The return of the historic March team to Formula 1 was made possible by the Italian Cesare Gariboldi, team manager of the "Genoa Racing" outfit in Formula 3000, which won the 1986 championship with a March-Cosworth driven by Ivan Capelli and sponsored by the Japanese real estate company Leyton House. The Italian manager managed to gain the support of Leyton's owner, Akira Akagi, to organize a new Formula 1 team by relying on the technical structure of March Engineering, which would design and develop the car to be used in 1987.
 |
| MARCH 87P, Ivan Capelli Jacarepaguà, Brazilian GP 1987 |
Despite the four-year absence of the British constructor from Formula 1, the project quickly came to life, thus giving birth to the Leyton House March team. The engineer responsible for the project was a familiar face in Formula 1: the Briton Gordon Coppuck, who had a brilliant past at McLaren, where he designed the World Championship-winning M23 cars for Fittipaldi and Hunt. The biggest challenge for Coppuck, who hadn’t built a car since the M30 in 1980, was working with new technologies (synthetic fibers, structural use of the engine, and new suspension systems), and for this reason, he was supported in his work by fellow Briton Tim Holloway.
 |
| MARCH 871, Ivan Capelli Imola, San Marino GP 1987 |
Naturally, in its first year of operation, the newly founded team couldn’t afford a major financial outlay, so they made the most obvious choice: to race with the inexpensive and reliable naturally aspirated Ford-Cosworth DFZ engine, paired with a six-speed gearbox built by March itself. The car was based on the Formula 3000 chassis that had won the lower-tier series in 1986, equipped with a front end and rear suspension designed specifically for the final version of the Formula 1 car. Due to the unavailability of the “official” car, this “hybrid” car, originally created just to test the new pull-rod suspension and called the 87P, made its debut in Brazil, the first race of the 1987 season, with young Italian driver Ivan Capelli at the wheel.
 |
| MARCH 871, Ivan Capelli Monza, Italian GP 1987 |
However, Capelli stood no chance with a car assembled only for testing; during qualifying, he clocked a lap time a full 17 seconds slower than Mansell's pole position. The team therefore decided not to start the race and instead focused on completing the definitive March 871, which was brought to the track at Imola for the season's second race. The new single-seater featured a newly designed carbon fiber monocoque chassis but still gave the impression of an unfinished car, with the engine and gearbox completely exposed and rear aerodynamics that were not well refined. The rear diffuser was very small due to the bulky March gearbox. In contrast, the front end was meticulously designed, with particular attention to the wing, which featured a raised V-shaped rear profile. Noteworthy was the engine air intake, which initially had a 1970s-style shape but disappeared entirely later in the season.
 |
| MARCH 871, Ivan Capelli Silverstone, British GP 1987 |
The commitment of the new team was also evident in the hiring of Danish driver Kris Nilsson solely as a test driver, while Ivan Capelli was tasked with racing the car on Grand Prix weekends, a job he carried out excellently, as he scored the team’s first championship point by finishing sixth in Monaco in just his third outing. After a first half of the season plagued by constant retirements, the 871 managed to see the checkered flag more regularly in the second half, laying the foundation for what would become the breakout car of the 1988 season, thanks in part to the hiring of a young British engineer by the name of Adrian Newey.
Comments
Post a Comment