1979 Australian Grand Prix Explained

The 1979 Australian Grand Prix was an open-wheel racing car race held at Wanneroo Raceway^[1] north of Perth in Western Australia on 11 March 1979.

The race, which was the first round of the 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship,^[2] was open to racing cars complying with Australian Formula 1^[3] (incorporating Formula 5000 and Formula Pacific). It was recognised by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport as the 44th Australian Grand Prix^[4] and was the only Australian Grand Prix to be held at Wanneroo Raceway.

Classification

Results as follows:^{[5] [6]}

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Entrant	Qual	Gap
1	84	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T430 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Alfredo Costanzo	0:52.11	—
2	12	Larry Perkins	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	0:52.77	+0.66
3	25	John Walker	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	John Walker	0:53.00	+0.89
4	15	Terry Hook	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Terry Hook	0:53.20	+1.09
5	24	Jon Davison	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ranger Truck Rentals	0:54.20	+2.09
6	76	John Wright	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	John Wright	0:54.27	+2.16
7	7	John McCormack	McLaren M23 / Leyland 5.0L V8	John McCormack	0:54.67	+2.56
8	11	John Bowe	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	0:55.30	+3.19
9	10	Rob Butcher	Lola T332 / Chevrolet V8	Rob Butcher	0:55.85	+3.74
10	71	John Smith	Ralt RT1 / Ford 1.6L I4	John Smith	0:56.59	+4.48
11	38	Ivan Tighe	Chevron B37 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ivan Tighe	0:57.11	+5.00
12	30	Peter Larner	Chevron B39 / Ford 1.6L I4	Paul England Racing	0:57.30	+5.19
13	19	Barry Singleton	Gardos GL1 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Barry Singleton	0:58.20	+6.09
14	8	Rod Housego	Elfin 622 / Ford 1.6L I4	Rod Housego	1:00.70	+8.59
15	16	Bob Creasy	Birrana 273 / Ford 1.6L I4	Bob Creasy	1:01.00	+8.89
16	40	Geoff Nicol	Elfin 622 / Ford 1.6L I4	Geoff Nicol	1:01.89	+9.78
17	3	Bill Downey	Minos / Ford 1.6L I4	Bill Downey	1:03.35	+11.24
18	17	Bob Kingsbury	El Toro / Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	Bob Kingsbury	1:05.45	+13.34

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Entrant	Laps	Time
1	25	John Walker	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	John Walker	63	59m 09.72s
2	11	John Bowe	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	63	59m 22.13s
3	10	Rob Butcher	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Rob Butcher	61
4	71	John Smith	Ralt RT1 / Ford 1.6L I4	John Smith	61
5	15	Terry Hook	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Terry Hook	59
6	19	Barry Singleton	Gardos GL1 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Barry Singleton	59
7	38	Ivan Tighe	Chevron B37 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ivan Tighe	49
8	40	Geoff Nicol	Elfin 622 / Ford 1.6L I4	Geoff Nicol	45
Ret	76	John Wright	Lola T400 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	John Wright	62	Engine
Ret	17	Bob Kingsbury	El Toro / Alfa Romeo 1.6L I4	Bob Kingsbury	39	Battery
Ret	7	John McCormack	McLaren M23 / Leyland 5.0L V8	John McCormack	36	Gearbox
Ret	8	Rod Housego	Elfin 622 / Ford 1.6L I4	Rod Housego	33	Exhaust
Ret	3	Bill Downey	Minos[7] / Ford 1.6L I4	Bill Downey	30	Transmission
Ret	24	Jon Davison	Lola T332 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ranger Truck Rentals	20	Fuel Pump
Ret	30	Peter Larner	Chevron B39 / Ford 1.6L I4	Paul England Racing	8	Brakes / Suspension
Ret	12	Larry Perkins	Elfin MR8 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Ansett Team Elfin	0	Accident
Ret	84	Alfredo Costanzo	Lola T430 / Chevrolet 5.0L V8	Alfredo Costanzo	0	Accident
DNS	16	Bob Creasy	Birrana 273 / Ford 1.6L I4	Bob Creasy	0	Gearbox

Notes

• Pole position: Alfredo Costanzo - 52.11^[5]
• Fastest lap: John Wright / John Walker - 54.92, 158.20 km/h (98.30 mph)^[5]
• Winner's average speed: 154.20 km/h (95.30 mph)^[5]

External links

• John Walker & Lola T332 -1979 AGP images (refer page 32), www.austin7clubsa.com.au
• Results of the 1979 Australian Grand Prix, www.terrywalkersplace.com (refer page 3)

Notes and References

1. Souvenir Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Wanneroo Raceway, Sunday, March 11th, 1979
2. Australian Drivers Championship - Wanneroo, Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, pages 92–93
3. Conditions for Australian Titles, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1979, page 95
4. Australian Grand Prix Winners, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1980, page 55
5. Book: Wilson . Stewart . Graham . Howard . The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix . 1986 . R & T Publishing . Gordon, NSW . 0-9588464-0-5 . 426–434 . 1979.
6. Web site: Western Australian Motor Race Results 1979. Walker. Terry. 24 June 2011. 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173403/http://www.terrywalkersplace.com/Results/1979.pdf. dead.
7. Downey was entered to drive a Birrana 273 but actually raced a Minos, as per The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix, page 429