Montreal - Canada

Pablo Flores, after being traded to team Brabham early in the season, made the most of the acquisition and pressed hard for a run at the coveted Season 4 MRC GPC79 World Championships. Perhaps the only reason he failed to conquer the elusive and quick American Larry Sheehy in the overall points was due to a black flag in round 7 at Jarama for cutting the track, which also set Ligier's Dom Leste back as well. Winning 5 of the last 6 races, and 7 wins in total, he certainty will not be remembered as a quitter from his fellow league drivers, but will go down as the driver that just might've won the championship. Unfortunately for Pablo, and everyone else following the Championship, we will never know if he could've gone the distance.

That being said, let us not forget the amazing drive throughout the season that Tyrrell's Larry Sheehy put forward. His consistency and tactical expertise would be the final factor in this championship. His worst race, a 1 point score in Australia, at the famous Adelaide street circuit, would be the only race the American did not finish with 11 or more points. His 4 wins helped, but his acute comprehension of what he needed to do, within his limits, to finish on top after 14 races, were the deciding factor which ultimately led to his championship title.

The Canadian Grand Prix, held at the exciting and historic Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal played host to quite an exciting finish for season 4. Flores could win the championship, if Sheehy ran into trouble and finished 8 or more points out. As what would become the benchmark for the better part of the season, Flores jumped out of 2nd place on the grid and would snag the lead away from Sheehy quickly. Sheehy, not yielding this early, and being hounded by the rest of the field himself, pressed Flores for the lead and brilliantly took it back on lap 7. He would hold Flores off for another 6 laps, as Pablo would then take it back, and this time, for good. Sheehy would find trouble on lap 26 and slowly fall back to 4th place with front wing damage, and with very little time left to risk a stop for repairs, and quite possibly the seasons hard work and championship.

Sheehy would hold on for 4th place in the Canadian GP, and secure a 2 point advantage over Flores in the Championship. After the race, and celebration with team owner Ken Tyrrell, it was quite obvious that the weight and burden, of Pablo Flores' intense chase in the championship had finally been lifted off of Larry Sheehy's shoulders....

Larry Sheehy, shortly after the race : " Started P1, with the usual great jump by Pablo, I was P2 before the first turn. For the first few laps Pablo seemed to be holding back some, waiting for me to screw up I think. But things settled a little and I actually grabbed the lead for a few laps before Pablo got by me at the last turn. Then we were chasing pretty fast and I just got on the gas a little too early at the back hairpin and hit the wall, losing my front wing ! I figured the championship was lost with the car pulling to the left really bad. I had a few seconds on Ascari but he was closing fast. Finally he got up to me and I let him go, then I believe it was Joe that came up on me and I let him go. Then Daniel and Dom were coming on pretty hard and I decided to try to hold my position as long as I could. The way I had it figured, I could finish P5 and still possibly grab the championship. But if both of them got by, then I would be in P6 and screwed - ( he laughs ) .Then Joe Mudrak spun and popped me back up into P3. So then I let Daniel and Dom by and right after that Dom spun at the esses, and I was back up into P4 !

Awesome season with Pablo pushing me to the edge every week ! "

Pablo Flores on his way to the post race conference : " I am at a lost for words.
If Larry didn't crash and finished 2nd, it would have been ok. But what happened is unbelievable !

Congrats Larry, you deserve it ! "

Dom Leste, who finished 3rd overall in the championship : " Great season for me. The second half wasn't as good as my first, but i learnt a lot and will be better for season 5 ! For me, the Mosport ( round 3 ) race will always be my highlight of the year slugging it out with Larry.

Congrats to Larry ! "

For more Montreal race statistics : Round 14 - Canadian Grand Prix

Cleveland - USA

Pablo Flores, the speedy Argentine, continues to push forward in his pursuit of the season 4 championship, winning his 7th race in only 8 races to edge closer to America's Larry Sheehy, who's only a mere 8 points ahead of Flores with only 1 race remaining, The Canadian Grand Prix.

Flores and Sheehy went toe to toe at the Cleveland GP this week, and it was really anyone's race. Both drivers battled the unsettling bumps here in Cleveland, and both had their share of spins. But it would be Flores and his Brabham taking the checkered flag at the end of the race, only 7.5 seconds ahead of Larry Sheehy's Tyrrell.

Qualifying for the North American GP belonged to Sheehy, with a lap time of 1'04"645, as Flores could only come close with a time of 1'04"979. Jef Vannijlen of Belgium and his Ligier would take their first top 3 spot in qualifying this season with a time of 1'05"190.

Vannijlen however would stall on the line for the start of this race and fans gasped as some of the field came close to ending this Belgian drivers promising career.

Jef Vannijlen in the Ligier Paddock - "Qualifying was the best i ever did so far. I was hoping this was going to be my moment, but it all went wrong again. Somehow the team got the ignition and starter buttons screwed up, or when my engine ignited, i shut it back down again, I'm not sure so I don't know what happened really. The Result ? No engine at the start and a bang on my rear left wheel and suspension from someone in the pack. Too bad, because just maybe i could've made a good run for podium."

The battle for 3rd place in the championship has also heated up considerably, as Canadian Playboy Oliver Day begins to set his sights on Dom Leste of Mauritius. Coming into the NA GP, Leste held a 6 point lead over Day, but Leste who was suffering from fatigue due to a recent sickness, was just not up to the challenge Oliver Day brought with him from Canada. It was on lap 9 that Day and his Lotus finally got by the struggling Ligier of Leste, and thus move into a 4 point lead for 3rd overall in the championship, with only the Canadian GP left to go, a track that Day is quite familiar with as he was a flag man there in the 70's before being fired for sleeping during the 1976 GP, and then making the leap to F1 himself.

Dom Leste from team Ligier's trailer - "Spent the first 5 laps of the race shivering. It wasn't getting any better and I had to stop. Spent an hour on the bed K.O'd. Just now i'm recovering.

Oliver Day in the post race conference - "After arriving late and putting in a lot of effort to get ahead of the surging Adie (Dizdarevic) in qualifying, a result of third is great ! While the beginning looked like Muldoon, Mudrak, Dom and I were going to have a nice battle, i dropped out of that after giving T1 a 360 degree survey and Dom was the only one I could catch and he parked it as soon as i caught him !"

Photos from the North American GP at Cleveland coming soon !

For more Cleveland race statistics : Round 13 - North American Grand Prix

Spa Francorchamps - Belgium

The MRC GPC79 teams once again set flight, this time for the the magnificent Ardennes forest in Belgium for round 12 of the championship at the beautiful Spa Francorchamps circuit. With Brabham's Pablo Flores searching for a way to catch Tyrrell's Larry Sheehy in the championship points lead, it had all the excitement one would come to expect in a Mybroga Motorsports event.

Pablo Flores, winning 5 races thus far, and who's recent pace has been nothing short of historic in itself, decided to avoid using his patented speedy jump off the line and simply take pole position with an incredible lap time of 2'08"297. Larry Sheehy, who is by no means making things easy for Flores, even with the comfort of a 16 point lead, took 2nd place on the grid with a lap time of 2'08"987, just a little more than half a second behind Pablo. Third place on the grid would go to Dom Leste from the island of Mauritius, with a time of 2'09"227, and the fans here at Spa stood and cheered as the Ligier driver has been struggling since his domination in the early stages of the championship.

As lap 1 got started, and the teams snaked their way through the spectacular scenery and circuit, it was painfully obvious that Pablo Flores was again on his game, as his Brabham opened more space between himself and the field with every corner. Sheehy would be passed early on by Dominique Leste, and have to watch Pablo from 3rd place as he patiently waited for an opportunity to get by Leste, which he inevitable did on lap 4.

Larry Sheehy in the post race conference : Dom looked like he overdrove the chicane before the start/finish line and he pretty much let me by while he was getting back on the track. After that Pablo was almost 8 seconds ahead and from there he just gradually pulled away. I was able to stretch out the lead on Dom and Daniel who looked like they were having a nice battle.

Dom Leste would eventually fall back to 4th and fight Daniel Gomez of Argentina for 3rd place, but Gomez has managed to harness some fire lately, and held onto 3rd place for a much deserved podium.

Race winner Pablo Flores : First of all, i'm really happy for my friend Dany (Gomez), and also for Gabriel (Legnini), that made a great race on that Wolf. It's a nice feeling to have helped with the setup. Well, I got pole, great one. Started fine, and pulled away till the end. I went out in Eau Rouge and it scared me !

Perhaps the most exciting racing here at Spa took place back from the front runners, as a 5 car battle heated up back in 6th place between 5 drivers !

Dannilo Petericca explains : We started the race, went through T1 and I lost 1 or 2 positions coming to Eau Rouge as I let my teammate Mario go by. And that's when the fun started. There were 3 or 4 laps of continuous battle. Mike (Muldoon), Dale (Ballweg), Mario (Ledesma), Kardum (Joseph Mudrak). We all alternated our positions constantly. Somewhere, Dale made a little mistake and let us by, losing a couple of places and some time. Mario was ahead, trying to overtake a VERY TOUGH Mike. I closed in behind him and he let me by so I could make an attempt. I did try, and very hard indeed. Mike wouldn't let me overtake him. WE EVEN WENT FROM LES COMBES UNTIL THE LEFT HANDER AFTER RIVAGE SIDE-BY-SIDE!!!!! (THAT IS DRIVING MIKE, CONGRATS FOR THAT MOVE!!! ) I couldn't get by, but I was enjoying it too much ! I overcooked my tires and it became a little bit hard to keep the car on track, so I let Mario pass again and try by himself. That was when Kardum took the opportunity and passed right behind Mario. Mike did a mistake and we all 3 went by again. Mario and Kardum kept battling until they took Blanchimont a little slower and I barely missed Mario, and could squeeze the braking to the bus stop and overtake Kardum too.

For all the Spa Francorchamps race results and statistics click here : Round 12 - Belgian Grand Prix

Osterreichring - Austria

Round 11 of the MRC GPC79 championship took place at a beautiful circuit in Austria, the Osterreichring. It's long straights and bumpy tarmac made the drivers find a comprimise in setups. Low wings for outright speed could be trouble when the car faced bumpier sections and bottomed out. Getting the setups just right was no easy task for the drivers and crews, and few did well to finish this race on the lead lap.

During qualifying, the young Canadian sensation Oliver Day completely baffled the other drivers as his lap time came up on the time charts. A magnificent 1.32.710 in his Lotus 80 would be just too fast for Pablo Flores, who answered with a 1.32.830 for the outside and second place on the grid. Team Renault put thier turbo powered engines to good use here at Osterreichring and the Americans, Dale Ballweg took 3rd place with a lap time of 1.32.930, followed by his teamate Richie Yalland close by for fourth.

Greenlights flashed, smoke rose from the grid, and the loud formula engines screamed as the Grand Prix of Austria began. Pablo Flores, again as his done so many times in the past this season, took an early lead in his Brabham BT49 right off the grid and began to place as much distance between himself and Oliver Day as possible. Wihout the series current leader Larry Sheehy in the race, Flores wanted this win and the full points for first place to shorten the gap from 1st and 2nd in the championship. Team Renault, with 3 drivers in the race followed the lone Lotus of Day throughout lap 1, but none of thier drivers could place any considerable pressure on the Canadian superstar, who took up 2nd place and would finish in the same position.

Oliver Day - " I fully expected to get jumped and fall back to fifth or so but luckily only Pablo got by and coming out of the chicane I thought.... if I can survive the next couple of laps and not get trampled by the Renault train I might be able to pull off a podium here ! And while it looked rather menacing early on, I was able to keep it in second place and ease away ever so slightly. The car felt terrific everywhere except the chicane but even if it was better there I didn't have the ability to make it interesting for Pablo in the race. Still I've very happy to finish second again. "

Lap 11- 15 of the Grand Prix saw some incredible action between 3 drivers all rallying for 3rd place in the race. Richie Yalland, Joseph Mudrak and Mike Muldoon put together a simply fantastic performance, trading places several times, and really giving the Austrian crowd something to cheer about. In the end, it would be Richie Yalland and his Renault RS12 taking 3rd place, with Muldoon, his teamate taking 4th over a very fast Joseph Mudrak driving for Williams.

Mike Muldoon - " It seems that I had just passed Dale and was trying to build a gap when I see in my mirror.... here comes Joseph again @!$#$%# ! . Well Joe and I had some fantastic laps together passing each other a couple of times. Joseph eventually managed to force me into a mistake and he headed off in search of Richie. I would assume that Richie and Joseph got into it a bit and that allowed me to catch up to both of them. I'm not sure what happened to Joseph, but coming over the "hump" I saw his car sitting sideways in the track !!!! Yeeeeeoooooowwwww --- I managed to SQUEEZE by and I felt no contact nor had any damage, but Josepeh said he felt a touch! Scary moment!!

For all the Osterreichring race results and statistics click here : Round 11 - Austrian Grand Prix

Sachsenring - Germany

Used primarily for Motorcycle racing, the historic and dangerous Sachsenring circuit in Germany was the scheduled track for round 10 in this seasons championship. It's long country roads, and magnificent elevations played havoc with the modern F1 suspensions of the 1979 formula's, but it's certainly a track that will separate the serious competitor from the casual racer.

Qualifying was only a prelude to the excitement that would come later, and the top 5 drivers in the current standings fought hard for pole position, as it was common knowledge that following too closely at this track could have disastrous results and you were far better off out front. The quick Argentine, Pablo Flores struggled early in qualifying but then nailed a brilliant lap of 2:10.442 to take pole position from a stunned Larry Sheehy, who could only watch idly as Renault's American driver, Dale Ballweg took the 2nd spot from him with a lap of 2:11.442, a full second off of Flores pace. Sheehy would come close, but be unable to beat either times and settle in for the 3rd grid box with a lap of 2.11.446 in his Tyrrell.

Off the start, Flores simply seemed determined to walk away without looking back as his Brabham seemed to be perfectly suited for the bumpy Sachsenring roads, but his speed would end up be being his ultimate demise as on lap 4, he got loose at the bridge and lost time to Sheehy who was pushing his Tyrrell to it's limits in hopes he could be close for an overtaking possibility. A lap later, that opportunity came and he would force Flores into an undesirable line on the back straight and ultimately take the lead for the first time and not see Flores again who's car seemed to have problems at the same point of the circuit, every lap, finally causing him to crash out lap 8.

Dom Leste would be out early in the Grand Prix as well, losing control of his Ligier at the very same bridge as Flores, and crashing heavily into the dense forest that would be his spectator position for the rest of the race. Charging hard from 6th place in his McLaren, Daniel Gomez, the Argentine who's been involved in some incredibly exciting racing scenarios this season would dazzle the crowd and make his way to 2nd place, but unfortunately, it would be only for a brief number of laps as the Canadian Lotus driver Oliver Day would have what could be his best race of the season and pass Gomez and cross the finish line in 2nd place and a drive that most German's present at the GP will never forget.

For all the Sachsenring race results and statistics click here : Round 10 - German Grand Prix

Watkins Glen - N.Y. U.S.A.

Qualifying 3rd at the U.S. Grand Prix, and leading the pack after T1, Pablo Flores of Argentina once again attacked the front runners, Larry Sheehy and Dom Leste, wasting no time in his pursuit of victory here at Watkins Glen Thursday night. Sheehy who slammed a magnificent qualifying lap of 1:35.805 to take pole could only watch as the Brabham seemed to rocket off the grid, and never look back. Leste and his Ligier which ran a 1:36.141 for 2nd place on the grid fell down to 3rd early, and struggled in the later stages, never able to fight his way back.

The addition of a new chicane in the switchback up the hill through turns 2 - 4 put a lot of drivers off in the early stages, and definitely caused more than 1 retirement. Many of the MRC GPC79 drivers filed official complaints to the GPC79 officials saying they will never run this track again until it's removed, but no word on the future of the chicane has been forthcoming as of yet.

Larry Sheehy after the GP - " ....I was able to grab the pole but saw the warning signs of not being able to keep up with Pablo when I saw his warm up times .....And the race pretty much ended up the same way. (I) had a pretty clean start with a very tall first gear, and like usual Pablo just blew right by me. I had Dom on my inside going through T1, we ran side by side going into T2 and he backed out letting me have it... ."

Sheehy still holds a firm grip on the season championship, with a 24 point lead over Flores with 5 races remaining. Losing the points he makes for one race, his worst result in the second half of the championship could help Flores and Leste, but as he continues to finish in the top 3, chances of catching him grow smaller every race.

Tyrrell hold a 21 point lead in the constructors championship as well, with Ligier in second place, followed by Lotus who are a huge 55 points behind the successful Team Tyrrell.

The teams now head to the historic circuit Sachensring, where the phrase " bumpy ride " is quite an understatement.

For all the Watkins Glen race results and statistics click here : Round 09 - United States East Grand Prix

Jarama - Spain

Round 7 of the championship headed to the sunny country of Spain and the historic Jarama circuit for the Spanish GP. Qualifying started as planned and Ligier's Dom Leste took the pole with just an amazing lap of 1:15.197. The 2nd spot went to Argentina's Pablo Flores as he lapped his Brabham at 1:15.250. Dave Cooke Jr edged out the current points leader with a lap of 1:15.394 to take the 3rd grid spot after qualifying.

Pablo Flores wasted little time getting to the front of the pack, which is starting to become a routine he's getting very good at, as he took over the lead from Dom Leste immediately and remained untouchable for the remainder of the Grand Prix. Dom Leste would hold off a charging Larry Sheehy back in third, but Leste' pace would soon diminish, and Sheehy would set his sights on the front runner, only to find his time had run out and 2nd place would be all he could muster.

After the race was done, it would be Pablo Flores taking the checkers, but Track Marshals later reported some severe track cutting during the Grand Prix, and also during Qualifying. Once the confusion and smoke had settled, it would be Flores, Leste and Cooke Jr that received penalties, and loss of any points gained in the race. Of course, protest to the ruling took place, but ultimately, the league conveners saw no alternative but to enforce the league rules and continue to the next Grand Prix.

For all the Jarama race results and statistics click here : Round 08 - Spanish Grand Prix

Donington - Great Britian

Appalled by the terrible track conditions at Donington, most of the teams relunctantly pressed on with the 6th round of the season, except for team Arrows who refused to run the alway's popular British Grand Prix. Team Renualt seemed to be early favourites in the testing stages, but as official qualifying began, this season points leader Larry Sheehy and his succesful Tyrrell once again took the pole position, for the 4th time in only 6 races. His lap of 1.22.929 was good enough to edge out Dale Ballweg's late lap of 1.22.985, which was a mere 0.00.056 away from Sheehy. Team Brabhams new driver, Pablo Flores seemed to be right at home in the new car and took the 3rd grid spot with a laptime of 1.23.286. With 10 drivers at the front of the grid less than 1.5 seconds from the leader, there were no British fans sitting as the teams lined up for the formation lap and the start of the Grand Prix.

On lap 1, Sheehy looked strong out front, but 3rd place Pablo Flores wasted no time and quickly moved out front to lead into lap 2, as Sheehy and Ballweg settled in behind in 2nd and 3rd place. Ballweg would then fall back to 5th and the 3rd position would be taken by the American driver Dave Cooke Jr who pressed hard to try and make some lost time on the leaders. Up front, Flores and his Brabham were driving the race of his life as Sheehy found it almost impossible to mount an attack on the lead.

Sheehy later stated - " I was flat out for 36 laps ....Pablo was quicker right from the start and I thought he might just run away into the sunset but after a few laps we stabilized some and I was able to close up just a tad....lapped traffic helped a little too. Although I was able to get within a second a couple times I was never really in a position to even think about a pass attempt...ok..maybe once but it was too early to go for a high risk outbrake maneuver. Pablo simply ran an awesome race."

Flores would hold on for the 36 laps and win his first Grand Prix this season.

Pablo Flores - " Great race for me, it feels great to win again !

My qualification didn't go that well, but i had a good start, overtook Dale, then I exited better in that last turn to the right, and I could overtake Larry on the chicane.
I was 2 seconds ahead, i had a little crash with a Adnan, and that damaged my front suspension a little bit, which made me a little bit slower, and I panicked, but i could stay in front till the end. Great racing, very intense. "

Dave Cooke Jr - Third was a good spot for me but now I'll work on starting to win the races.

For all the Donington race results and statistics click here : Round 06 - British Grand Prix

Buenos Aires - Argentina

MRC GPC79 headed off to Argentina on thursday for the Buenos Aires GP and round 5 of the championship. 23 drivers world wide showed for the race with their respective teams and qualifying was started on time and proved exciting once again. Dom Leste settled in with a magnificent pole winning time of 1:41.254, just ahead of his new teamate at Ligier, South Africa's Alex Martini who posted a laptime of 1:41.487. Current leader in the championship Larry Sheehy of the United States took up house in the 3rd spot with a time of 1:41.802. It was clear early on that the battle for the win was within each drivers grasp with the extreme opportunities for drafting here at Buenos Aires.

Leste would lead the GP early on, but gave up the position on lap 12 to Alex Martini, who shot by on the long straight, but would only hold the lead for a short 4 laps, falling back to 3rd for the remainder of the race. On lap 14, Larry Sheehy would pass Dom Leste, but only to give 2nd place back to Leste a lap later as Leste would then take over the lead with Sheehy close behind in 2nd place for the rest of the Grand Prix.

Lotus driver Oliver Day would claim 4th place throughout the race, and hold off a charging Daniel Gomez in his McLaren who finished in 5th.

Fastest Lap of the race went to Larry Sheehy who posted a time of 1:43.807 on lap 28 of the 33 lap event.

For all the Buenos Aires race results and statistics click here : Round 05 - Buenos Aires

Long Beach - California U.S.A.

Though it's early with 3 full days of practice remaining, " Two of our drivers, Larry Sheehy and Dave Cooke Jr have been testing at the Long Beach circuit and the car is looking spot on" said Ken Tyrrell, team owner. The two drivers are currently sitting at #1 and #2 in the practice lap charts. Steve Bocskay, the remaining Tyrrell driver who brought home 7 points at the French GP has yet to lap. The Ligier driver Dominique Leste has yet to put up any official times, but expect some quick times from him as he's been on pace with Sheehy in the first 3 races of the championship.

The infamous turn 1 at the Long Beach GP has been criticized by the drivers for it's unsafe characteristics, yet promoters and MRC GPC79 officials have not made any alternative decisions, and it looks as though the layout will stick. " Drivers will just have to learn that by placing themselves and fellow drivers at risk, in the early stages of a race is just not worth it when the smoke settles" said league promoter Cesare Ascari. " There's over 25 drivers at some of these races, and with 35 - 40 laps in each event, driving beyond the leagues rules on lap 1 is just asking for trouble. I think your going to see an improvement here in Long Beach" .

The Long Beach GP is scheduled for Thursday March 13th at 8pm EST, and will be available for viewing on MRC GPC79 using Live Timing.

Check your local listings.

Round 3 of the MRC GPC79 championship was predicted to be a shootout between the current leaders, and the Canadian fans at Mosport played witness to one of the seasons most hard fought battles for first place yet.

Qualifying started well, with the 21 drivers on hand lapping for grid position, but the attention was focused on the battle up front. Larry Sheehy and Dom Leste squared off and both put in almost 30 laps or more trying to take the ever so important pole position. In the end, Sheehy would absolutely throw the Tyrrell to the front of the grid with a stellar time of 1:07.271, narrowly notching out the Ligier time of Leste who ran a close 1:07.348 ! Joseph Mudrak and his Williams brought some of the fans to the edge of their seats with a fantastic time of 1:07.731 to hold onto the 3rd grid position.

A stalled Renault in 13th position on the grid caused some early problems for the drivers, not to mention some flag waving from the track side marshals. But after the mix up, it was business as usual for Sheehy who led Dominique Leste's Ligier for almost the entire race. It wasn't until lap 33 that Leste saw an opportunity as Sheehy went wide into T2 and Leste forced his way inside and into first place for the first time in the race. His patience would prove the winner as Leste then held on for the remainder of the race, though Sheehy would almost get by after a close call in the Moss hairpin.

This catapults Leste back into the frey up front in the points, just 8 points shy of Sheehy who's now had 2 fantastic races consecutively under his belt.

Paul Godfrey would bring home the final podium and celebrate his best finish yet of season 4, climbing from 6th on the grid to 3rd after Oliver Day lost his car on lap 23 and Mudrak's car fell to 12th place early on.

Fastest lap of the race went to Dom Leste with a blazing 1:08.548 on lap 28.

For all the Mosport race results and statistics click here : Round 03 - Mosport

Round 2 at the Paul Ricard circuit in France got off to a rocky start as most of the teams were confused by the official starting procedure. Qualifying was dominated by Larry Sheehy and his Tyrrell who were both untouchable with a time of 1:12.898. One of this seasons drivers to watch, Dom Leste could not get his Ligier on track to put up any kind of a challenge, but Oliver Day and Danilo Petricca followed Sheehy's times with 1:13.259, and 1:13.491 to take the 2 grid spots behind Larry Sheehy.

Mike Muldoon of team Renault brought the French crowd to their feet with a brilliant drive early on that took him into 2nd place, but would later fall back and leave the chase to Dave Cooke Jnr, the other Tyrrell driver and Oliver Day who managed to regroup the Lotus and finish 3rd, closely behind Cooke in a fantastic battle for 2nd late in the final laps.

Fastest Lap of the race went to Michael Muldoon with an impressive time of 1:14.456 on lap 24 in race trim.

Sheehy who finished an incredible 23 seconds ahead of 2nd place has now taken over the lead in the championship from Dom Leste, and as some fans of the series believed early on, could be the driver to beat. As the teams head off to Canada for Round 3, the anticipation building up over this championship continues to grow, and F1 fans in Canada are likely in for one of the greatest battles the historic Mosport track has seen in decades !

For all the Paul Ricard race results and statistics click here : Round 02 - Paul Ricard

The South African Grand Prix, the first stop for the MRC GPC79 drivers in Season 4, saw a nearly full field of 26 drivers, as the tension and nerves settled in for what looks to be the most competitive season the league has seen.

Dominique Leste of the Island Mauritius set the bar high with a blistering lap of 1.07.554 in his Ligier on his 5th lap in qualifying, edging out Lotus driver Paul Godfrey and Joseph Mudrak of team Williams with times of 1.07.910 and 1.07.967.

Leste would brilliantly lead the Grand Prix from flag to flag and bring home a well deserved victory, 11 seconds in front of Mudrak who battled early with Renaults Richie Yalland and Tyrrell's Larry Sheehy. Godfrey, who held second place comfortably until lap 30 in his Lotus, fell off the pace and ended up in 11th place.

Mudrak would hold on and finish in 2nd place, while Larry Sheehy of team Tyrrell would fight back after dropping to 6th place mid race and do battle with Renault driver Dale Ballweg and steal 3rd place in some very exciting final laps.

Fastest lap of the race went to Renault driver Dale Ballweg, with a fantastic lap of 1.09.397 on lap 38.

The teams now prepare for the next GP taking place at the French circuit, Paul Ricard.

For all the Kyalami race results and statistics click here : Round 01 - Kyalami

After a gruelling 4 month race for the third MRC GPC79 Championship, Tyrrell drivers Cesare Ascari and Daniel Gomez have captured the Team and Drivers Championships to mark the first sweep in the leagues short history.

Ascari who struggled in the seasons opening three races finally won his first GP at the historic Spa circuit in Belgium, in what most F1 fans dubbed the battle of the leagues history as he and America's Eric Sheehan traded position throughout the entire race. His next win was another hard fought battle at Estoril, where he narrowly crossed the finish line ahead of the pursuing Ferrari driver Steve Bocskay from Canada, who himself had began to threaten the leaderboard for the MRC79 title. Winning at Snetterton two races later, and again at the USGP at Road America helped put Ascari in good position for the season championship. He then won again at Sears Point, but Ferrari's Steve Bocskay had been picking off big points in the later stages and mounted his own challenge to win the championship in the last race, held at Nuerburg.

As practice sessions started for the Nuerburg GP, Ascari's luck had run dry and he was unable to race in the final event. This opened the door for Bocskay as a first place finish would throw him 2 points ahead of Ascari for the outright championship. Proving he was out for the win, the Ferrari driver hammered a blistering lap in qualifying to gain pole position and his chances for glory seemed ever so close. But on lap 3, his Ferrari T4 spun and allowed the Lotus driver Jonathan Stiener of the U.S., and Tyrrell's Daniel Gomez of Argentina to pass. Gomez quickly took the lead and began to put as much time between himself and the recovering Steve Bocskay as possible which resulted in a 6-8 sec lead for much of the race. Bocskay, now in hot pursuit of Stiener's Lotus applied pressure for several laps in attempts to take over 2nd place and he finally did get by on lap 14. Daniel Gomez knew that a win here would not only hand his teamate Ascari the Driver championship, but it would also put Tyrrell completely out front for the Constructors championship as well. In what proved to be his second win since Jerez, and best drive in the season 3 series, Gomez held onto a 5 second lead, bravely lapping back markers and holding off Bocskay for the checkered flag, thus securing a memorable victory for team Tyrrell in both championships.

As testing began on a damp Saturday morning last weekend for the upcoming European GP at Nuernberg, Canadian driver Cesare Ascari declined the various track marshall warnings and headed out to test the Tyrrell and get the car ready for the last race of the season. At this time it remains uncertain what the cause of current season 3 leaders accident was, but speculation surrounding this seasons championship is now at a peak. Second place driver Steve Bocskay, also Canadian, states that Cesare was pushing his luck with the amount of moisture on the track at the time. Bocskay, Ferrari's hopeful driver for the third MRC GPC79 championship can clinch the overall title with a win this thursday. Injuries to Ascari are not being made public but team manager and owner Ken Tyrrell told MRC GPC79 league officials that Ascari will definately not be racing at the final GP.

With only two Grand Prix left in the 14 race calendar, The MRC GPC79 3rd Championship took a shaking up last week after an exciting round at the Japanese GP. Eric Sheehan of the United States and his McLaren pressed Tyrrell's driver from Canada, Cesare Ascari for an early lead, then held off Ascari's attacks for more than 16 laps to take home the huge points for the championship. Ascari, having engine failure on lap 17, was forced to only 3 points in the GP, and allows Sheehan and Steve Bocskay of team Ferrari to edge that much closer to the overall lead. With only 14 points separating the three drivers, and two GP left, the stage is set for what is being called the most exciting season in MRC GPC79 thus far.

The teams now travel to the Untied States, and the treacherous Sears Point Long circuit for the 12th stage of the championship on Thursday Jan 18th. From there it's on to Germany and the Nuerburg circuit to close out the season a week later.

Be sure to check the Live Timing page here at MRC GPC79 for a live view of the race this thursday at 9pm ! Qualifying starts at 8pm EST.

In what was an early battle and late season blow out, America's own Robert "Gunny" Harrison has won the MRC GPC79 Season 2 Championship driving for Team Williams. He locked horns early on in the season with Team Shadow driver Eric Sheehan, but with the improvements in the FW07 from the FW06, Harrison was able to increase the gap considerably. Sheehan, who succomb to some late season troubles could only watch from the sidelines as he lost precious time and points to Harrison, and then also to second place finisher Joseph Mudrak driving for Team Lotus.

Winning 6 of his 15 starts, Harrison left little to talk about through much of the season as he continued his aggresive asssault on the championship in the second half, for many races being completely dominant from flag to flag . The American has now been picked up by Team McLaren for season 3, along side Eric Sheehan from the USA, and Hristo Itchov of Bulgaria. A more well rounded team for the British Contructors is hard to imagine.

Joseph Mudrak who finished 2nd overall had perhaps his best finishes with MRC in the 2nd half of the season as well, many times, challenging Harrison early on in the races. His brilliant 3 wins and consistant finishes helped him pass Sheehan in 2nd place and take the honors to the end of the season . Joseph has signed on with team Brabham and hopes for a better finish with teamate Dale Ballweg .

Winning 5 of 16 races and finishing with 63 points , Ascari has become the MRC GPC79 Champion for season 1 . Using a league avergage system which determined the car you ran in relation to how you performed in the previous races, Ascari was able to make his way to a 27 point lead over the second place finish of Daniel Gomez from Argentenia . Rounding out the top 3 in the championship was Eric Sheehan of the USA finishing only 4 points short of Gomez in second .