March engineering

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March Engineering was a British racing car designer who was founded in 1969 and produced competitive vehicles for various motor sport classes over the next 20 years. The program included racing cars for Formula 1 , Formula 2 , Formula 3 , Formula 3000 and the Champ Car series ( Indianapolis ), as well as prototypes for the World Sports Car Championship ( Le Mans 24-hour race ) and the IMSA and CanAm -Series . At times March was the most successful and broadest-based racing car designer. Most of the cars were delivered to independent customer teams. In some racing series, March also had its own works team. The name March was formed from the first letters of the first or last name of the founders Max Mosley , Alan Rees , Graham Coaker and Robin Herd .

Hans-Joachim Stuck in the March-F1 at the Nürburgring , training 1976
Vittorio Brambilla 1976
March-Toyota 1976 with Rudolf Dötsch on the Nürburgring
Formula 2 car March 752 at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival at the Nürburgring 2007
March 782 at the DAMC 05 Oldtimer Festival at the Nürburgring 2007
Test vehicle March 2-4-0, which was supposed to expand the concept of Tyrrell
March 2-4-0, detailed view
March 75S at the Hockenheim Historic
March 83G, Group C and IMSA sports car 1983
March-Chevrolet 707 of the CanAm series and Interseries

March Engineering as a racing car manufacturer

History of origin

March Engineering was founded in Bicester in 1969 by Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin Herd . The foundation was a reaction to the decision of the supervisory authority CSI to allow advertising on racing cars ( sponsorship ) in Formula 1 and Formula 2 from 1968 . This step made it easier for financially strong private drivers to gain access to monopostosport : It was expected that "anyone who had a designer and a sponsor could now get access to Formula 1." The March founders saw this as the trigger for an increased need for simple but competitive racing car that the established designers could not cover. Manufacturers such as Brabham , BRM , Cooper , Lotus and McLaren did not produce new vehicles for independent customers, but instead produced their racing cars exclusively for their own works team. Private drivers could only take over the used works cars after the works team had replaced them with new designs. March Engineering filled this gap: In 1970 it was the only manufacturer of freely available new vehicles for Formula 1. From 1970, March also had its own works teams for Formula 1 and 2.

The first initiative to found March Engineering came from Bernie Ecclestone . Ecclestone had been the manager of racing driver Jochen Rindt since 1967 . After a disappointing 1968 season at Brabham, Ecclestone considered building up his own Formula 1 team for Rindt, which would use a racing car specially designed for him. In January 1969, Ecclestone contacted Robin Herd, who was considered one of the best racing car designers at the time. Herd, Coaker and Rees were ready to design a Formula 1 car exclusively for Rindt. Mosley, however, who was to lead the commercial side of the project, pushed through that the racing car should also be offered for sale to independent pilots. He saw this as an opportunity to increase the profitability of the project. However, Ecclestone and Rindt saw the danger that the newly founded company would not pay enough attention to Rindt's car and turned away from the project in May 1969. Instead, Rindt stayed with Lotus, while March concentrated on the production of customer vehicles and also set up his own factory team for formulas 1 and 2. Robin Herd considered this decision to be wrong retrospectively: “If we had worked with Bernie and Jochen, we would only have had to build one or two Formula 1 cars for 1970 instead of eleven. Then I could have designed a more ambitious vehicle instead of the (technically mediocre) March 701 ”.

Designer for many formulas

March Engineering operated on a multi-track basis in the first few years. A major pillar was the production of racing cars in various racing classes, which were sold to customer teams or to independent competitors, and occasionally also rented out. March Engineering also ran its own racing team in Formula 1 , which Max Mosley managed. Here March competed as a works team with customer teams who also used March cars. In smaller racing classes March did not always have its own racing team; in Formula 2, for example, this was only the case until 1982. March also regularly selected a particularly efficient customer team that received factory status. In Formula 2 , for example, this was the Onyx Grand Prix from 1983 , a little later in Formula 3000 the Italian team First Racing .

March vehicles were distributed in large numbers: in the first 20 years of its existence alone, the company produced almost 1,500 racing cars.

The versatility of the company ensured that March Engineering was active and successful on many occasions and in many classes. On the other hand, the development and production department was overwhelmed early on with the task of building different racing cars for different classes. For Robin Herd , Formula 2 was of paramount importance anyway, as there was money to be earned here from numerous customer teams. This meant that the elaborate Formula 1 was increasingly neglected. Soon the cars used in Formula 1 were nothing more than derivatives of the respective Formula 2 vehicles. March did not do justice to the importance of Formula 1, which was particularly evident in the team's declining success in this racing class.

Little by little, the founding members got out. Max Mosley left the company at the end of 1977 after the Formula 1 involvement had resulted in less and less success. In 1981, only Robin Herd remained of the original founders, who mainly concentrated on Formula 2.

March produced racing cars for Formula 3 until 1988. This was followed by a merger with Ralt, who were more successful in this class with more modern know-how. The merger was of no use in the end; In the 1990s, March was completely ousted by Dallara in Formula 3 . The development in Formula 3000 was similar. From 1990 onwards, Reynard's cars clearly dominated; In 1991 almost the entire field of Formula 3000 drove with Reynard vehicles. March then withdrew from this area as well.

Robin Herd had already separated from March Engineering in 1988. He founded a new company that produced, among other things, Formula 1 vehicles for the Larrousse team from 1991 to 1994 .

Nomenclature and system of the model name

In the first few months after it was founded, the company operated under the name Gremshek Engineering. The term Gremshek was based on a saying by Jochen Rindt, who wanted to express the dubious prospects of success of the project. Gremshek Engineering was entered in the commercial register in September 1969, and Herd's first racing car, the March 693 designed for Formula 3 , was initially announced as Gremshek 693 that same month. A little later the company was named March Engineering. March was an acronym, formed from the first letters of the names of the founders ( M osley, A lan R ees, C oaker, H erd).

The designation of the vehicles from March Engineering followed a system that was only broken in a few cases:

  • March cars usually had a three-digit type code. The first two digits denoted the year in which the car was designed, the last digit stood for the formula for which it was designed. A March 701 was therefore a car built in 1970 for Formula 1, a March 712 was a Formula 2 car from 1971, a March 733 was a Formula 3 car from 1973, etc. Some racing cars also had an X or a G in the appendix; this marked special further developments. Sports prototypes of the European sports car championship and the sports car world championship have the suffix S. With the exception of the vehicles developed in the Group C era which received a G throughout. The ending C has been reserved for the monopostos of the CART series.
  • The nomenclature was changed for the Formula 3000 cars: the cars intended for this purpose regularly had a B as a distinguishing feature (March 85B etc.) according to the year specification.
  • The March 87P occupied a special position . This was a car built in 1987 for the Formula 3000 (i.e. a March 87B), which was converted as a one-off for a one-time use in Formula 1.
  • Another special vehicle was the March 2-4-0. It was a one-off from 1977. It took up the idea of ​​a racing car with three axles (and six wheels), which had been realized by Tyrrell the year before. Unlike the Tyrrell P34, the March 2-4-0 had one front and two rear axles. The six-wheel car was never used in a Formula 1 race. Roy Lane occasionally used it in hill climbs and was able to win with it repeatedly in difficult weather conditions.

The March works team in Formula 1

The March engineering era

March Engineering had its own team in Formula 1 between 1970 and 1977. The works team was mostly, but not always, reported under the name of March Engineering. In addition, it was common at that time to have a pilot driving for the works team who brought his own sponsor with him under the name of this sponsor. In 1970, for example, a March 701 appeared with Mario Andretti for the “STP Corporation” team. Andretti actually moved a car belonging to the March works team, the use of which was also organized by the works team; the different name should only give the sponsor validity. There were other examples of this process, which sometimes caused confusion, up until 1976.

March was one of the teams that discovered young talent but couldn't keep them. These talented drivers who later left the March team and became Grand Prix stars included Niki Lauda , who moved to BRM and then to Scuderia Ferrari; also Ronnie Peterson and François Cevert , who tragically died in training for the US Grand Prix in 1973 .

1970

In the first Formula 1 season March had to compete against established teams such as Lotus , Brabham , BRM , Ferrari and Tyrrell . The March 701 was a compact, conventional car with a special technical feature: an "inverted" aircraft wing profile was attached to the side of the racing car for aerodynamics, which should bring more downforce (and was actually a forerunner of the "wing cars" from the late 1970s ). The 701 was equipped with a Cosworth DFV engine. The factory team's budget was very tight. Chris Amon and Jo Siffert were registered as drivers, and the works team also used a car for Mario Andretti for individual races , although he started under the name of his sponsor STP Corporation .

Chris Amon drove a few second and third places in the 1970 season, but could not win a World Championship run. There was a start-to-finish victory for Chris Amon at the BRDC International Trophy in Silverstone; however, this race was not part of the world championship.

The best results with a March were not achieved by the works team, but by the customer team Tyrrell , which fielded a March 701 in the first half of the season, Tyrrell's driver Jackie Stewart was on pole position when the 701 was first used at the South African Grand Prix and was in the race Third party; the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix , was won by Stewart. Tyrrell later used a proprietary design. However, Tyrrell's results were credited to March Engineering in the constructors 'championship, so March was already third in the constructors' championship in his first Formula 1 season, behind Lotus and Ferrari , but ahead of Brabham , McLaren and BRM .

Andrea de Adamich 1971 in March 711 with an Alfa Romeo engine
Front wing of March 711

1971

Although the budget was very tight, Robin Herd was able to build a new car for 1971, the March 711, in collaboration with Frank Costin . It caused a special stir with its oval front wing. The works team started under the name “STP March Racing Team” and fielded Ronnie Peterson , Andrea de Adamich and Àlex Soler-Roig , later Nanni Galli joined as fourth driver. A Cosworth DFV eight-cylinder was regularly provided as the engine . In some European races, however, some of the three works marches were equipped with an eight-cylinder Alfa Romeo that was taken from the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 sports car. March-Alfa drivers were Nanni Galli, Andrea de Adamich and sometimes Ronnie Peterson. The Alfa-powered March crossed the finish line only three times; World Cup points were not achieved.

Overall, the March team was unable to cope financially and logistically with the use of four works vehicles and two different drive concepts. The fact that the team was able to collect a total of 33 World Championship points is largely due to the committed commitment of Ronnie Peterson. He achieved a total of four second places, but could not take a win. Peterson narrowly missed victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza when he crossed the finish line just 0.01 seconds behind Peter Gethin on a BRM .

1972

In 1972, the factory team was led by Max Mosley and Robin Herd after Alan Rees switched to Shadow and Graham Coaker had a fatal accident. This season, the STP March Racing Team with Ronnie Peterson and Niki Lauda competed as factory drivers. The works team fielded a conventional March 721 in the first races of the season . This was a model that March intended primarily for customer teams. A modified version with the type designation 721X was planned for the company's own works team, but it was not ready for use until the third race of the year, the Spanish Grand Prix in Jarama. The 721X used the monocoque of the conventional 721, but had a significantly different suspension geometry. The rear springs were hinged high and operated by cranks and levers. Robin Herd also had the new car built with a gearbox supplied by Alfa Romeo on the advice of Peterson . This moved the engine more into the middle of the car. The aim of the measures was to concentrate the vehicle weight in the middle of the car. The new weight distribution was not suitable for the Goodyear tires now in use . The concept of the 721X turned out to be highly problematic in practice. The vehicle could hardly be set up, it overloaded the front tires and reacted on the track with considerable oversteer.

The March 721X should finally make its big break in the 1972 season, but exactly the opposite happened. The complicated car proved to be a failure in the first races, because Peterson was even faster with the simpler customer version 721G, which was borrowed from a private driver . The problems couldn't be solved because Peterson was a very talented driver but couldn't set up the cars perfectly. So he made some friends with the car himself; Niki Lauda, ​​on the other hand, described the March 721X as impassable after a first attempt.

In the following years March developed a simpler model, the March 721G. Technically, it had little to do with the 721X, rather it was based on the successful Formula 2 car March 722, the basic design of which had only been adapted to the needs of Formula 1. Since the 721G, all Formula 1 cars from March to the 771 have been mere modifications of the Formula 2 models. The addition “G” on the 721G refers to the Guinness Book of Records . March received an entry here for the 721G, as the car had been developed in the record time of just nine days. The first 721G was delivered to the private team of Mike Beuttler on the occasion of the Monaco Grand Prix; from the French Grand Prix , the works drivers Lauda and Peterson also received a 721G. Peterson finished third in the German Grand Prix with the 721G . He scored a total of 12 championship points for the works team, Lauda did not score a championship point. March Engineering finished the season in sixth place in the constructors' championship (12 points from works driver Peterson, 3 championship points from private drivers).

At the end of the year the drivers left the team. Niki Lauda went to BRM , Ronnie Peterson to Lotus . March Engineering and the works team ended the season with financial difficulties. The decision to build three fundamentally different vehicles for Formula 1 in one year - 721, 721X and 721G - had put a heavy strain on the company. The prospects for the 1973 season were therefore not good.

After the end of the 1972 season, a number of important comrades-in-arms left the company in addition to the drivers: Team manager Alan Rees founded the Shadow Racing Cars racing team together with Don Nichols .

1973

In 1973, the works team was in a difficult organizational and financial situation. With Jean-Pierre Jarier there was only one works driver, who was replaced by Henri Pescarolo and Roger Williamson at individual races . Williamson, however, was killed in an accident at the Dutch Grand Prix .

It is true that a car with a new designation was reported with the model 731. In fact, it was a slightly modified 721G. A works car was eventually sold to the Hesketh Racing team , who used it with James Hunt during the season . Hunt finished second in the US Grand Prix , a rain race. These championship points, which were attributed to March Engineering in the constructors' championship, were a major factor in March being able to finish the year as the fifth best constructor.

1974

For the 1974 season, the familiar design was modified once more. The Formula 1 cars were now called March 741, and after the sponsor STP had withdrawn, the team started again under the name March Engineering. Hans-Joachim Stuck and Howden Ganley were registered as factory drivers , but for financial reasons the latter was replaced after two races by Vittorio Brambilla, who brought generous sponsorship money from Beta Utensili. Stuck, who also drove a March in Formula 2 , drove the entire season, with the exception of the Swedish Grand Prix , where local hero Reine Wisell drove in his place once . Stuck scored five championship points, Brambilla one. As a result, March Engineering finished the championship in 1974 in ninth place. Stuck, however, had made a considerable impression through his assignments for March. His success in Formula 2 at the sold out Hockenheimring earned him the unofficial title of King of Hockenheim .

1975

The 1975 season began with the works team, now called “Beta Team March”, with Vittorio Brambilla and a March 751 , which was a further modification of the contemporary Formula 2 cars from March. From the third race of the season, Brambilla was replaced by Lella Lombardi . Since the Grand Prix of Great Britain, Hans-Joachim Stuck drove for March again, so that the works team fielded three vehicles in the second half of the season. Lella Lombardi finished sixth in the Spanish Grand Prix . This made her the first woman to score a world championship point in a Formula 1 world championship race, although this number was halved due to the fact that the race was prematurely stopped by Rolf Stommelen after an accident .

Brambilla also drove committed races. At the Grand Prix of Sweden , he scored the pole position and led the race until the brakes subsided. A little later Brambilla won the rain race at the Austrian Grand Prix in Zeltweg. This marked the first victory for a March employed by the factory in a Formula 1 world championship run. Since the race was stopped prematurely, the team only received half the number of points. Overall, March finished the season with 7.5 points as eighth in the constructors' championship. That corresponded to almost a tenth of the points that the winner in the constructors' championship, Scuderia Ferrari , had achieved.

March 761, 1976 season

1976

For the 1976 season, Robin Herd created the March 761, a largely modified car that was used by many customer teams well beyond 1976. In the works team, Vittorio Brambilla drove another season; he was reported with the "Beta Team March". In the first race, Lella Lombardi appeared at his side, but she was replaced in the second race by Ronnie Peterson , who returned to the team and was reported as “March Engineering”. Hans-Joachim Stuck drove a third car (also for “March Engineering”), and Arturo Merzario drove the fourth works March, which was reported for the “Ovoro Team March”. Ronnie Peterson achieved the best results for the works team. He led in a few races over the course of the season, but often retired with mechanical problems. His victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza was significant for the team .

1977

1977 was to be the last season for the March Engineering works team. Alex Ribeiro and Ian Scheckter , Jody Scheckter's brother , were named as drivers . Hans-Joachim Stuck also drove a single race . As far as possible, the team used vehicles of the type 761B, modified vehicles from the previous year, which, in conjunction with Goodyear tires, exhibited problems with setting up and vehicle balance. At the Belgian Grand Prix , a March 771 appeared for the first time, a one-off that made no impression and was withheld in subsequent races in favor of the 761B. From the Dutch Grand Prix , Scheckter consistently moved the March 771, while Ribeiro stayed with the 761B. Overall, the team was unable to achieve a single World Cup point this season. It was the worst year for the March factory team. The Italian racing driver Arturo Merzario, who this year drove a vehicle known as the March 761B for his private team - actually it was a March 751 that had subsequently received the body parts of the 761B - was often significantly faster than the factory until the summer of 1977 -March and repeatedly entered the race ahead of the factory drivers.

At the beginning of the year, March Engineering had still developed the March 2-40. Similar to Williams F1 , March tried in the mid-1970s to copy the temporarily successful concept of the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 . The March 2-4-0 1977 changed while the idea as well as Patrick Head from: Instead of a double arm front axle as a double Tyrrell should drive axle the traction improved. With the regulation-related ban on three vehicle axles, this innovation , which at least at Williams knew how to convince in tests, was done .

At the end of the season, Max Mosley, the previous head of the Formula 1 works team, left March Engineering. He was involved with the Formula One Constructors Association with Bernie Ecclestone . The March racing stable was closed and the ATS Racing Team took over essential parts of the equipment. Robin Herd then designed the ATS HS1 for the German team, a racing car that was still based on the structures of the Penske PC4 and competed with the ATS in many races of the 1978 season. In the following years, March Engineering concentrated on the production of racing cars for smaller classes.

1978

From the 1978 season, March Engineering no longer made a factory appearance in the Formula 1 World Championship. Robin Herd had developed a car called the March 781 . This car was only used by RAM Racing for Guy Edwards in the Aurora series, a British championship according to Formula 1 regulations . RAM considered using the car at the British Grand Prix of the Formula 1 World Championship; However, for financial reasons, it did not come of this.

1981: The cooperation with RAM

In the 1981 season, the name March appeared again for the first time in the Formula 1 World Championship. However, legally and organizationally, this project had nothing to do with March Engineering. Rather, it was a joint venture between the British racing team RAM Racing and March Grand Prix , an independent company founded by Robin Herd especially for this purpose. The aim of the project was to establish the RAM (Motorsport) racing team, which has been a private team for many years, permanently in Formula 1. March Grand Prix developed its own Formula 1 car for this purpose, which was essentially designed by Adrian Reynard and which was considerably similar to the Williams FW07. The car was built by March Engines , another independent company owned by Robin Herd. The finished cars, bearing the name RAM-March 811 , were then delivered to RAM Racing, where racing was independently organized and carried out in the 1981 season. The collaboration between RAM Racing and March ended after just one year. The cars were still called RAM-March until 1983, but have been fully developed and built by RAM Racing since 1982. For details see RAM Racing.

1987 to 1991: The Leyton House Era

Long-time pilot for March / Leyton House: Ivan Capelli

Another involvement in Formula 1 began in 1987. Shortly after the project began, the racing team was taken over by the previous sponsor, Leyton-House. Leyton House was a Japanese publishing company led by Akira Akagi. During this time the team was able to show some impressive performances. On the one hand, they were due to solid funding from Leyton House; on the other hand, the team's designers repeatedly succeeded in developing powerful cars. Until 1990, Adrian Newey responsible for the development of the race car, from the summer of 1990 took over Gustav Brunner technical responsibility.

1987

The initiative for re-entry into Formula 1 came from Robin Herd. The background to this was the expectation that the ban on turbo engines that came into effect in 1989 should make running a Formula 1 team more cost-effective. A number of other companies shared this view and also formed a Formula 1 team in the late 1980s. These included, for example, AGS , Coloni , Larrousse , as well as the British racing car manufacturer Lola , which cooperated with Larrousse for a number of years, and the Italian competitor Dallara , which worked with BMS Scuderia Italia (BMS / Brescia Motorsport).

For the first race of the 1987 season, Robin Herd's planned Formula 1 car was not yet ready; the team therefore used the March 87P model once in Brazil . It was a car that had been designed for Formula 3000 and only superficially adapted to Formula 1 regulations. From the second race of the season in Imola, the new Formula 1 model 871 was available. The driver was Ivan Capelli , who had been active at AGS the previous year. The season was - measured by the standards of a new team - quite successful; March closed the year, which was still dominated by the turbo teams, with a championship point as an equal eleventh in the constructors' championship.

1988

During the 1988 season, March used Judd's new CV engine , and the March 881 developed by Newey turned out to be a stroke of luck. In the last season for the time being, in which turbo engines were still allowed, it was regularly the fastest naturally aspirated vehicle in the field, and Capelli and Maurício Gugelmin , who was added as the second driver, were able to regularly convert this performance into points or even podium positions. The highlight was Capelli's second place at the Grand Prix of Portugal , in which Capelli also had the best qualifying result of the year with third place on the grid. March finished the season with a total of 22 points in 6th place in the constructors' championship. Of the competition with naturally aspirated engines, only Benetton with the factory Cosworth DFR used there was better; conversely, March was able to narrowly beat the Williams team, which had competed with the same engine and the constructors' champions of the previous year.

During the break between the 1988 and 1989 seasons, Cesare Gariboldi , the previous race director of the team and manager of Ivan Capelli, was killed in a traffic accident. The team paid him tribute by including his initials CG in vehicle designations in the years that followed.

1989

The March CG891 , which was newly developed for the following season in 1989 and which used Judd's new EV motor, was only available from the third race, but could not match the previous year's performance. Although there was a certain potential with some good qualifying results like Capelli's fourth place on the grid in Mexico , the races lacked reliability above all. Capelli and Gugelmin retired a total of 19 times with this type of vehicle, mainly due to problems with the engine, the transmission, the power transmission or the electronics. The French Grand Prix was particularly painful when Capelli suffered an engine failure while in second position. Gugelmin scored the only points of the season with his third place at the season opener in Brazil , in which March had started with the successful car from last year. With only four points, March fell back to 12th place in the constructors' championship at the end of the season.

The former Ferrari designer Gustav Brunner joined the team towards the end of the 1989 season .

1990

From 1990 the team operated under the name Leyton House, and Akagi invested a lot of money in the team, which subsequently achieved some positive results. The Leyton House CG901 vehicle used this season , which in turn relied on an evolutionary stage of the Judd engine, was considered aerodynamically advanced, but was very sensitive and sometimes difficult to control. Capelli and Gugelmin, who contested their third season together, failed several times in qualifying in the first half of the season. On the other hand, however, the team almost achieved a sensation at the French Grand Prix : The complete renunciation of pit stops for tire changes brought Capelli and Gugelmin to a one-two lead in the meantime. However, Gugelmin later retired with engine failure and Capelli was eventually overtaken by Alain Prost . After that, however, the results were only mediocre, and towards the end of the season the reliability declined again. Nevertheless, the team's seven points with 7th place in the constructors' championship meant an improvement over the previous year.

1991

Ivan Capelli in March 911 at the 1991 USA Grand Prix.

Before the 1991 season, Leyton House had to cope with the departure of Adrian Newey, who was poached by the Williams team and was there, under the technical direction of Patrick Head, to be largely responsible for ensuring that Williams had four drivers and four drivers between 1992 and 1997 was able to win five constructor titles. The new vehicle, the Leyton House CG911 , was therefore developed by Brunner and the previously u. a. for Zakspeed make Chris Murphy developed. The team placed great trust in the new 2175A ten-cylinder engine from Ilmor , which was developed by Mario Ilien and Paul Morgan exclusively on behalf of Leyton House. Overall, however, March did not show any constant performance, although Capelli, Gugelmin and Karl Wendlinger, who was used instead of Capelli in the last two races of the season for financial reasons , were able to qualify for every race. The engine and transmission were problematic in terms of their reliability and handling, so that regular target arrivals were only reached towards the end of the season. The only points classification of the season was achieved by Capelli with a 6th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix .

Economic difficulties also had an impact on this sporting form, which led to a change in ownership of the racing team. In September 1991 Akira Akagi was arrested in Japan on suspicion of fraud. Akagi was part of a Fuji Bank financial scandal that rocked Japan in 1991. In the following weeks Akagi renounced his shares in the Leyton House racing team. After Akagi's arrest, the team stood on their own two feet, but had a weak financial base. The team was taken over by the British Leyton House representative Ken Marrable and the Dutchman Henny Vollenberg. At the end of 1991 Akagi had ceded the rights to the Ilmor engine that had previously been with him to the March team. The team management financed the upcoming season mainly by selling back the rights to Ilmor. During this time, day-to-day business was largely taken over by Gustav Brunner, who joined the team in October 1989 as a designer.

March F1: Self employment and economic problems

1992

In the 1992 season, the team reappeared under the name March F1 for the first time since 1987. The vehicles from the previous year were reported as cars. Gustav Brunner had begun developing a new model called the CG921; the work had to be stopped due to a lack of funding. In the course of the season, the vehicles had to be repaired again and again, whereby Gustav Brunner proceeded with a lot of imagination: For example, a damaged underbody for which there was no replacement was repaired several times with filler. The team's drivers were initially Karl Wendlinger and the Frenchman Paul Belmondo , the son of the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo . Both drivers brought money; Wendlinger, for example, financed his operations with advances on his salary for the 1993 season, which he received from the Sauber F1 Team . Karl Wendlinger achieved the team's best result with fourth place at the Canadian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, for financial reasons, he was later replaced by the Dutchman Jan Lammers , who drove his last Formula 1 race with Theodore Racing in 1982 . Paul Belmondo was less successful. He was only able to qualify five times in 11 attempts and did not score any World Championship points. From the Belgian Grand Prix he was replaced by the Italian debutant Emanuele Naspetti , who also did not achieve any countable results. A special feature was that March F1 brought the name Rial back into Formula 1 in the summer of 1992 , as a sponsor of the team, which was posted on the side pods.

1993

For 1993, Henny Vollenberg tried to get the team started again. The team registered in time for the world championship and received start numbers 17 (for Jan Lammers ) and 18 (for Jean-Marc Gounon ). However, there was a lack of financial resources and, above all, the infrastructure. Gustav Brunner switched to Minardi at the beginning of the 1993 season. There were no new cars - Brunner's design for a CG931 was only on paper, although many of his ideas were later realized as the Minardi M193 - and the engines were also missing. Before new engines were delivered, Ilmor insisted on paying bills due from the previous year. Nevertheless, March F1 shipped the cars - old 911 models - as well as the remaining material to South Africa for the opening race. Lammers and Gounon also appeared on site. However, there were still no engines available and the team management did not have enough money to sell the material at South African customs. Therefore, March F1 closed its doors in March 1993. The team was liquidated in September 1993, most of the equipment went to Vollenberg's Formula 3000 team called Vortex.

The private teams

March built so-called customer cars in every racing class - including Formula 1 - i.e. H. Vehicles that were taken over by private racing drivers or independent teams and used independently. Such private teams were still common in the early 1970s, later they were reduced considerably, and after 1982 there were no longer any private Formula 1 teams represented. Most private teams only drove individual races.

1970

  • Tyrrell fielded a March 701 for Jackie Stewart in the first races of the 1970 season before their own cars were available. Stewart won the second race of the season.

1971

  • Frank Williams Racing Cars initially fielded a March 701B in the first races of 1971 and later, with the start of the European World Championship races, a March 711 with Cosworth DFV eight-cylinder, before the own car, which bore the name of the sponsor Politoys , was completed was. The team's driver was Henri Pescarolo . The March 701 was entered again at the French Grand Prix, this time for the local driver Jean Max.
  • The South African team Gunston occasionally used a March 701 for John Love . The team also had a private Brabham BT26 that was driven by local hero Jackie Pretorius at the South African Grand Prix .
  • Gene Mason Racing fielded a March 711 for Skip Barber at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Dutch Grand Prix, the Canadian Grand Prix and the US Grand Prix. Barber could not qualify either; in Canada, however, he moved up to the starting field because two qualified drivers could not take part in the race due to engine damage. Barber retired after 15 laps even with engine failure.
  • At the French Grand Prix, the Jo Siffert Racing Team reported a March 710 for Francois Mazet, who qualified third from bottom and crossed the finish line last, 5 laps behind.
  • The pilot Mike Beuttler reported a March 711 for his private team, named after the sponsors Clarke -Mordaunt-Guthrie , for some races in the 1971 season.
  • A team by the name of Shell Arnold reported a March 701 for Jean-Pierre Jarier for the Italian Grand Prix. Jarier was the last to qualify for the race and finished last, 8 laps behind. Because of the large backlog, he was not rated.

1974

  • Hesketh Racing fielded a March 731 in the first races of the season for James Hunt and Ian Scheckter in 1974 before their own 308s , designed by Harvey Postlethwaite , were ready to go.
  • Team Dempster International competed in the 1974 British Grand Prix with Mike Wilds and a March 731. Wilds was second to last in qualifying and could not qualify for the race.

1975

  • The Penske team temporarily used a March 751 for Mark Donohue after their own PC01 vehicles had proven to be non-competitive. The March 751 was the car in which Donohue crashed during warm-up for the 1975 Grand Prix due to a tire failure. Donohue died of his injuries a few days later. The team did not use the March 751 again afterwards.
A March 761 in the 1977 paint scheme used by Williams .

1977

  • The team Williams Grand Prix Engineering contested the 1977 season throughout with a March 761. In the team, there was a new foundation from the late 1976, which is not the same as in 1969 by Frank Williams operated until 1976 team Frank Williams Racing cars . Frank Williams had sold his original racing team to Walter Wolf in 1976 , who had renamed it Walter Wolf Racing from 1977 . Frank Williams initially operated the start-up as a customer team; The driver was the Belgian Patrick Nève , who a year later was associated with the Willi Kauhsen Racing Team . Williams used a car called March 761. In the biography "Frank Williams - the man behind the cars" by Maurice Hamilton, Frank Williams indicates that the car was a March 741 built in 1974 and used several times since then, which was subsequently brought up to the level of the 1976 model was.
  • The racing driver Brett Lunger privately used a March 761 in 1977 in a number of European races in 1977. The team was initially called Chesterfield Racing , but was renamed BS Fabrications after a sponsorship change . BS Fabrications later ran its own racing team and was considering building its own car for 1981, which was to be used with Riccardo Zunino in the Formula 1 World Championship.
March 761 in the livery of the RAM Racing team from summer 1977
  • RAM Racing fielded two March 761s in succession for Boy Hayje, Michael Blekemolen, Mikko Kozarowitsky and Andy Sutcliff in the European races of the Formula 1 season. Usually the drivers could not qualify. An exception was Boy Hayje's assignment at the Belgian Grand Prix, where he was the last to start and the last to cross the finish line. With a gap of seven laps, he was not classified.
  • Arturo Merzario used a March 761B in 1977 for his private team that competed in individual European World Championship races. The March 761B served as the template for Merzario's car Merzario A1, presented in 1978, of which two examples were allegedly made. In fact, only the Merzario A1 / 01 was a newly built car; the Merzario A1 / 02, on the other hand, was the March 761 used in 1977, which had only undergone a few external changes and was otherwise given a new name.
  • In the 1982 season, Onyx Grand Prix fielded a March 822 for the Spanish privateer Emilio de Villota in five European cars . In fact, the car was a car that, apart from its name, had nothing to do with March Engineering; rather, it was another car made by RAM (Motorsport). This was the last time a private car was used in the history of Formula 1.

March racing cars for other series

Formula 3

In the 1970s and 1980s, the Formula 3 vehicles from March were represented and successful in almost all national racing series as well as in the European championships. At the end of the 1981 season, March stopped the production of Formula 3 vehicles after Michele Alboreto and Mauro Baldi had recently become Formula 3 European champions in March vehicles (each used by the Italian Euroracing team ). Racing cars for this class were then mainly manufactured by Dallara and Ralt , even if older March models were still being launched by private drivers well into the 1980s. At the beginning of 1988 March took over the rival company Ralt, with which it again served Formula 3.

Formula 2

A March 822 for Formula 2, used in 1982 by the March works team for Christian Danner .

Between 1970 and 1984, March presented new types of racing cars for Formula 2 every year, which were used by their own works team (until 1982), but were also delivered to countless customer teams. Numerous cars were passed on from team to team and were sometimes in use for years. When it comes to equipping customer teams, March primarily competed with Lola and Ralt ; Smaller manufacturers such as AGS , Maurer , Spirit or Toleman , who occasionally also sold vehicles to private drivers, only played a subordinate role in the chassis sector.

March's vehicles were extremely successful in Formula 2. A number of drivers won the championship with March racing cars:

Formula 3000

March 85B

After the end of Formula 2, March also produced cars for the Formula 3000 European Championship, which began in 1985. Competitors here were again Lola and Ralt; From 1990 the series was then dominated by Reynard , so that from 1992 no other vehicle type - and thus no March - could be found in the Formula 3000. From 1996 Lola produced the standard chassis for the Formula 3000.

The following drivers won the championships in a March vehicle:

Champ Car Series

In the 1980s, Robin Herd concentrated more intensively on the American cart series , where March won the Indianapolis 500 five times in a row :

Data for the F1

  • Founded: 1970 by Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin Herd
  • Last race: Australian GP 1992
  • GP stakes: 230
  • Pole positions: 5
  • Wins: 3
  • Points: 173.5
  • First win: GP Spain 1970 ( Jackie Stewart , who did not compete for the works team, but the Tyrrell customer team)
  • Last win: Italian GP 1976 ( Ronnie Peterson )
  • Fastest race laps: 7
  • First fastest race lap: Belgian GP 1970 ( Chris Amon )
  • Last fastest race lap: French GP 1989 ( Maurício Gugelmin )

literature

Web links

Commons : March Engineering  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend . MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 , p. 11.
  2. ↑ On sponsoring: Adriano Cimarosti: Das Jahrhundert des Rennsports , Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9 , p. 212.
  3. ↑ a b David Hodges: Rennwagen from A – Z after 1945 , Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 158.
  4. ^ David Hodges: AZ of Grand Prix Cars 1906-2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , p. 144.
  5. ^ A b Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend . MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 , p. 17.
  6. ↑ Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend . MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7 , p. 18.
  7. ^ Hodges: Racing cars from AZ from 1945, p. 164.
  8. ^ Denis Jenkinson: Formula One scene: Monte Carlo. The eleven year plan . In: Motor Sport . June 1989 ( motorsportmagazine.com [accessed February 6, 2019]).
  9. ↑ Brunner started working for March on the occasion of the Japanese Grand Prix in 1989 after his contract with Zakspeed expired. See Motorsport Aktuell, issue 44/1989, p. 8.
  10. ↑ auto motor und sport, issue 22/1989, p. 306.