October 1978, and a quirky end to the season, with the Americans in England for a pair of Indycar races, and the F1 brigade also crossing the Atlantic, for the United States and Canadian Grands Prix.
Variety being the spice, I chose to skip Watkins Glen and Montreal, and instead covered the races at Silverstone and Brands Hatch, won, respectively, by AJ Foyt and Rick Mears. Thus, I missed Gilles Villeneuve's first grand prix victory (in Canada), and called to offer congratulations when he got back to Europe.
Gilles being Gilles, he wanted to know all about the Indycar races, and at one point I mentioned that Tom Sneva was the new USAC Champion. How many races had he won? Well, er, none, actually...A snort of derision from the other end. Al Unser, I said, had won all three 500-milers (including Indy), but still come up short on points. Villeneuve was incredulous.