SRG MT 77

Melkus
Two MT 77s in the Schleiz paddock
SRG MT 77
Production period:	1977-1982
Class :	race car
Body versions :	Monoposto
Engines:	approx. 140 hp
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :	> 420 kg

SRG MT 77 is the name of a GDR racing car construction from the 1970s. The part of the name SRG stands for “Sozialistische Renngemeinschaft”, MT for the designers Ulli Melkus and Hartmut Thaßler and 77 for the year of publication or the year of the first real racing use 1977. The racing cars were manufactured by Melkus in Dresden .

The MT 77 is partly based on previous experience with the HTS and SEG racing car designs . The aerodynamics of the body was almost revolutionary for its time and the means and possibilities available in the former GDR (the design was only once in the wind tunnel of the TU Dresden, which was actually intended for model aircraft ). The racing car was the measure of all things in Eastern European formula racing until the Soviet Estonia racers appeared in 1986. It was designed on the basis of the rules of the Easter E1300 formula . The drive was based on the modified engine of the Lada 1300, which was brought to approx. 140 hp . The transmission came from the Wartburg 311 .

The MT 77 has won almost all GDR championship titles since its appearance and has won the Cup for Peace and Friendship of the Socialist Countries several times . Successful racing drivers were z. B. Ulli Melkus and Heinz Siegert .

Over time, the construction of the body also revealed its weaknesses, for example the downforce developed over the entire surface was often too high, especially for models with springs that were too soft. Like many other things on these racing cars, the springs were by no means all available equally or at the same spring rate due to the lack of material. The downforce of the construction could only be adjusted slightly by increasing the front axle, screwing up the springs or adjusting the tip. The MT 77 was to a certain extent more susceptible to underwinds than today's designs or even than the WK82-88 or the Estonia. A serious accident caused by underwinds occurred during the GDR championship race on the Sachsenring in July 1985 , when Erhard Tatarczyk hit Gerhardt Friedrich on the “Heiterer Blick” section and was thrown up by the wheels in the opposite direction. Strengthened by the downwind, Tatarczyk's car overturned backwards. Tatarczyk died a week later from the consequences of the accident. The safety technology of the racing cars of that time in the GDR was no longer up to date and the fact that everyone helped themselves with ingenuity and relationships did the rest.

Today the MT 77 is still used in historic racing.

literature

• Hendrik Medrow: From Rennpappe, Easter & Co . HB-Werbung und Verlag, ISBN 3-00-013080-2 .
• Mike Jordan and Wolfgang Melenk: Racing legend Heinz Melkus . Verlag Delius Klasing, ISBN 3-7688-5792-1 .

Web links

• www.ddr-formel1.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ https://www.ddr-formel1.de/rennwagen/technik/rennwagen-mt-77-81.html
2. ↑ Experience report on the development by the designer Hartmut Thaßler. In: www.staatsbuergerkunde-podcast.de. Retrieved July 4, 2015 . 
3. ^ Motorsport in the GDR 1977. In: puru.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Steffen Enke, Henrik Opitz : The MT 77. Henrik Opitz car workshop and tire service, accessed on February 10, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Melkus - MT77 Formula Easter 1977. In: Melkus-Sportwagen.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
6. ↑ Overview of motorsport in the GDR and the Eastern European countries from 1978 to 1990. In: puru.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
7. ↑ Lutz Blütchen : From the post-war Formula II to the Euro Formula: "Cup for Peace and Friendship of the Socialist Countries". In: DDR-Formel1.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
8. ^ Ulrich Melkus (called Ulli Melkus). In: DDR-Formel1.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
9. ↑ Ulrich Melkus. In: Melkus-Motorsport.de. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010 ; accessed on February 10, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Heinz Siegert. In: DDR-Formel1.de. Retrieved February 10, 2015 . 
11. ↑ Erhard Tatarczyk - † July 20th, 1985. In: ddr-formel1.de. Retrieved January 17, 2018 . 
12. ↑ The current vehicle from Worm Motorsport. SRG MT 77, start number 82. (No longer available online.) Worm Motorsport, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; accessed on February 10, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.