F2 Marches in Group 8/Aurora

[Dan Rear]

Rather than adding this one to any other threads, perhaps its worth starting a new one.

Any info on the following cars - Adrian Russell' 762 in 1978, the Jim Evans car in 78, the Alan Baillie 752 that year, the Heavens 772 in 1977, the Rikky Pierce car of that time, Pablo Brea had one (might have been the Heavens car), Richard Robarts in 1976, Derek Worthington 76 too. I realise any March related thread is a can of worms when it comes to car histories, but it may be interesting nonetheless.

I'm sure there are many others I've forgotten about that may be worthy of discussion/memory joggings !

[cirrus]

I'll be seeing Alan Baillie this weekend - he's running his ex John Taylor F1 Cooper at Monaco, so I'll ask him.

[Chris Townsend]

Dan

Away from my records at the moment, but to the best of my memory...

The Russell 762 - ex Herve Leguellec/Derek Worthington. Can't remember number, but I think the last 762 built

The Baillie 752 - chassis 22? or 20? from memory. Anyway the ex John Nicholson Chevvy vega engined car.

Robarts - two different cars. 752-P the ex Henton car, destroyed in a very big accident at the Vallelunga F2 race in 76, then a new late season 762. Think this became the Erlich entered car in G8 the following year.

[simon drabble]

Is that the same Jim Evans who builds very competitive Alfa Romeo engines and lives in Yorkshire? I seem to recall he was involved in single seaters in a former life... his som is a very good driver and when they ran their quite trick "GTA" he did very well. The car is now run by Simon Garrard who is another good driver. The car is about as far from FIA as it is possible to be!

[Dan Rear]

Ahhhh the Ehrlich car, with Brett Riley, I'd forgotten this one, but always wondered what it was. Saw it at Mallory in July 78, very nice car, and quick, or was that the driver ? Also, didn't Rob Turnbull have a 762 on the hills in about 79, after he bashed his RT1 up ? Was this the ex-Russell car?

Finally for now,what about the Nigel Clarkson car, anything on this ?

[davemorganfan]

Originally posted by simon drabble
Is that the same Jim Evans who builds very competitive Alfa Romeo engines and lives in Yorkshire? I seem to recall he was involved in single seaters in a former life... his som is a very good driver and when they ran their quite trick "GTA" he did very well. The car is now run by Simon Garrard who is another good driver. The car is about as far from FIA as it is possible to be!

And the same one that ran a turbocharged Escort in special saloons in the 70s?

[Chris Townsend]

Marches in Aurora -Shellsport G8

742:

Carlo Giorgio chassis 28 [1977/8]
Richard Jones/Robin Smith chassis 15 [1978]
Geoff Friswell: Not a 742. Initially his 73B upgraded, then replaced with the tub and parts from John Calvert's 742, which was actually 732 chassis 1

752

Richard Robarts chassis 'P'
Bernard de Dryver chassis 8 [often described as 742]
Val Musetti chassis 15 with GAA engine
John Nicholson chassis 22 then to Roy Baker [?not raced] and Ted Williams [1977], then Alan Baillie [1978]

75B

Roy Baker chassis 'U2'

762

Richard Robarts chassis 22, retained 1977, then to Erlich for Brett Riley
Derek Worthington chassis 23, then Herve Legeuellec 1977, Adrian Russell 1978

772

Norman Dickson chassis 4

782

Gerd Biechteler chassis 24
Stephen South [chassis 26] to Russell 1979.

Chris

[Dan Rear]

Chris, pretty comprehensive list that.

But, what about the Clarkson car described as a '752' in, I think 1978, the Brea 762 in 77, and the Rikky Pierce '772' in 1977, not sure whether the latter ever raced, it was definitely entered. Also the Evans 762, ex-Deutsch rings a bell ?? I see that Bill Wood also occasionally entered in 78 in a car of some description.

I presume the Baker '75B' was the one he occasionally used in Atlantic in 79-80. Was this a bitza do you know ?

[Jeremy Jackson]

And the same one that ran a turbocharged Escort in special saloons in the 70s?

Yes, I mentioned him & his 762 on the "other Chevron" thread. He developed a turbocharged Esprit-FVC after the Escort, but didn't race it too much, as far as I remember. Only race I recall is the Donington German Group 5 race in 1980.

[Dan Rear]

Just seen that someone called Allan Humphries had a '762' in Sprints in 1979 in Britain, any ideas Jeremy/Chris. Also Rob Turnbull climbing one that year??

[Chris Townsend]

The Baker 75B was a genuine 75B!. Ex Derek Cook and actually the first March 75B to appear in a race [Boxing Day Brands, 1974]

Dan, when did the Brea and Evans cars appear? I've never finished 1977 G8 records - they sit in a limbo with 1975 F5000 [sorry Allen!]

Chris

[Dan Rear]

Chris

My info is only from Mallory progs... but March 77 G8 there, Pablo Brea is entered in a 762, no. 16, non-started. No. 35, also non-starter was 'Ricky Pearce' in a "ShellSPORT 772 Hart". At the May meeting, no. 16 was the Heavens 762, with le Guellec, so I presume this is the same car as Brea's, it non-started too ! No. 40 was Terry Winters in a March 752B BDX, also non-started.

In 1978, March Mallory libre, Nigel Clarkson enters but doesn't start a '752/762 Richardson'. At the July 78 Mallory Aurora, Evans was entered in a '762 Hart' , guess what, non-started !!! I think this may have been an ex-Willy Deutsch car from dim and distant.

Any ideas ???????

[Jeremy Jackson]

Jim Evan drove that 762 in Northern libre races throughout most of 1978, but that's the only year that I know for certain he raced it.

[Dan Rear]

Re the Turnbull 'climbing 762, I guess this was either the Russell car or the Ehrlich one re-built, given the year he had it ... Maybe the Allan Humphries 'sprinter' was the other one ?

[Dan Rear]

Paul Gardner also had a 762 in late 70s UK Libre. I think this was ex-Kahusen/Ludwig. Was this the one Jim Evans also had? Anyone know anymore re the 'climbing 762s of Turnbull and Humphries ?

[allenbrown]

I just found a reference to this Paul Gardener car. Autosport 27 Mar 1980 p39 has a bio of Jim Evans and mentions that he had an ex-Willy Kauhsen March 762 in 1978 but sold it to Paul Gardener for 1979. Gardener wrote it off at Croft and Evans bought the wrecked to provide bits for his Special Saloon Lotus Esprit Turbo in 1980.

By the way, the Turnbull car was 762/4 - observed by Adam Ferrington when it was third-hand.

Humphries had a 762, wrote it off, bought a 761-GA, wrote that off and rebuilt the 761-GA on a very second-hand 762 tub, continuing to call it a 761. The later owner of the "ex-Peterson 761" wasn't too happy to find he had a 762 with a GA in the back!!

Allen

[Dan Rear]

Allen, any more info on the Humphries 76 Marches, ie where did they come from and go onto ? If the Turnbull car was 762-4, I presume a genuine exF2 tub. Was it ex-works ?

[Dan Rear]

Out at Oulton in the DBT was Christian Fischer's lovely 772, -3. Was this ex-works anyone know. Also what about Chris Alford's fantastic 762 in Scaini/Flammini colours, and which went faster and faster in the race. Is this one ex-works, or one of the 'UK raced cars'.

[Tim 27]

Damien Magee drove a Hexagon of Highgate entered 761 during his epic battles with David Purley. A bit vague I know, but seem to remember Bill Gubbelman racing a March in the G8 series?

[Dan Rear]

At Stoneleigh on Sat I had a quick chat with Oskar Christien (sorry if spelling's wrong), who owns both the Fischer and Alford Marches apparently. He said the 762 in Scaini colours is, he thinks, an ex-Hotz car from '76, so not a works/Flammini one. It really is a beaut tho'

[Chris Townsend]

March 742 chassis 18.
Who had it? I notice that Steve W has this number against the Franklin hillclimb
car in 1976 [on the f1/5000 cars in hillclimb/sprint thread in another place].
However, sometime back in my Atlantic enquiries I had an email from an American
driver called Joe Henry who has owned a car with this plate in since 1978 [and ran
it in 1984 WCAR series].
According to Adam F's March records 18 was the works car, [Black, 'ELF' in sales record] and 17 was Stuck's [record 'Jagermeister, orange']. However, the Henry car has an 18 plate and orange paint on it! Suggesting the plates were switched
I know Franklin's 742 was 'ex Depaillier' but do we have any evidence of which plate
or indeed which tub was in it? Depaillier used three cars in the season because of accidents - two of them probably had 18 on the plate, the other was the car used by Peterson at Karlskoga. [One of the old tubs, repaired, finished up in Dyfed Roberts's rebuild of a 743 the following year]
The March record for 18 also says sold to Maublanc Nov 1975, at which point it passed to Bernard Chevanne in 1976.
It looks to me as though the two end of season works 742s went to Maublanc and to Franklin, but can we say that despite the plates the Stuck car is now in America and Depaillier's who knows where?

Chris

[Dan Rear]

As he's appeared on another thread, didn't Bill Gubelman come out a few times in 76 in a 742, or somesuch ? Any ideas chaps ? He was later involved in the mystery de Dryver '778' in 1977, a 772P-like device. Can't have been the same car can it ?

[jamesl]

Does anybody know anything about the Ehrlich March 762 (Hart) that was entered in the Easter Monday 1978 F2 race at Thruxton? The car was entered by Dr. Ehrlich, and the driver was Richard Robarts. However, the car did not run.

[Dan Rear]

James, this car was mentioned earlier on the thread. It was a mid-1976 build sold new to Richard Robarts to replace his written off 752. He used it in the second part of the 76 season in F2 and some G8 races. Seems to have been unused in 1977, then passes to Dr Josef Ehrlich in mid-78. He ran it for Brett Riley in some Aurora races that year, and we then think it went climbing.

[Davhut]

Didn't Derek Warwick drive an F2 March in the 1979 AFX?