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1979 Australian Grand Prix

Field	Value
Type	CUST
Description	Round 1 of 3 of the 1979 Australian Drivers' Championship
Grand Prix	Australian
Country	Australia
Image	Barbagallo Raceway AKA Wanneroo Park (Australia) track map.svg
Official name	XLIV Australian Grand Prix
Location	Wanneroo Raceway, Wanneroo, Western Australia
Date	11 March
Year	1979
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course_mi	1.498
Course_km	2.411
Distance_laps	63
Distance_mi	93.374
Distance_km	151.893
Weather	Sunny
Pole_Driver	Alfredo Costanzo
Pole_Country	AUS
Pole_Team	Lola-Chevrolet
Pole_Time	0'52.11
Fast_Driver	John Wright
AUS Johnnie Walker
Fast_Team	Lola-Chevrolet
Lola-Chevrolet
Fast_Time	0'54.92
Fast_Country	AUS
First_Driver	Johnnie Walker
First_Country	AUS
First_Team	Lola-Chevrolet
Second_Driver	John Bowe
Second_Country	AUS
Second_Team	Elfin-Chevrolet
Third_Driver	Rob Butcher
Third_Country	AUS
Third_Team	Lola-Chevrolet

AUS Johnnie Walker Lola-Chevrolet

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

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

Classification

Results as follows:

Qualifying

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

Race

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

Notes

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

References

Souvenir Programme, Australian Grand Prix, Wanneroo Raceway, Sunday, March 11th, 1979
''Australian Drivers Championship - Wanneroo'', Australian Motor Racing Yearbook, 1979/80, pages 92–93
''Conditions for Australian Titles'', CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, 1979, page 95
''Australian Grand Prix Winners, CAMS Manual of Motor Sport'', 1980, page 55
(1986). "The Official 50-race history of the Australian Grand Prix". R & T Publishing.
Walker, Terry. "Western Australian Motor Race Results 1979".
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

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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