Automobiles Martini
Automobiles Martini was a French racing car manufacturer from Nevers that had been producing customer vehicles for different racing classes since the late 1960s and was briefly involved in Formula 1 with its own team in 1978 .
history
The company was founded in 1965 by Renato "Tico" Martini. Martini had completed training as a racing driver at the Winfield Racing Driver School in Magny-Cours in the early 1960s . After completing his apprenticeship, he opened a workshop next to the racetrack, in which the Formula 3 cars of the racing school were first repaired. From 1969, Martini designed and built his own racing cars for Formula 3 and Formula Renault, which were initially used by the Winfield School, but later also sold to racing drivers and used in national competitions. Martini's Formula 3 cars were successfully used by the French ORECA team , among others ; as far as they were equipped with Renault engines, they dominated the French Formula 3 series in the mid-1970s. Between 1975 and 1978 Martini designed several racing cars for Formula 2, most of which were equipped with Renault, but occasionally also with BMW engines. The cars were well designed and clearly superior in places. In 1975 Jacques Laffite won the Formula 2 championship in a Martini Mk. 16 with a BMW engine for the Ecurie Elf Ambrozium, and René Arnoux achieved the same in 1977 with the Martini Mk. 22 powered by a Renault engine. 22. Individual Martini vehicles were also used Passed customer teams; one of them was the Italian Scuderia Everest. In 1978 Martini finally tried his hand at Formula 1 with his own car and a works team; however, this project was terminated prematurely after eight unsuccessful attempts. Martini then concentrated again on Formula 3, for which it built solid cars, which, however, after initial successes since the mid-1980s, were increasingly in the shadow of the competition from Ralt, Reynard and Dallara. Martini also designed vehicles for national sports car races, especially for the CN group . A brief return to Formula 2 with ORECA in 1983 and 1984 did not bring the desired success. In 2004 Tico Martini sold his business to Guy Ligier .
Martini in Formula 1
Inspired by the success of Renault and Ligier , Automobiles Martini briefly got involved with a works team in Formula 1 in 1978. The car that Tico Martini had essentially designed himself was a so-called modular vehicle that used numerous components from British suppliers. The DFV eight-cylinder came from Cosworth and the gearbox was supplied by Hewland. The blue-white-red lacquered Martini Mk. 23 was not designed for Groundeffect, which has developed into a key design feature for Formula 1 cars since this season at the latest. The team was financially supported by Elf Aquitaine and the national temporary employment agency Rombo. René Arnoux , who contested his first Formula 1 races here , was hired as the driver .
Automobiles Martini made his debut in the third race of the year, the South African Grand Prix . Arnoux missed the qualification here as well as at the next outing of the team in Monte Carlo . At the team’s third attempt, the Belgian Grand Prix , Arnoux took part in his first race. He finished ninth. At the French Grand Prix , Arnoux was fourteenth, and in Austria he finished ninth again. There were no further results. During the team's last outing in Zandvoort , Tico Martini decided to discontinue its Formula 1 program before qualifying began; he immediately withdrew his team.
literature
- David Hodges: Racing cars from A – Z after 1945. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
- Adriano Cimarosti: The Century of Racing. Cars, tracks and pilots. Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 .
- Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1st 2nd edition. Chronosports Editeur, St. Sulpice 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7 (French).
