March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better success in other categories of competition, including Formula Two, Formula Three, IndyCar and IMSA GTP sportscar racing.

March Engineering began operations in 1969. Its four founders were Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Robin Herd. The company name is an acronym of their initials. They each had a specific area of expertise: Mosley looked after the commercial side, Rees managed the racing team, Coaker oversaw production at the factory in Bicester, Oxfordshire, and Herd was the designer.

The history of March is dominated by the conflict between the need for constant development and testing to remain at the peak of competitiveness in F1 and the need to build simple, reliable cars for customers in order to make a profit. Herd's original F1 plan was to build a single-car team around Jochen Rindt, but Rindt became dismayed at the size of the March programme and elected to continue at Team Lotus.

Andrea de Adamich driving a March-Alfa Romeo 711 at the 1971 German Grand PrixDe Adamich going to practice in a March 711

March's launch was unprecedented in its breadth and impact. After building a single Formula Three car in 1969, March announced that they would be introducing customer cars for F1, F2, F3, Formula Ford and Can-Am in 1970, as well as running works F1, F2 and F3 teams.

The Formula One effort initially looked promising, with March supplying its 701 chassis to Tyrrell for Jackie Stewart. These cars were merely a stopgap for Tyrrell, who no longer had the use of Matra chassis and were in the process of constructing their own car; March was the only option available given clashing fuel contracts.

701

1970-1971

The March 701 is a Formula One racing car model, designed by Robin Herd with Peter Wright, and built by March Engineering. The 701 was March's first Formula One design – following their one-off March 693P Formula Three prototype of 1969 – and was designed and built in only three months.

The March 701 made its race debut a month after its public unveiling, at the 1970 South African Grand Prix. In total, eleven 701s were constructed, with March supplying many privateer entrants as well as their own works team.

The 701's career started well, March drivers taking three wins and three pole positions from the car's first four race entries, but lack of development through the 1970 Formula One season resulted in increasingly poor results as the year wore on. The 701 was superseded by the March 711 in 1971, and made its last World Championship race appearance at the 1971 Italian Grand Prix.

 The 701s Ford-Cosworth DFV engine was mated to a Hewland DG300 five-speed gearbox. The DFV was a 2993 cc  90° V8 engine, and in its original form developed around 430 bhp.

711

1971-1972

The March 711 was a Formula One racing car, designed by Robin Herd and Geoff Ferris, for the 1971 season, and saw continued use throughout the 1972 season. It had a distinctive appearance with a front 'tea-tray' spoiler. Despite winning no races, works driver Ronnie Peterson finished runner-up in the 1971 Drivers' World Championship.

With it’s revolutionary aerodynamic body and highly developed chassis, the MARCH 711 was one of the more influential Formula 1 cars of its era. The most eccentric feature of the bodywork was a front airfoil mounted on top of the nose that resembled the wing of a Spitfire fighter plane, a downforce-inducing component that was soon nicknamed the Spitfire (or the Tea Tray).

This important March enjoyed one more notable superlative during 1971 at the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg on 15 August. A promising young driver who was fairly new to the March-STP team was given his first chance at a Formula 1 event... That driver, the legendary NIKI LAUDA, would go on to forge an impeccable racing career, winning the Drivers’ Championship three times. Notably, chassis 711-2 is the first car that he ever drove in a Formula 1 race.

The car used a 2,993 cc Ford-Cosworth DFV V-8 engine with dual overhead camshafts and Lucas mechanical fuel injection, good for around 450 hp. A five-speed manual Hewland FG400 transaxle was used, front and rear independent suspension with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers, and four-wheel ventilated disc brakes.

After the 1971 season, three of the four works 711s were not seen again, which fed a belief that they had been used to build the early-1972 721s. However, no evidence has been found to support this theory.

731

1973-1974

The March 731 was a Formula One racing car designed by Robin Herd of March Engineering for the 1973 season which saw continued use through 1974. While unsuccessful in the hands of the works team, private entrant Hesketh Racing had some success with James Hunt driving.

Hunt finished third in the Dutch Grand Prix and second in the United States Grand Prix, and with two other finishes in the points ended up in eighth place in the World Championship. Hunt's success contributed entirely to March's fifth place in the 1973 Constructors' Championship

March had expended much time and effort in developing the previous season's 721 model, and so for 1973 they modified the existing 721G models, moving the radiator to the front and revising the bodywork.

741

1974

The March 741 is a Formula One car, designed, developed and built by March Engineering for the 1974 season, powered by a 3.0 L (180 cu in) Cosworth DFV engine. Although more successful than its predecessor, the March 731, it failed to finish any higher than fourth place.

Following the dismal performance of the previous season's 731, designer Robin Herd based the 741 on the monocoque and suspension of the 732, March's successful Formula Two car. He moved the radiators to the side and the oil cooler to the rear.

Eighteen of the twenty constructors whose cars contested the 1974 Formula One Championship built up their cars around Cosworth's mighty DFV V8 engine. (The only exceptions were Ferrari and BRM.) March mated the 741's Cosworth engine to a Hewland FG400 transaxle.

One of the most distinctive features of the 741 was its rear wing, which featured uncommonly large side plates. The wing itself wasn't particularly large.

March only built two cars for the 1974 season, but due to shunts both cars had to be rebuilt on multiple occasions. By the end of the season, Stuck's March 741 had been rebuilt on new tubs twice and Brambilla's car had been rebuilt on new tubs three times. At the time, March didn't retire serial numbers nor issue new numbers for extensively rebuilt cars.

761

1977-1978

The March 761 was a Formula One racing car designed by Robin Herd of March Engineering for the 1976 season which saw continued use in 1977. The 761 was not a new design, in fact the initial three cars were built up from the 751s which survived the 1975 season. Ronnie Peterson qualified on pole at the Dutch Grand Prix, and set fastest lap at, and won, the Italian Grand Prix.

The 761 was fast but fragile and by this point the F1 effort was being run on a shoestring with a two-car 'works' effort featuring Peterson and Hans-Joachim Stuck, the cars tending to turn up in different liveries as race-by-race sponsorship deals were signed.

For 1977, the works cars were upgraded and referred to as 761B. A token F1 effort with Rothmans sponsorship was run in 1977 for Alex Ribeiro and Ian Scheckter, but nothing worthwhile was achieved.

At the end of the 1977 season, the F1 team's assets and FOCA membership were sold to ATS (who had bought the Penske cars); Herd was retained by them as a consultant and was hence in the curious position of developing a development of his own 1975 car - and the 1978 ATS had some features reminiscent of contemporary March thinking. Mosley left the company to concentrate on FOCA matters.

811

1981

The March 811 is a Formula One car built by March Engineering and used by RAM Racing in the 1981 Formula One World Championship. Designed by Robin Herd, Gordon Coppuck, and Adrian Reynard, it was powered by the traditional 3.0 L (180 cu in) Ford-Cosworth DFV V8 engine. It initially used Michelin tyres, but eventually switched to Avon tyres at the 1981 French Grand Prix. It was March's first Formula One car since 1977.

RAM initially only competed sporadically. In 1976, 1977, and 1980 it used race cars from other manufacturers such as Brabham, March and Williams, which were purchased or rented, as a pure customer team at selected Grand Prix events.

Conceptually, the March 811 was a copy of the Williams FW07, which in turn was heavily based on the Lotus 79. Observers emphasized this in the formulation: "March is building a Williams."

The 811 was considered a very simply built car, had an aluminium monocoque and sheet piling made of magnesium. Robin Herd used internal torsion bar springs front and rear. The powerplant was a naturally aspirated Cosworth (DFV) engine, which was connected to a five-speed gearbox from Hewland (type FGA).

821

1982

The March 821 was a British Formula One racing car used by the John MacDonald-owned RAM Racing in the 1982 Formula One World Championship. Regardless of its model designation, the car had no connection with long-established race car manufacturer March Engineering. The car did not score any world championship points. Designed by Adrian Reynard, a total of five cars were built. It was also the last Formula One car to bear the "March" name until 1987, with March focusing most of their attention and resources into CART IndyCar racing.

The March 821 was an evolution of the previous year's 811. Observers said the 821 was "the car the 811 should have been back in the spring of 1981." Conceptually, the 821 still followed the lines of the Williams FW07, which had been very successful in 1979 and 1980. The 821 was lighter than its predecessor. At 585 kg, its weight was within the range of the minimum permissible weight.

Contrary to the general trend towards turbo engines, RAM continued to stick to naturally aspirated engines. As with the previous model, RAM used a 3.0-litre eight-cylinder Cosworth DFV engine in the 821. As a result, the team increasingly fell behind in terms of performance: while the DFV engines, depending on the tuner, delivered between 490 and 530 hp, the turbo engines already achieved 560 hp (Hart) or 600 hp (Ferrari, Renault) during the 1982 season.

871

1987

The March 871 was a Formula One racing car designed by the March Racing Team and driven in the 1987 Formula One season. The car was powered by a Cosworth DFZ V8 engine, and was driven by the 1986 International Formula 3000 champion, Italian Ivan Capelli.

The team was sponsored by Japanese real estate company Leyton House.

The 871 chassis was not ready for the first race in Brazil, so the team used an F3000/F1 hybrid called the March 87P. The 871 was ready for the second race in San Marino.

The best result and the only points were achieved with a 6th place at the 1987 Monaco Grand Prix. However Capelli and the March 871 did finish 4th in the Colin Chapman Trophy for constructors of cars equipped with naturally aspirated engines.

The 871 had a Cosworth DFZ, 3494 cc  90° V8, mated to a 6-speed manual.

881

1988

The March 881 was a Formula One racing car designed by Adrian Newey, his first ever Formula One car, and raced by March Racing Team in the 1988 season by Italian Ivan Capelli and the debuting Maurício Gugelmin from Brazil. The car's best result was a second place driven by Capelli at the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix.

The March 881 used the then new to Formula One Judd V8 engine, and was consistently the fastest speed trapped atmo car of the 1988 season, with Capelli clocked at a class fastest 312 km/h (194 mph) on the first straight at Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix. Capelli and his March 881 was the only non-turbo car/driver combination in 1988 to actually lead a Grand Prix when he briefly took the lead from Alain Prost in his McLaren-Honda. This was also the first time since the 1983 season that a naturally aspirated car had led a Formula One Grand Prix.

March finished the year 6th in the Constructors' Championship with 22 points.

cg891

1989

The March CG891 was a Formula One racing car designed by Adrian Newey and raced by March Racing Team in the 1989 season, driven by Ivan Capelli and Maurício Gugelmin. The car's best result was seventh place, achieved three times by Gugelmin. It also took the fastest lap at the 1989 French Grand Prix.

Designed by Adrian Newey, the March CG891 used the aerodynamic concept he had originally conceived for the previous year's car, the March 881, but was much more refined. The monocoque, of carbon fibre composite, was particularly slimline.

The car was powered by a Judd EV 3.5 litre V8 engine in an exclusive arrangement with John Judd's Engine Developments company. The engine was rated as having 625 bhp with a maximum rpm of 11.500.

Although neither Gugelmin or Capelli scored a points finish with the CG891, the team finished the 1989 Constructors' Championship in 12th, having achieved four points. This was due to Gugelmin's third place with the 881 at the opening race of the year, the Brazilian Grand Prix.

cg901

1990

The Leyton House CG901 was a Formula One racing car designed by Adrian Newey for the 1990 Formula One World Championship.

Five chassis were built and were powered by the Judd EV 3.5 litre V8 engine. Chassis 001 was subsequently modified mid-season to accommodate the Ilmor 2175A engine the team used in 1991. The drivers for 1990 were the highly rated Ivan Capelli and Maurício Gugelmin. The CG in the name stood for Cesare Gariboldi, a March Leyton team manager who was killed in a road accident in 1989.

The CG901 appeared in two distinct specifications, the early season A spec and the mid to late season B spec. The change was largely an aerodynamic update to correct design errors incurred as a result of erroneous data from the team's wind tunnel.

The most striking feature of the CG901 was its aerodynamics, it was if nothing else a very beautiful car. The B specification update included a new design of floor building on the established practice of an exhaust fed diffuser. The engine cover was extremely small and very narrow following the curves of the tub.

The performance of the CG901 was very poor before the introduction of the B specification car at the French Grand Prix of 1990. In both France and Britain both Capelli and Gugelmin showed dominant form bewildering their much better-funded rivals. For the remainder of the season performance remained patchy and was plagued with reliability problems.

the end

A complex series of buyouts and sales saw the March group (now essentially a financial services outfit) divest itself of its racing interests; after a management buyout, March and Ralt were subsequently sold to Andrew Fitton and Steve Ward in the early 1990s. Fitton later wound March up and Ward continued Ralt at a lower level. In the late 1990s the engineering assets of March were sold to Andy Gilberg. This consisted of over 30,000 engineering drawings and design rights for the customer cars, works F1 cars from the 1970s and other projects produced at the Murdock Road facility. These records are currently available to car owners, racing services providers and historians through www.marchives.com.