The Memorial Trophy was planned as a non-championship F1 race, with a full grid, but the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the sport's governing body – refused to recognise the event and most of the teams withdrew.
In a TV interview the pair gave at the circuit, Stewart praised Nilsson's character and determination in using his final weeks to work on setting up the fund; he also emphasised that a Swede had done this to benefit a London hospital, rather than one in his homeland.
The entrants included Juan Manuel Fangio, Stewart (racing one of his championship-winning Tyrrells), Hunt and Harrison, who drove Stirling Moss's 1961 Lotus 18.
[1] For the Memorial Trophy event, the FIA's snub meant that the illegality of the Brabham BT46B "fan car", imposed following the 1978 Swedish Grand Prix, did not apply.
Hamilton also said that the efforts of drivers and others close to Nilsson in raising £800,000 that year for a new cancer treatment unit was a "most rewarding" aspect of 1979 and would outlive the "unfortunate political manoeuvring" that had characterised the season at times.