March 85G
The March 85G was a mid-engine - IMSA racing prototype of in 1984 March Engineering was developed and until 1988 was used in sports car racing.
Development history and technology
The 85G was the last evolutionary stage of the 82G chassis that March produced from 1981. The aluminum chassis were made in monocoque construction. The large ventilation opening between the headlights led the air under the car; this was supposed to generate more downforce, which was only partially successful.
Eleven chassis were manufactured at March, three of which were sold to Nissan Motorsports International . Two vehicles were equipped with V6 engines , the third received a 4-cylinder in-line engine . Nissan used the cars in 1985 and 1986 as the Nissan R85V in sports car races.
The remaining vehicles were sold to IMSA teams and equipped with different racing engines. Conte- and Ralf Sanchez Racing familiar to a V6 Buick - turbo engine ; in the Leon Brothers Racing 85G a 6-cylinder flat Porsche engine and DeAtley Racing car ran a V8 engine from Chevrolet .
Racing history
85G were entered 94 times in 47 races; in five years of operation there was only one overall victory and a total of five placements among the top three. The racing car model made its racing debut at the 3 Hours of Daytona in 1984 ; Two vehicles were reported, both of which failed. Emerson Fittipaldi contested one of the rare sports car races in one of the vehicles .
The only race win there was in 1985 when the World Sportscar Championship scoring 1,000-km race at Fuji . Because of heavy rain, almost all of the top teams did not start. The race had to be stopped after only a quarter of the distance because the track was impassable. At the time of the cancellation, the Japanese trio was leading Kazuyoshi Hoshino , Akira Hagiwara and Keiji Matsumoto and thus won the championship run.
literature
- Thomas Nehlert, Group C: The sports car races 1982-1992 , Verlag Petrolpics, Bonn 2011, ISBN 3-940306-14-2 .
- Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend . MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 .
