In 1979, two not World-series GPs were held, open to all Formula 1 teams, apart from the English Formula Aurora Championship, which was making a history of its own. On 15 April 1979, the Marlboro-Daily Mail Race of Champions took place at Brands Hatch, won by Gilles Villeneuve at the wheel of the 1978 Ferrari 312 T3. The South African Wilson took part in the race, with a Tyrrell. Wilson was a well-known figure in the racing world of the time, with frequent participation in single-seater and endurance races.
In the history of static modeling, Spark has truly revolutionized the market. The brand was created by Hugues Ripert, whose father André had been one of the main contenders of the artisanal modeling scene in the 70s and 80s. After working for Vitesse, Quartzo and Ixo, Ripert jr did not choose the diecast technique but opted for resin, with production in China but development and conception strictly in the European tradition. In practice the idea was to offer special models built in small series (what were later called "resincast"). The first Sparks were released in 2000, with a quality-price ratio unapproachable for most industrial and artisanal producers. Today Spark continues to churn out dozens of new products a year, having also expanded its production to other scales, such as 1:18 but also 1:64. There are numerous numbered and limited series for the various national distributors and for private customers such as teams, sponsors, drivers and so on.