1979 FIM Motocross World Championship

As the 1970s came to an end, it also marked a changing of the guard in the 500cc Motocross World Championships. Roger De Coster (Suzuki) and Heikki Mikkola (Yamaha) had dominated the premier class during the 1970s, between them winning every World Championship from 1971 to 1978. That streak came to an end in 1979 as Mikkola struggled to recover from a broken leg suffered in preseason and De Coster was still feeling the effects from his serious injuries in 1978.^[1][2]

Despite only winning two Grand Prix races, Graham Noyce (Honda) won the 1979 500cc World Championship by consistently scoring points in all but two races. Noyce earned the championship points lead at the midpoint of the season with Suzuki's Gerrit Wolsink, Mikkola and Kawasaki's Brad Lackey within reach of the points lead.^[1] Wolsink won his fifth 500cc United States Grand Prix in six years and followed that with another victory at the Canadian Grand Prix to narrow the points lead.^[1] Mikkola then suffered another injury at the Canadian Grand Prix and his injuries forced him to sit out the West German Grand Prix.^[1] Former Honda factory rider, Lackey, won 6 individual moto victories, more than any other rider in the championship yet, his factory sponsored Kawasaki proved to be unreliable as the team struggled through development issues on a new motorcycle.^[1] Noyce then took command of the championship by posting a series of top five finishes to win the title for the Honda team.

The victory marked the Honda factory's first ever motocross world championship as well as the first motocross world championship for a British rider since Jeff Smith in 1965. Four-time World Champion Mikkola made the decision to retire from competition at the end of the 1979 season. Jean-Jacques Bruno won the first heat race at the French Grand Prix to become the first French competitor in history to win a 500cc World Championship heat race. He then won the 500cc West German Grand Prix to become the first French 500cc Motocross Grand Prix winner.

Håkan Carlqvist won six of the twelve Grand Prix events, finishing comfortably ahead of second-placed Neil Hudson to be crowned the 250cc World Champion. Harry Everts dominated the 125cc world championship for the Suzuki factory racing team.