Merzario A2

Merzario A2

Constructor:	Team Merzario
Designer:	Giorgio Piola Arturo Merzario
Predecessor:	Merzario A1
Successor:	Merzario A3
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Aluminum monocoque
Engine:	Cosworth DFV V8
Wheelbase:	2420
Weight:	595 kg
Tires:	Goodyear
statistics
Driver:	Arturo Merzario
First start:	1979 Argentina Grand Prix
Last start:	1979 US Grand Prix West
Starts Victories Poles SR 2 - - -
World Cup points:	-
Podiums:	-
Leadership laps:	-
Status: end of season 1979

The Merzario A2 was a Formula 1 racing car from the Italian racing team Team Merzario from the 1979 season . The nomenclature is inconsistent; as an alternative to the name A2, the car is sometimes also called the Merzario A1B . The A2, which is closely related to its predecessor A1, was a transitional model that was only entered for four races, but only started twice. The A2 was the last racing car designed by Merzario that was able to qualify for a Formula 1 world championship run.

background

The Italian racing driver Arturo Merzario competed as a works driver in Formula 1 for Scuderia Ferrari , for Frank Williams Racing Cars and finally for March Engineering from 1972 to 1976 . After March had not renewed the contract with Merzario at the end of 1976, he founded his own team in the Lombardy municipality of Carate Brianza , which started in 1977 with a customer vehicle from March. The car was registered as March 761B (chassis number 761B / 2), but - contrary to what its name suggested - according to general opinion it was actually an older March, which was built in either 1976 or 1975. When March ended his Formula 1 involvement at the end of 1977, there was no longer any support for customer vehicles. In order to be able to continue to compete in Formula 1, Merzario then decided to build his own racing car. His first model was the Merzario A1, which was created in two copies. The first example, called A1 / 1, was technically a replica of the March 761B, but had its own body. The second car (A1 / 2) used the unchanged monocoque from Merzario's old March 761B, on which the body of the A1 / 1 was placed. Both versions of the A1 were unsuccessful. In 1978 there were only eight qualifications, but no finish. The vehicles were poorly maintained and regularly broke down during the races due to technical defects.

The A1 was technically out of date. Since 1978, the dominance of cars with Groundeffect was foreseeable. The A1, the technical design of which went back to 1975, did not meet these requirements. For the 1979 season, Merzario therefore had its own Groundeffect car developed, which was announced as the Merzario A3 . The operational readiness of this model was delayed until spring 1979. Merzario contested the first races of the season, which began in January, with the A2, which was closely related to the A1 and was an interim model.

technology

The Merzario A2 was identical to the A1 / 2 of the previous year, so it used the monocoque of the March 761B (chassis number 761B / 2) manufactured in 1975 or 1976. There were only a few technical changes. This included an additional cooler in the area of ​​the vehicle nose. In addition, the body was revised in some areas. The side air intakes in the area of ​​the cockpit fairing were omitted, and the engine cover was slimmer than on the A1. The structure of the A2 is described as "less bulbous". As with the previous model, it was powered by an eight-cylinder naturally aspirated Cosworth (DFV) engine; the power was transmitted via a five-speed transmission from Hewland (FGA).

Livery and sponsors

After Merzario's racing car had been painted red in the previous year and then black, the A2 now had yellow as its base tone for the 1979 season. The side pods were painted black. The color scheme was reminiscent of Renault's contemporary vehicles . Sponsors were Marlboro Italia , Flor Bath and RETE.

Races

In 1979 the A2 was driven exclusively by Arturo Merzario. In qualifying for the opening race in Argentina , Merzario was more than 6 seconds slower in the A2 than the pole sitter Jacques Laffite ( Ligier ). His time was enough for 22nd place on the grid. He started the race ahead of Niki Lauda in a Brabham BT48- Alfa and before René Arnoux in a Renault RS01 . Merzario dropped out on the first lap of the race. In an attempt to avoid the collisions between Jody Scheckter ( Ferrari ), Patrick Tambay ( McLaren ), Nelson Piquet ( Brabham ) and Didier Pironi ( Tyrrell ), Merzario avoided the hard shoulder. In the process, he lost control of his car and damaged the A2 so badly that it could no longer be repaired for the restart, which took place after the crashed vehicles had been removed. In the following races in South Africa and Brazil , Merzario failed to qualify in the A2.

Merzario's Groundeffect A3 made its debut at the fourth race of the season in Long Beach , California . Arturo Merzario used the A3 in qualification training and achieved a time that was enough for 24th place on the grid. During practice, however, the A3 suffered a suspension damage on the uneven Long Beach Grand Prix Circuit , the short-term repair of which was considered too risky. Merzario therefore contested the race again in the interim model A2. On the 14th lap an engine failure led to the failure. After that, the A2 no longer started.

Results

driver	No.	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	Points	rank
Automobile World Championship 1979																	0	-
A. Merzario	24	DNF	DNQ	DNQ	DNF

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• Adriano Cimarosti: The century of racing , Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-613-01848-9
• David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2
• David Hodges: Racing Cars from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7
• Mike Lawrence: March, The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend , MRP, Orpington 2001, ISBN 1-899870-54-7
• Pierre Ménard: La Grande Encyclopédie de la Formule 1 , 2nd edition, St. Sulpice, 2000, ISBN 2-940125-45-7
• Doug Nye: The Big Book of Formula 1 Racing Cars. The three-liter formula from 1966 . Publishing house Rudolf Müller, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-481-29851-X .

Web links

• Racing history of the Merzario A2 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (referred to there as A1B / 1)

Remarks

1. ↑ This is to be distinguished from the Merzario A1 / 1B. It is a slightly modified version of the Merzario A1 / 1 used in the 1978 season, which made its debut at the 1978 French Grand Prix.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Summary of the history of Team Merzario on the website www.f1rejects.com (archived version), accessed on October 24, 2017.
2. ^ ^{A b} David Hodges: A – Z of Grand Prix Cars 1906–2001 , 2001 (Crowood Press), ISBN 1-86126-339-2 , p. 170.
3. ↑ Racing history of the car on the website www.oldracingcars.com , accessed on October 24, 2017.
4. ↑ Overview of the individual copies of the March 761 on the website www.oldracingcars.com (accessed on October 24, 2017).
5. ↑ Doug Nye: The Big Book of Formula 1 Racing Cars. The three-liter formula from 1966 . Verlagsgesellschaft Rudolf Müller, Cologne 1986, ISBN 3-481-29851-X , p. 216.
6. ^ David Hodges: Rennwagen from A – Z after 1945 , Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 , p. 190.