of any kind on the front of the jerseys.


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season
The 1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season was the third season of the Fort Lauderdale Striker's team, and the club's thirteenth season in professional soccer. The Strikers finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Division of the North American Soccer League's American Conference, and qualified for the playoffs. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season, Competitions, NASL regular season
Regular seasonW = Wins, L = Losses, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, BP = Bonus Points, Pts = Point System


1979 Fort Lauderdale Strikers season, Competitions, NASL regular season
6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game.


1979 Forward Chemicals Tournament
The 1979 Forward Chemicals Tournament was a non-ranking snooker tournament held on one occasion between October 1978 and January 1979.


1979 Forward Chemicals Tournament
Similar in format to previous Park Drive 2000 events, four professionals played each other three times in a round-robin format at various venues around the country, with the two best performing players reaching the final. Held at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, Ray Reardon defeated John Spencer 9–6 in the final.


1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji and New Zealand
The 1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji New Zealand Tahiti was a series of ten matches played in June and July 1979 by the France national rugby union team in Fiji, New Zealand and Tahiti. The team won seven matches and lost three, including defeats to provincial teams Waikato and Southland. They drew their two-match test series against New Zealand national rugby union team, losing the first test but winning the second. The victory in the second test was France's first away victory against New Zealand, gained at the eighth attempt.


1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji and New Zealand, Test matches, First Test
NEW ZEALAND: Bevan Wilson, Stu Wilson, Bruce Robertson, Lyn Jaffray, Murray Watts, Murray Taylor, Mark Donaldson, Brad Johnstone, Andy Dalton, Gary Knight, Frank Oliver (rep Wayne Graham), Andy Haden, Leicester Rutledge, Gary Seear, Graham Mourie (c)


1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji and New Zealand, Test matches, First Test
FRANCE: Jean-Michel Aguirre, Frédéric Costes, Didier Codorniou, Patrick Mesny, Jean-Luc Averous, Alain Caussade, Yves Laffarge, Robert Paparemborde, Philippe Dintrans, Christian Colomine, François Haget, Patrick Salas, Jean-Pierre Rives (c), Christian Beguerie, Jean-Luc Joinel.


1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji and New Zealand, Test matches, Second Test
NEW ZEALAND: Bevan Wilson, Stu Wilson, Bruce Robertson, Lyn Jaffray, Murray Watts, Murray Taylor, Mark Donaldson, Brad Johnstone, Andy Dalton, Gary Knight, Frank Oliver, Andy Haden, Leicester Rutledge, Gary Seear, Graham Mourie (c)


1979 France rugby union tour of Fiji and New Zealand, Test matches, Second Test
FRANCE: Jean-Michel Aguirre, Frédéric Costes, Didier Codorniou, Patrick Mesny, Jean-Luc Averous, Alain Caussade, Jerome Gallion, Robert Paparemborde, Philippe Dintrans, Daniel Dubroca, François Haget, Alain Maleg, Jean-Pierre Rives (c), Christian Beguerie, Jean-Luc Joinel.


1979 French Grand Prix
The 1979 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 1979 at Dijon.


1979 French Grand Prix
It marked the first victory of a turbocharged car in Formula One, with Renault overcoming the reliability problems that had initially plagued their car. For Jean-Pierre Jabouille it was a victory on home soil, driving a French car (Renault), on French tyres (Michelin), powered by a French engine (Renault), burning French fuel (Elf). Jabouille was the first Frenchman to win the French Grand Prix since Jean-Pierre Wimille in 1948.


1979 French Grand Prix
The race featured one of the fiercest battles ever for second place, between Ferrari driver Gilles Villeneuve and Renault driver René Arnoux, who on several occasions during the final laps touched wheels and swapped positions. The fight is often cited as one of the most memorable pieces of racing in Formula One. Villeneuve, who passed the finish line less than a quarter of a second ahead of Arnoux, later described the occasion as "my best memory of Grand Prix racing".


1979 French Open
The 1979 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 28 May until 10 June. It was the 83rd staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Slam tennis event of 1979.


1979 French Open, Finals, Men's doubles
Gene Mayer /  Sandy Mayer defeated  Ross Case /  Phil Dent, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4


1979 French Open, Finals, Women's doubles
Betty Stöve /  Wendy Turnbull defeated  Françoise Dürr /  Virginia Wade, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4


1979 French Open, Finals, Mixed doubles
Wendy Turnbull /  Bob Hewitt defeated  Virginia Ruzici /  Ion Ţiriac, 6–3, 2–6, 6–1


1979 French Open – Men's Doubles
Gene Mayer and Henry Pfister were the defending champions but only Gene Mayer competed that year.


1979 French Open – Men's Doubles
Gene Mayer teamed up with his brother Sandy Mayer and successfully defended his title by defeating Ross Case and Phil Dent 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 in the final.


1979 French Open – Men's Singles
First-seeded Björn Borg successfully defended his title, defeating Víctor Pecci, Sr. 6–3, 6–1, 6–7(6–8), 6–4 in the final to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1979 French Open.


1979 French Open – Men's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Björn Borg is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1979 French Open – Mixed Doubles
Pavel Složil and Renáta Tomanová were the defending champions but lost in the semifinals to Bob Hewitt and Wendy Turnbull.


1979 French Open – Mixed Doubles
Bob Hewitt and Wendy Turnbull won in the final 6–3, 2–6, 6–1 against Ion Țiriac and Virginia Ruzici.


1979 French Open – Women's Doubles
Mima Jaušovec and Virginia Ruzici were the defending champions but lost in the second round to Sherry Acker and Anne Smith.


1979 French Open – Women's Doubles
Betty Stöve and Wendy Turnbull won in the final 3–6, 7–5, 6–4 against Françoise Dürr and Virginia Wade.


1979 French Open – Women's Singles
First-seeded Chris Evert defeated Wendy Turnbull 6–2, 6–0 in the final to win the Women's Singles tennis title at the 1979 French Open.


1979 French Open – Women's Singles, Seeds
The seeded players are listed below. Chris Evert is the champion; others show the round in which they were eliminated.


1979 French cantonal elections
Cantonale elections to renew canton general councillors were held in France on 18 and 25 March 1979. The left gained 9 presidencies but lost 2.


1979 French cantonal elections, Electoral system
The cantonales elections use the same system as the regional or legislative elections. There is a 10% threshold (10% of registered voters) needed to proceed to the second round.


1979 French cantonal elections, Sources
Alain Lancelot, Les élections sous la Ve République, PUF, Paris, 1988


1979 French motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1979 French motorcycle Grand Prix was the last round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 31–2 September 1979 at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans.


1979 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
The 1979 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. The team was led by head coach Bob Padilla, in his second year, and played their home games at Ratcliffe Stadium on the campus of Fresno City College in Fresno, California. They finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7, 2–3 PCAA).


1979 Fresno State Bulldogs football team
While Fresno State lost its 1979 game against the San Jose State Spartans, the game was subsequently forfeited by San Jose State due to the use of an ineligible player. As a result, the adjusted record would be (5–6, 3–2 PCAA).


1979 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Team players in the NFL
No Fresno State players were drafted in the 1980 NFL draft.


1979 Fresno State Bulldogs football team, Team players in the NFL
The following finished their college career in 1979, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.


1979 Fuji Long Distance Series season
The 1979 Fuji Long Distance Series was the third season of this series, with all races being held at the Fuji International Speedway.


1979 Fuji Long Distance Series season
It was contested by Group 5 silhouettes and touring cars; Group 6 sportscars were allowed to start races without scoring points.


1979 GP Ouest–France
The 1979 GP Ouest-France was the 43rd edition of the GP Ouest-France cycle race and was held on 21 August 1979. The race started and finished in Plouay. The race was won by Frits Pirard of the Miko–Mercier team.


1979 Gabonese presidential election
Presidential elections were held in Gabon on 30 December 1979, the first time they had been held separately from National Assembly elections. The country was a one-party state at the time, with the Gabonese Democratic Party as the sole legal party. GDP leader and incumbent president Omar Bongo was the only candidate, and was re-elected unopposed.


1979 Gabriel 400
The 1979 Gabriel 400 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that took place on June 17, 1979, at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.


1979 Gabriel 400
The NASCAR Winston Cup Series races that were being shown at Michigan International Speedway between the late-1970s and the late-1980s were exceptionally good by modern standards.


1979 Gabriel 400, Background
Michigan International Speedway is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2 miles (3.2 km) long. Opened in 1968, the track's turns are banked at eighteen degrees, while the 3,600-foot-long front stretch, the location of the finish line, is banked at twelve degrees. The back stretch, has a five degree banking and is 2,242 feet long.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
Two hundred laps were done on a paved oval track spanning 2.000 miles (3.219 km). The total time of the race was two hours, fifty-six minutes, and forty-four seconds. There were six cautions for thirty-three laps with the race finishing under caution. Speeds were: 135.798 miles per hour (218.546 km/h) as the average and 162.371 miles per hour (261.311 km/h) as the pole position speed.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
Sixty-two thousand fans managed to see Buddy Baker defeat Donnie Allison under caution. The race was also Bill Seifert's final start in addition to being Bill Elliott's 33rd start in the NASCAR Cup Series; Elliott would lead the first lap of his NASCAR Cup Series career during this event. Other famous drivers like Darrell Waltrip (who retained the championship points lead after this race but lost it at the 1979 running of the Los Angeles Times 500 by 11 points), Richard Childress (now the owner of Richard Childress Racing), Benny Parsons, and Terry Labonte have participated in this race.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
This was Marty Robbins' last race in his signature #42. He would switch to using a variety of different numbers from here on out, normally the #6. He changed numbers to free up the #42 for young Kyle Petty to use it, reviving his family's use of the digit his grandfather Lee Petty had made so famous.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
Engine problems took out Bill Seifert on lap 32 in addition to Marty Robbins on lap 64 and Bill Green on lap 76. Problems with the vehicle's shocks eliminated Tommy Gale from the race on lap 84. Lap 97 would be very unkind to Paul Fess and Benny Parsons; whose vehicles would suffer from faulty engines. Joe Millikan would notice that his vehicle's engine stopped working on lap 103 while Roger Hamby would inflict terminal vehicle damage on lap 122. Further engine problems knocked David Sosebee out of the race on lap 135 and Ronnie Thomas on lap 150. Dave Marcis would inflict terminal vehicle damage on lap 173. Bob Burcham noticed that his vehicle's engine stopped working on lap 184. Frank Warren inflicted terminal vehicle damage on lap 186 while Darrell Waltrip had to leave the race due to a faulty engine on lap 197.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
While substituting for Roger Hamby during the middle of this racing event, Steve Pfieffer lost control of his car during a caution period and injured a couple of spectators on the pit wall while attempting to stop his vehicle for maintenance. He would be later sent to Foote West Hospital in nearby Jackson; where the doctors gave him a good prognosis and eventually released him with cuts on his right knee and chest.


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
The lead changed 47 times among 11 drivers. Dale Earnhardt was criticized by Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty when he nearly spun out trying to pass Neil Bonnett late in the race in front of both ("He nearly took us all out in the third turn," Waltrip said after the race).


1979 Gabriel 400, Race report
Notable crew chiefs to actively participate in the race were Buddy Parrott, Tex Powell, Joey Arrington, Kirk Shelmerdine, Darrell Bryant, Dale Innman, Harry Hyde, Bud Moore, Tim Brewer, and Jake Elder. The total winnings of this race were $148,505 ($529,538.46 when adjusted for inflation). Buddy Baker earned $16,780 in cash prizes for his win ($59,834.05 when adjusted for inflation) while Bill Seifert walked away only $960 wealthier ($3,423.16 when adjusted for inflation).


1979 Gabriel 400, Finishing order
† signifies that the driver is known to be deceased * Driver failed to finish race


1979 Garden State Bowl
The 1979 Garden State Bowl, played on December 15, 1979, was the second edition of the Garden State Bowl. The game featured the California Golden Bears, who played in their first bowl since the 1959 Rose Bowl, and the Temple Owls, who made their first bowl appearance since the 1935 Sugar Bowl. 55,493 tickets were sold but only 40,207 fans showed on a cold 29°-day in the Meadowlands to see the Owls beat the Golden Bears, 28–17. The game was nationally televised on the Mizlou Television Network.


1979 Garden State Bowl, Game summary
The Owls scored on their first three possessions and jumped ahead to a 21–0 lead in the first quarter on drives of 67 and 50 yards with scoring runs of 8 and 4 yards by running back Kevin Duckett and a seven-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Broomell to receiver Wiley Pitts. The Golden Bears trimmed the lead to 21–14 at the half, after touchdown passes from Cal quarterback Rich Campbell to Matt Bouza and Joe Rose.


1979 Garden State Bowl, Game summary
After a Cal field goal by Mick Luckhurst early in the fourth quarter, the Bears closed to within four points, only to have Temple seal the game with a 78-yard drive ending with a five-yard touchdown pass from Broomell to Gerald (Sweet Feet) Lucear. The Owls rushed for 300 of their 381 yards total offense. Mark Bright, Temple's fullback, was named Most Valuable Player for gaining 112 yards on 19 carries. Campbell was the leading passer in the game with 241 yards, but Cal had just 23 yards rushing. The Temple defense was led by sophomore tackle Guy Peters, who recorded three sacks and recovered a fumble.


1979 Garden State Bowl, Game summary
The Bowl win was Temple's 10th win of the year, a team record, and earned Wayne Hardin's team a spot in the AP and UPI Top 20. Temple was ranked 17th in both polls, the first time the Temple football team was nationally ranked in the final wire service polls. Cal wound up 6–6 and took its worst setback after suffering its five regular season defeats by a total of 24 points.


1979 Garuda Fokker F28 crash
The 1979 Garuda Fokker F28 crash occurred on July 11, 1979 when a Garuda Indonesia Fokker F28 airliner on a domestic flight in Indonesia from Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport, Palembang, to Polonia International Airport, Medan, struck Mount Sibayak at 5,560 ft (1,690 m) on approach to landing, with no survivors.


1979 Garuda Fokker F28 crash
The aircraft had departed Palembang 80 minutes earlier, and had been cleared for an approach to runway 05 at Medan Airport. The aircraft was asked to report passing the nondirectional beacon (NDB) "ON" at 2,500 ft (760 m). The pilot then reported he was maintaining a height of 9,300 ft (2,800 m) as the NDB was unreliable. The approach controller then asked them to maintain that height until after they had passed the NDB. The pilot then reported they were at 6,000 ft (1,800 m). The aircraft struck the 7,200 ft-high (2,200 m) volcano Mount Sibayak at 5,560 ft (1,690 m).


1979 Gator Bowl
The 1979 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 1979. The North Carolina Tar Heels of the Atlantic Coast Conference defeated the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference, 17–15.


1979 Gator Bowl, Background
An 8-1 start (With a loss to #9 Notre Dame) had propelled Michigan to being ranked 10th in the polls, before a loss to #14 Purdue followed by a loss to #2 Ohio State at home made them fall to 14th in the polls and finish 3rd in the Big Ten Conference. The Tar Heels had started 4-0 and were ranked #14 before a loss to Wake Forest started a 1-3-1 middle stretch that ended with victories over Virginia and Duke to make them finish 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This was Michigan's first Gator Bowl appearance. This was North Carolina's third ever Gator Bowl appearance.


1979 Gent–Wevelgem
The 1979 Gent–Wevelgem was the 41st edition of the Gent–Wevelgem cycle race and was held on 4 April 1979. The race started in Ghent and finished in Wevelgem. The race was won by Francesco Moser of the Sanson team.


1979 Georgia Bulldogs football team
The 1979 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.


1979 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Game summaries, LSU
Scott Woerner recovered a fumble with just over two minutes remaining with LSU driving at the Georgia 22 to seal the upset.


1979 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team
The 1979 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by head coach Pepper Rodgers, in his sixth and final year with the team, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. Rodgers was fired as head coach after a 4–6–1 campaign.


1979 German Formula Three Championship
The 1979 German Formula Three Championship (German: 1979 Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft) was a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open wheel formula racing cars held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars which conformed to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It commenced on 11 March at Circuit Zolder and ended at Kassel-Calden on 7 October after seven rounds (the first Nürburgring round was cancelled due to snowfall).


1979 German Formula Three Championship
Klaus Zimmermann Racing Team driver Michael Korten became a champion. He won races at Fassberg, Nürburgring and Kassel-Calden. Hans-Georg Bürger won race at Diepholz and finished as runner-up. Walter Lechner completed the top-three in the drivers' standings. Ernst Maring, Thierry Boutsen and Michael Bleekemolen were the only other drivers who were able to win a race in the season.


1979 German Formula Three Championship, Calendar
All rounds were held in West Germany, excepting Zolder rounds that were held in Belgium.


1979 German Grand Prix
The 1979 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 July 1979 at the Hockenheimring. The race, contested over 45 laps, was the tenth race of the 1979 Formula One season and was won by Alan Jones, driving a Williams-Ford, with team-mate Clay Regazzoni second and Jacques Laffite third in a Ligier-Ford. This was the second consecutive win for the Williams team, following Regazzoni's triumph at Silverstone two weeks previously.


1979 German Grand Prix
Jean-Pierre Jabouille had taken pole position in his Renault, but out-braked himself and spun off chasing Jones into the Sachskurve on the seventh lap. Jones had a leaky rear tire for the last twenty laps of the race, but Regazzoni received orders to stay behind. The one-two finish moved Williams into third place in the Constructors' Championship.


1979 German Open
The 1979 German Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at Am Rothenbaum in Hamburg, West Germany that was part of the Super Series of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 71st edition of the event and took place from 14 May until 20 May 1979. Sixth-seeded José Higueras won the singles title.


1979 German Open, Finals, Doubles
Tomáš Šmíd /  Jan Kodeš defeated  Mark Edmondson /  John Marks, 6–3, 6–1, 7–6


1979 German motorcycle Grand Prix
The 1979 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the third round of the 1979 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 4–6 May 1979 at the Hockenheimring.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes
The 1979 Ghaenat earthquakes were a series of large earthquakes in Qaen County, Khorasan Province, northeast Iran, near the Afghanistan border. The first mainshock, known as the Korizan earthquake with a surface wave magnitude (Ms ) of 6.6 and moment magnitude (Mw ) of 6.8, struck on November 14, while the Ms  7.1 or Mw  7.2 Koli-Boniabad earthquake struck on Nobemver 27. The two mainshocks were assigned a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and IX (Violent) respectively. The earthquakes caused extensive damage throughout northeastern Iran, killed a total of 297 to 440 people and left at least 79 injured.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes
The pair of earthquakes in November were preceded by another large Ms  6.7 (Mw  6.5) shock on January 16, killing 200 people in the town of Bonzonabad.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Earthquakes
The 6.6 Ms  or 6.8 Mw  earthquake of November 14 was the result of rupturing the Abiz Fault; a 20-km-long, north-south striking, right-lateral strike-slip fault at a shallow depth of 9.2 km. A maximum horizontal slip of 1 meter and some vertical displacements were recorded during field surveys after the earthquake. The southern section of the earthquake surface rupture would move once again during the 1997 Qayen earthquake. The Abiz Fault with an approximate length of 125 km, is thought to have ruptured its entire length during large earthquakes in 1936 (Ms  6.0), 1997 (Mw  7.3), as well as the 1979 event, with no prior rupture before the 20th century.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Earthquakes
A major aftershock of the November 14 earthquake registered Ms  6.0 or Mw  5.9 on December 7 is thought to have resulted in a 15-km-long surface rupture to the north. The aftershock would have extended the rupture length of the Abiz Fault to a total of 35 km, but the additional 15 km of new ruptures is now thought to have been formed during a subevent of the Mw  7.2 mainshock. It is unlikely that the 15 km surface ruptures were attributed to the Mw  5.9 mainshock, due to its moderate magnitude. The earthquake has been suggested to be on a separate north-south striking structure, away from the Abiz Fault.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Earthquakes
The November 27 Ms  7.1 mainshock occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting for a length of 60 km along the left-lateral Dasht-e-Bayaz Fault. The second mainshock had a hypocenter depth of 7.9 km. During the Ms  7.1 mainshock, the northern termination of the first Ms  6.6 ruptured further northeast to join the eastern section of the second earthquake rupture. The second rupture is nearly perpendicular to the prior rupture. The same fault produced another deadlier Ms  7.1 earthquake in 1968 west northwest of the epicenter of the 1979 quake. The 1968 earthquake ruptured the western section for the fault for about 80 km in length. At least 10 km of the 1968 rupture was involved in the 1979 event.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Impact
The earthquake damaged or destroyed mainly adobe-constructed buildings of the sun-dried clay type. Strong ground motion mainly of horizontal fashion caused many walls of these structures to completely detach from its roof, resulting in a collapse. More recent construction of single-storey buildings suffered small damage and were mostly intact. In one village located along a hill, the most serious damage was observed at the summit, and appear to decrease in severity downhill, suggesting the seismic waves produced by the earthquake was amplified and reflected at higher elevations on the hill. This subjected structures at the top of the hill with more intense shaking than those on lower elevations.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Impact
Survivors of the earthquakes were reocated to other areas while some damaged villages were rebuilt by the government in the same place.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Casualties
Between 280 and 420 lives were lost, with a further 279 injured in the November 14 earthquake. Many villages were also badly damaged in the earthquake. The earthquake struck at 5:51 local time (IST) when many adult villagers were outside their homes harvesting saffron. Most of the dead were reportedly young childrens left at home while their adult family members were working in the saffron fields.


1979 Ghaenat earthquakes, Casualties
The second mainshock which was Ms  7.1–7.5, only resulted in 20 additional deaths and injured 24 people. The death toll from the second earthquake was smaller due to the low population density of the area when the quake struck.


1979 Ghanaian general election
General elections were held in Ghana on 18 June 1979, with a second round of the presidential election on 9 July 1979. The presidential election resulted in victory for Hilla Limann of the People's National Party, who received 62.0% of the votes in the run-off, whilst his PNP won 71 of the 140 seats in Parliament. According to one scholar, the elections were conducted "in as free and fair a manner as might be considered humanly possible under local conditions" and the losing candidates publicly accepted defeat. Around 5,070,000 people were registered to vote.


1979 Gillette Cup
The 1979 Gillette Cup was the seventeenth Gillette Cup, an English limited overs county cricket tournament. It was held between 27 June and 8 September 1979. The tournament was won by Somerset County Cricket Club who defeated Northamptonshire County Cricket Club by 45 runs in the final at Lord's.


1979 Gillette Cup, Format
The seventeen first-class counties, were joined by five Minor Counties: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Devon, Durham and Suffolk. Teams who won in the first round progressed to the second round. The winners in the second round then progressed to the quarter-final stage. Winners from the quarter-finals then progressed to the semi-finals from which the winners then went on to the final at Lord's which was held on 8 September 1979.


1979 Gillette Cup Final
The 1979 Gillette Cup Final was a cricket match between Somerset County Cricket Club and Northamptonshire County Cricket Club played on 8 September 1979 at Lord's in London. It was the seventeenth final of the Gillette Cup, which had been the first English domestic knock-out competition between first-class sides. Northamptonshire had won the competition in 1976; Somerset were playing their second consecutive final, having lost to Sussex in 1978.


1979 Gillette Cup Final
After winning the toss, Northamptonshire captain Jim Watts opted to bowl first. Somerset scored 269 runs off their full allocation of 60 overs, during which West Indian batsman Viv Richards top-scored for the county, totalling 117 runs. In their response, Northamptonshire lost early wickets, but a partnership of 113 between Geoff Cook and Allan Lamb kept them in the game. Six wickets from Joel Garner helped Somerset bowl their opponents out for 224 with 3.3 overs remaining, earning the county the first trophy in their 104-year history.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Background
Northamptonshire's only previous Gillette Cup Final appearance had come three summers earlier when they beat Lancashire by four wickets to win the 1976 Gillette Cup, which was the club's only silverware since becoming a first-class county in 1905. Somerset had appeared in two previous finals, losing in 1967 to Kent, and in 1978 to Sussex. In addition to losing the Gillette Cup final in 1978, Somerset had narrowly missed out in the John Player League, and according to Vic Marks, there was "a deep determination to atone for the acute disappointments of the 1978 season."


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Route to the final
Northamptonshire entered the competition in the second round, in which they were matched up against Surrey County Cricket Club. They won the match by six wickets, aided by a century from Geoff Cook which earned him the man of the match award. In the quarter-finals, they beat Leicestershire by eight wickets, with particularly economical bowling from Sarfraz Nawaz and Richard Williams helping to limit their opponents to 180, a total which Northamptonshire reached with 4.2 overs to spare. Northamptonshire batted first during their semi-final against Sussex, a match which they won by 37 runs. Allan Lamb and Peter Willey shared a partnership of 157 for the fourth wicket, and Willey's economical bowling was then instrumental in restricting Sussex to 218, for which he was named man of the match.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Route to the final
Like their opponents in the final, Somerset joined the tournament in the second round, facing Derbyshire. Bowling first, Somerset limited their opponents to 224; Joel Garner was their most economical bowler. In reply, Somerset captain and opening batsman Brian Rose remained not out on 88 when his side reached their winning target with 3.5 overs remaining, having lost two wickets. Kent travelled to Taunton for the quarter-final, in which Somerset chose to bat first after winning the toss. Only Graham Burgess reached a half-century for Somerset against a bowling attack which included five Test players.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Route to the final
In Kent's reply, Garner claimed five wickets and Ian Botham three as Somerset bowled their opponents out for 60 runs. Against Middlesex in the semi-final, Somerset's bowlers were once again led by Garner, who picked up four wickets as the London-based club were dismissed for 185. Somerset won with 9.4 overs remaining for the loss of three wickets and Peter Denning remained unbeaten on 90.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
The sun was shining on the morning of the final, and Somerset's captain Brian Rose was glad when Northamptonshire won the toss. The conditions favoured batting first, but had Somerset won the toss they would most likely have chosen to bat second, given their success in chasing throughout the season. Northamptonshire captain Jim Watts opted to field, giving Somerset the benefit of batting first. Somerset's opening batsmen began quickly, taking the score to 34 before Peter Denning was caught by the wicket-keeper George Sharp off the bowling of Sarfraz Nawaz. His wicket in the seventh over brought in Viv Richards.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
Before going out to bat, Richards focussed his mind on the fact that "it wasn't a day for daring, carefree sixes. It was a day for maturity". Rose played a patient innings for his 41 runs, before being bowled by Watts, leaving Somerset 95/2. At the other end, Richards was playing what David Foot described as "a controlled gem". He remained at the wicket until the final over, scoring 117 runs in a chanceless innings. His boundaries were scored predominantly from straight drives and leg hits, powerfully struck.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
Ian Botham played aggressively when he came in at number five, scoring 27 runs off 17 deliveries, and Joel Garner played similarly when he batted towards the end of the innings, adding 24 runs to the total. Somerset batted through their full allocation of overs, finishing on 269/8. Of the Northamptonshire bowlers, Watts was the most economical, conceding 34 runs off his 12 overs. Tim Lamb conceded the most, allowing 70 runs to be scored from his 12.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
The wickets were shared by the bowlers; Watts, Lamb and Griffiths took two each, while Sarfraz Nawaz and Peter Willey claimed one apiece. Towards the end of the innings, Watts broke a bone in his right hand when catching a throw from the outfield, which prevented him from participating further in the match.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
The Northamptonshire reply was made more difficult when Garner trapped Wayne Larkins leg before wicket and induced Richard Williams to hit his own wicket during his opening bowling spell. Opening batsman Geoff Cook was then joined at the crease by Allan Lamb, and the pair fought back, adding 113 runs in 32 overs before Cook was run out by Roebuck. In his history of Somerset cricket, Roebuck describes this run out as vital, though he does not give himself credit, stating that "Geoff Cook ran himself out".


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Match, Summary
Marks identified the point at which Lamb was stumped by Derek Taylor as the point at which "victory was almost assured." Jim Yardley and George Sharp added 20 and 22 runs respectively, but with their captain, Watts, unable to bat through injury, and Somerset's West Indian fast bowler Garner in good form, Northamptonshire were bowled out for 224. Garner added four more wickets to the two he had taken during his first spell, to finish with career-best figures of six wickets for 29 runs. Garner, Botham and Keith Jennings all bowled very economically, each restricting their opponents to less than 30 runs from their bowling. Somerset won the match by 45 runs, winning the Gillette Cup, the first trophy they had won during their 104-year history.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Aftermath
Somerset were awarded £5,500 for winning the competition, while Northamptonshire collected £2,500. The day after their success in the Gillette Cup Final, Somerset travelled to Nottingham, where they beat Nottinghamshire to clinch the 1979 John Player League. The Somerset captain, Brian Rose was one of two Somerset players to be named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1980, primarily for his captaincy of Somerset during the 1979 season.


1979 Gillette Cup Final, Aftermath
Also one of the five players was Joel Garner, of whom Wisden said "His part in Somerset's double success during 1979 admits no arguments as to his potent and continuing ability to swing matches." Northamptonshire were eliminated in the first round of the 1980 Gillette Cup, but won the 1980 Benson & Hedges Cup, defeating Essex in the final.


1979 Girabola
1979 Girabola was the annual national Angola football (soccer) tournament, Girabola, held in 1979. It was the first national championship organized after Angola achieved independence in 1975. Due to the Angolan Civil War this was the first (and only) tournament that included teams from all Angolan provinces. By then, there were only sixteen provinces. Later on, the province of Lunda was split in two: Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul and Bengo was also created.


1979 Girabola
On the course of the championship, Sporting Clube de Luanda was renamed as Diabos Verdes.


1979 Girabola
Twenty-for teams were divided into four groups of six teams each with the top team advancing to the semi-finals.


1979 Girabola
João Machado of Diabos Verdes finished as the top scorer with 18 goals.


1979 Girabola, Final, Trivia
At 15 minutes of play into the final, the referee stopped the match for the public to greet president José Eduardo dos Santos, who had arrived at the stadium.


1979 Giro d'Italia
The 1979 Giro d'Italia was the 62nd running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours races. The Giro started in Florence, on 17 May, with a 8 km (5.0 mi) prologue and concluded in Milan, on 6 June, with a 44 km (27.3 mi) individual time trial. A total of 130 riders from thirteen teams entered the 19-stage race, that was won by Italian Giuseppe Saronni of the Scic-Bottecchia team. The second and third places were taken by Italian Francesco Moser and Swede Bernt Johansson, respectively.


1979 Giro d'Italia
In addition to the general classification, Saronni won the points classification, Amongst the other classifications that the race awarded, Claudio Bortolotto of Sanson Gelati-Luxor TV won the mountains classification, and Bianchi-Faema's Silvano Contini completed the Giro as the best rider aged 24 or under in the general classification, finishing fifth overall. Scic -Bottecchia finishing as the winners of the team classification, ranking each of the twenty teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Teams
Thirteen of the fourteen teams invited to the 1979 Giro d'Italia participated in the race. Kas were forced to decline their invitation, in favor of racing the Vuelta a España, by the Spanish Federation which wanted the "best Hispanic" peloton to be competing in Vuelta that year. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 130 cyclists. From the riders that began this edition, 111 made it to the finish in Milan.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favorites
The starting peloton did include the 1978 winner, Johan De Muynck. Successful French rider Bernard Hinault did not enter the race.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
The route was unveiled on 22 March 1979. Covering a total of 3,301 km (2,051 mi), it included five individual time trials, and nine stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points. The organizers chose to include two rest days. When compared to the previous year's race, the race was 309 km (192 mi) shorter and contained one more time trial. In addition, this race contained one less stage.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There were four main individual classifications contested in the 1979 Giro d'Italia, as well as a team competition. Four of them awarded jerseys to their leaders. The general classification was the most important and was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Giro. The rider leading the classification wore a pink jersey to signify the classification's leadership.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing in the top positions in a stage finish, with first place getting the most points, and lower placings getting successively fewer points. The rider leading this classification wore a purple (or cyclamen) jersey. The mountains classification was the third classification and its leader was denoted by the green jersey. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. Each climb was ranked as either first, second or third category, with more points available for higher category climbs.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
Most stages of the race included one or more categorized climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs. The Cima Coppi for this Giro was the Passo Pordoi, which was first crossed by Italian rider Leonardo Natale. The fourth classification, the young rider classification, was decided the same way as the general classification, but exclusive to neo-professional cyclists (in their first three years of professional racing). The leader of the classification wore a white jersey. In addition, the rider had to be aged 24 and younger.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The final classification, the team classification, awarded no jersey to its leaders. This was calculated by adding together points earned by each rider on the team during each stage through the intermediate sprints, the categorized climbs, stage finishes, etc. The team with the most points led the classification.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There were other minor classifications within the race, including the Campionato delle Regioni classification. The leader wore a blue jersey with colored vertical stripes ("maglia azzurra con banda tricolore verticale"). The Fiat Ritmo classification, which was created in honor Juan Manuel Santisteban who died in stage 1A of 1976 edition. In all stages longer than 131 km (81 mi), there was a banner at that point in the stage to designate a special sprint. The winner of the sprint in each stage received a Fiat Ritmo.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9
The 1979 Giro d'Italia was the 62nd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro began with a prologue individual time trial in Florence on 17 May, and Stage 9 occurred on 26 May with a mountainous stage to Pistoia. The race finished in Milan on 6 June.


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Prologue
17 May 1979 — Florence to Florence, 8 km (5 mi) (ITT)


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 1
18 May 1979 — Florence to Perugia, 156 km (97 mi)


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 2
19 May 1979 — Perugia to Castel Gandolfo, 204 km (127 mi)


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 3
20 May 1979 — Caserta to Naples, 31 km (19 mi) (ITT)


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 4
21 May 1979 — Caserta to Potenza, 210 km (130 mi)


1979 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 9, Stage 5
22 May 1979 — Potenza to Vieste, 223 km (139 mi)