1979 World Sportscar Championship
# 1979 World Sportscar Championship

The 1979 World Sportscar Championship season was the 27th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship racing. It featured the 1979 World Championship for Makes which was open to Group 1 and 2 Touring Cars, Group 3 and 4 Grand Touring cars, and Group 5 Special Production Cars. The championship ran from 3 February to 16 September 1979 and consisted of nine rounds. It was contested in two engine capacity divisions, Over 2 Litres and Under 2 Litres.

The Over 2 Litres Division was won by Porsche and the Under 2 Litres Division by Lancia.

## Schedule

| Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 24 Hour Pepsi Challenge | Daytona International Speedway | 3 February 4 February |
| 2 | 6 Hours of Mugello | Mugello Circuit | 18 March |
| 3 | Dijon 6 Hours | Dijon-Prenois | 22 April |
| 4 | Rivet Supply 6 Hours | Silverstone Circuit | 6 May |
| 5 | 1000km Nürburgring | Nürburgring | 3 June |
| 6 | Coppa Florio | Autodromo di Pergusa | 24 June |
| 7 | Watkins Glen 6 Hours | Watkins Glen International | 8 July |
| 8 | Rivet Supply 6 Hours | Brands Hatch | 5 August |
| 9 | Trofeo Ignazio Giunti (6 Hours) | Vallelunga | 16 September |

## Season results

| Rnd | Circuit | Over 2.0 Winning Team | Under 2.0 Winning Team | Results |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Rnd | Circuit | Over 2.0 Winning Drivers | Under 2.0 Winning Drivers | Results |
| Rnd | Circuit | Over 2.0 Winning Car | Under 2.0 Winning Car | Results |
| 1 | Daytona | #0 Interscope Racing | None | Results |
| 1 | Daytona | Ted Field Danny Ongais Hurley Haywood | | Results |
| 1 | Daytona | Porsche 935/79 | | Results |
| 2 | Mugello | #12 Gelo Racing Team | None | Results |
| 2 | Mugello | Bob Wollek Manfred Schurti John Fitzpatrick | | Results |
| 2 | Mugello | Porsche 935/77 | | Results |
| 3 | Dijon | #31 Gelo Racing Team | None | Results |
| 3 | Dijon | Bob Wollek Manfred Schurti Jacky Ickx | | Results |
| 3 | Dijon | Porsche 935/77 | | Results |
| 4 | Silverstone | #3 Gelo Sportswear | None | Results |
| 4 | Silverstone | Bob Wollek Hans Heyer John Fitzpatrick | | Results |
| 4 | Silverstone | Porsche 935/77 | | Results |
| 5 | Nürburgring | #6 Gelo Racing Team | #25 Jägermeister | Results |
| 5 | Nürburgring | Bob Wollek Manfred Schurti John Fitzpatrick | Eckhard Schrimpf Hans-Georg Bürger | Results |
| 5 | Nürburgring | Porsche 935/77 | BMW 320i | Results |
| 6 | Pergusa | #4 Lubrifilm Racing | #11 Lancia Corse | Results |
| 6 | Pergusa | Angelo Pallavicini Marco Vanoli | Riccardo Patrese Carlo Facetti | Results |
| 6 | Pergusa | Porsche Carrera RSR | Lancia Beta Montecarlo | Results |
| 7 | Watkins Glen | #94 Whittington/Kremer | None | Results |
| 7 | Watkins Glen | Don Whittington Bill Whittington Klaus Ludwig | | Results |
| 7 | Watkins Glen | Porsche 935 K3 | | Results |
| 8 | Brands Hatch | #27 Porsche Kremer Racing | #31 ASA Corse | Results |
| 8 | Brands Hatch | Klaus Ludwig Axel Plankenhorn | Riccardo Patrese Walter Röhrl | Results |
| 8 | Brands Hatch | Porsche 935 K3 | Lancia Beta Montecarlo | Results |
| 9 | Vallelunga | #54 Ecurie Biennoise | #33 Giuseppi Piazzi | Results |
| 9 | Vallelunga | Enzo Calderari Willi Spavetti Rolf Moritz | Giuseppi Piazzi Renzo Zorzi Stanislao Sterzel | Results |
| 9 | Vallelunga | Porsche Carrera RSR | Fiat X1/9 | Results |

Note: Entries which were not eligible to score championship points are not accounted for in the above table.

## Manufacturers' championship

Points were awarded for placings gained by the top ten cars in each division at each round in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. However, points were only awarded for the highest placed car from each make in each division and any other cars from that make were merely skipped in the points allocation.

Only the best seven round results for each make in each division counted towards the championship with any other points earned not included in the final totals. Relinquished points are shown within brackets.

Some rounds were also open to cars from other categories (e.g. Group 6 "Two Seater Racing Cars") however these cars were not eligible to score points for their respective makes.

### Division - Over 2 Litre

| Pos | Make | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Porsche | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | (20) | (20) | 140 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 15 | | | | | 15 | | | | 30 |
| 3 | de Tomaso | | 6 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| 4 | Triumph | | | | | | | 4 | | | 4 |
| 5 | BMW | | | | | | | 1 | | | 1 |

### Division - Under 2 Litre

| Pos | Make | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Rd 7 | Rd 8 | Rd 9 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Lancia | 10 | 20 | | 20 | | 50 |
| 2 | BMW | 20 | | | 12 | | 32 |
| 3 | Ford | 15 | 15 | | | | 30 |
| | Porsche | | | 15 | | 15 | 30 |
| 5 | Fiat | | | | | 20 | 20 |
| 6 | Volkswagen | 6 | | | | | 6 |
| 7 | Audi | 2 | | | | | 2 |

## The cars

The following models contributed to the nett points totals scored by their respective makes.

### Division - Over 2 Litre

* Porsche 935 & 911 Carrera RSR
* Ferrari Daytona & 308GTB
* de Tomaso Pantera
* Triumph TR8
* BMW 3.5 CSL

### Division - Under 2 Litre

* Lancia Beta Montecarlo
* BMW 320i
* Ford Escort
* Porsche
* Fiat X1/9
* Volkswagen Golf GTi
* Audi 80
