1979 Elite Racing League season

All information on this page is not part of canon.

1979 Elite Racing League season
Previous: 1978	Next: 1980

Drivers Champion	Manufacturers Champion
Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari

The 1979 Elite Racing League season was the 20th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing support series (the series would remain a support series until 1997.) The Drivers Championship was won once again by Clay Regazzoni whilst his team that he was driving for, Ferrari, also won the Constructors Championship both titles were won in dominant fashion wrapping up the Constructors title at Zandvoort and the Drivers Championship would be decided with two races left at Mugello - a Ferrari owned track meaning the celebrations carried on way after everyone in the paddock had left.

Ferrari bettered their 1978 record and once again made ERL history scoring 121 points.

This years Monaco Grand Prix would be the Elite Racing League's 200th race.

Season Review

This was the final season of the French Grand Prix before it took a leave of absence from the ERL calendar due to the Magny-Cours falling into a state of disrepair, the ERL and FIA (out of safety concerns) decided to terminate the Magny-Cours race agreement until further notice, the French Grand Prix would re-surface at Paul Ricard in 1980.

The calendar for 1979 was the same as the Formula 1 calendar to prevent extensive travel costs this would also reduce the need for extra transport. Mugello & Suzuka were allowed to stay on the calendar but later in the season as the ERL's only stand alone events.

In 1980 due to a shortage of drivers wanting to race in the ERL the series was merged with Formula 1 effectively adding a second race to the F1 weekends this had financial benefits and also gave the ERL a sense of legitimacy as the big F1 drivers entered the ERL field.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor
1	Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aries	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
2	Brazilian Grand Prix	Interlagos	Gilles Vileneuve	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:GBR McLaren-Ford
3	South African Grand Prix	Kyalami	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
4	Template:USA United States Grand Prix	Sonoma	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:USA Danny Ongais	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Jarama	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
6	Monaco Grand Prix - The 200th Grand Prix	Monaco	Gilles Vileneuve	Gilles Vileneuve	Gilles Vileneuve	Ferrari
7	Template:FRA French Grand Prix	Magny-Cours	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:GBR McLaren-Ford
8	Template:GBR British Grand Prix	Silverstone	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
9	German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jabouille	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari
10	Template:AUT Austrian Grand Prix	Salzburgring	Gilles Vileneuve	Template:GBR James Hunt	Gilles Vileneuve	Ferrari
11	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	Gilles Vileneuve	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:GBR McLaren-Ford
12	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:USA Mario Andretti	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:GBR Lotus-Ford
13	European Grand Prix	Mugello	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:GBR James Hunt	Template:GBR Lotus-Ford
14	Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport	Jochen Mass	Gilles Vileneuve	Jochen Mass	Template:GBR Arrows-Ford
15	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka	Gilles Vileneuve	Template:FRA Jacques Laffite	Template:FRA Jacques Laffite	Template:FRA Renault

Teams and Drivers

1976 Formula 1 Champion - James Hunt joined the grid following a run of poor form in Formula 1 he came to the ERL to find his love for racing again, he signed with the struggling ERL Lotus team.

Several driver transfers occured this season, the same teams from 1978 remained for 1979.

Team	Constructor	Engine	Tyres	#	Driver	Rounds
Template:GBR Arrows Racing Team	Arrows-Ford	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	Template:Goodyear	1	Riccardo Patrese	All
				2	Jochen Mass	All
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	Ferrari 015 3.0 F12	Template:Michelin	3	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	All
				4	Gilles Vileneuve	All
Template:GBR Team Lotus	Lotus-Ford	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	Template:Goodyear	5	Template:GBR James Hunt	All
				6	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jarier	All
Template:GBR Team McLaren	McLaren-Ford	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	Template:Goodyear	7	Template:USA Mario Andretti	All
				8	Template:FRA Patrick Tambay	All
Template:USA Penske Car Racing	Penske-Ford	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	Template:Goodyear	9	Template:USA Danny Ongais	All
				10	Template:USA Eddie Cheever	All
Template:FRA Elf Equipe Renault	Renault	Renault-Gordini EF1 1.5 V6t	Template:Michelin	11	Template:FRA Jacques Laffite	All
				12	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jabouille	All

Drivers Championship

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Template:SUI Clay Regazzoni	74
2	Template:GBR James Hunt	51
3	Template:USA Mario Andretti	50
4	Gilles Vileneuve	47
5	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jabouille	37
6	Template:FRA Jacques Laffite	34
7	Template:USA Danny Ongais	33
8	Riccardo Patrese	16
9	Jochen Mass	13
10	Template:FRA Jean-Pierre Jarier	13
11	Template:USA Eddie Cheever	7
12	Template:FRA Patrick Tambay	0

Constructors Championship

Pos.	Constructor	Points
1	Ferrari	121
2	Template:FRA Renault	71
3	Template:GBR Lotus-Ford	64
4	Template:GBR McLaren-Ford	50
5	Template:USA Penske-Ford	40
6	Template:GBR Arrows-Ford	29