{"id":643402,"date":"2020-03-15T14:46:48","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T14:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/?p=643402"},"modified":"2020-03-15T16:33:39","modified_gmt":"2020-03-15T16:33:39","slug":"a-schoolboys-dream-50-years-since-marchs-miracle-front-row-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/history\/a-schoolboys-dream-50-years-since-marchs-miracle-front-row-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"‘A schoolboy’s dream’: 50 years since March’s ‘miracle’ front-row debut"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The start\/finish area at the old Kyalami<\/a> was a wide apron atop a crest. This then was the broad, sunlit upland for the two striking, tall young men walking the walk from the unfashionable far end of the pit lane to the front row of the grid.<\/p>\n

All eyes \u2013 some green with envy \u2013 were on them. They knew it and soaked it up \u2013 understandably so. For theirs had been an extraordinary achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could feel the hostility,\u201d says Max Mosley. \u201cPeople thought we were taking the piss. It wasn\u2019t like that. Robin [Herd]<\/a> and I were conscious of the need to avoid hubris: pride comes before a fall. But you wouldn\u2019t be human if you hadn\u2019t savoured the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFormula 1 people are optimists, but we knew it was a miracle that we were there at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just six months had passed since Mosley and Herd had talked the talk atop The Mountain at Cadwell Park. Their first March<\/a> car \u2013 a simple Brabham<\/a>\/Lotus<\/a> Formula 3 copy \u2013 had just finished third on its debut, driven by fresh-faced Swede Ronnie Peterson<\/a>, and the following week\u2019s mags would be full of them<\/a>: Formula 1 car under construction; two drivers to be announced soon; newfangled computers; and considerable financial backing.<\/p>\n

Elements of truth exaggerated out of upbeat enthusiasm and a don\u2019t-look-down methodology.<\/p>\n

\n \"Max\n
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Mosley with Rees (centre), Herd (right) and a Cosworth V8 ahead of the 1971 season<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Nascent March was based on faith, hype and Charm \u2013 an acronymic name considered but rejected \u2013 plus an initial investment of \u00a32500 each from its gang of four: Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker and Herd.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do things when you are 29 that you wouldn\u2019t do when you are old,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cYou don\u2019t stop to think what could go wrong. You are so busy putting things together that it all seems natural. The amount we did in those next few months was incredible but at the time it seemed to be the thing to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing F1 differently was a very conscious thing. I remember in 1969 reading in one of JK Galbraith\u2019s books that wealth used to be land, then industry, and that now it was ideas and ability. I explained to Robin that the money would come because we had the ability. It wasn\u2019t as simple as that in real life \u2013 but that was the spark: we thought it would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosley and Herd, acquaintances at Oxford University, had firmed their friendship after meeting at Frank Williams\u2019 lock-up in 1968; Rees and Herd had known each other since Monmouth School; and junior formulae racers Rees and Coaker were close. When they convened at Herd\u2019s Towcester home in May 1969 they drew tighter several strands.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe first of March\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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It’s spent decades hanging on a wall, but now the first-ever March Grand Prix car is to run again – 40 years after one lucky journalist got to test drive…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 2010\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tSimon Taylor<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
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Herd and Rees had spoken of creating an F1 team around Jochen Rindt<\/a>; as had Herd and Mosley; Coaker, Rees and Herd were considering producing off-the-peg racing cars; and Herd, a designer in demand \u2013 and the only one who knew all of the above \u2013 was considering other options, too: Rindt \u2013 and his then somewhat shadowy manager\/adviser Bernie Ecclestone \u2013 wanted him for a team of his own; and Keith Duckworth, Herd\u2019s current employer, had volunteered shares in Cosworth.<\/p>\n

Yet legal eagle\/sponsorship hawk Mosley was the most persuasive: \u201cBernie would have had money. Duckworth was very established and very successful. We had sod all. But Robin had a very clear and brilliant mind. Intellectually confident, he felt he could achieve a great deal in the right environment. Ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herd committed to Gremshek Racing in August.<\/p>\n

That name \u2013 registered the following month but soon subsumed by March \u2013 was a jokey reference to Rindt\u2019s heavily accented belittling of the F3 car taking shape in Coaker\u2019s garage in suburban Reading.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had all wanted Jochen and so I drove to Geneva that summer and did my best to persuade him to drive for us,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cI stayed the night and he was friendly \u2013 but completely dismissive of us. A schoolboy\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, a 3000sq ft unit in a Bicester industrial estate was rented and there the team\u2019s first recruits, Bill Stone and Ray Wardell \u2013 sleeping in a Transit and cooking on a camping stove \u2013 completed the F3 car.<\/p>\n

Two adjacent units would soon be added.<\/p>\n

And Chris Amon<\/a>, tired of Ferrari<\/a>, was wooed for 1970, sold on the idea of a dedicated one-car team.<\/p>\n

No one could know how the project would snowball over winter.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Uncategorised<\/h4>\n

\n Formula 1 in Camera: 1970 – 79 – Volume 1 | Rainer Schlegelmilch – Paul Parker | Book | Hardback\n <\/h3>\n
\n £45.00<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n<\/article>\n
\n Shop now<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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OTT STP boss Andy Granatelli, having at last conquered Indy in 1969, turned to Europe and to March \u2013 and brought super-keen Mario Andretti<\/a> along for the ride.<\/p>\n

Porsche, keen to keep its sportscar number one from Enzo Ferrari\u2019s clutches, agreed to fund Jo Siffert\u2019s<\/a> F1 ride with March.<\/p>\n

And then the topper, the ever-loving Lulu of all times: world champion Jackie Stewart<\/a> came a-knocking. He was less keen but in desperate need of a ride.<\/p>\n

The Scot had been forced from his beloved Matra<\/a> by big-industry politics \u2013 new owner Chrysler would not countenance reliance on a Ford-backed engine \u2013 and his loyalty to Ken Tyrrell, Cosworth and Dunlop had stymied potential deals to run a Brabham, BRM or McLaren. Smoke-and-mirrors March was his only \u2018realistic\u2019 option.<\/p>\n

Suddenly March had no machine shop, one lathe and 10 F1 monocoques to build \u2013 plus spaceframes for formulae 2, 3 and Ford, oh, and a couple of Group 7 big-banger sportscars. Luckily anything seemed possible: the Man in the Moon was, well, a man; The Beatles were, in public at least, giving peace a chance still; and Sir Alf Ramsey had yet to unwisely substitute Bobby Charlton during a World Cup knockout match.<\/p>\n

\n \"Mario\n
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Mario Andretti, here at the 1970 South African Grand Prix, was an early March recruit<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

March caught what remained of that mood. Bicester was happening suddenly and an expanding workforce \u2013 two dozen or so by Christmas \u2013 read like a supergroup: Bob Dance, John Thompson, Roger Silman, Peter Briggs, Dave Sims, John Gentry, Nigel Stroud, Keith Leighton, Pete Kerr.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome had worked with Alan, knew and trusted him,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cThe same went for Robin. One or two had worked for me. Very young, they were attracted by something completely different. The right atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

“All our suppliers thought we were extremely rich and I didn\u2019t feel it was my job to say that this wasn\u2019t true”<\/p>\n

Overblown progression wasn\u2019t to everyone\u2019s taste, however, and the \u2018Much Advertised Motor Racing Car Hoax\u2019 copped flak from the media. March no doubt was stretching the bounds: F1\u2019s \u2018Kit Car Era\u2019 was not yet a thing \u2013 indeed some reckoned Cosworth\u2019s DFV long in the tooth already; a mystery backer was neither confirmed nor denied \u2013 with good reasons both; and that F3 car turned out to be a bit of a duffer.<\/p>\n

March was surviving on extended credit, counting the days until the deposits arrived in early November.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat winter was fine because everybody paid,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cPlus all our suppliers thought we were extremely rich and I didn\u2019t feel it was my job to say that this wasn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were charging Tyrrell \u00a36000 per chassis and Walter Hayes of Ford told us to charge \u00a39000. \u2018We can\u2019t. We\u2019ve done the deal.\u2019 He replied, \u2018Leave Ken to me.\u2019 Actually Walter was putting up the money and he realised that it wasn\u2019t enough. We would have been out of business but for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thus there were several disbelieving ghouls at the big reveal at Silverstone on 6 February 1970. Also present were: Stewart, Tyrell, Amon, Granatelli, Andretti (clearly suffering from the cold), Firestone, Dunlop, Duckworth and Hayes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the key moment,\u201d says Mosley. \u201cThe whole of F1 turned up. Nobody thought we would have an F1 car there; maybe a mock-up at best. In fact we had two. And both were runners.<\/p>\n

\u201cGranatelli pitching up with Mario was a complete surprise for the press, too. An extraordinary day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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From the archive<\/h2>\n \t\t\n\t\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1970 South African Grand Prix race report: Brabham schools the kids\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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With the break in Grand Prix racing from November, 1969, to March, 1970, all the teams, and some new ones, made remarkable efforts to be ready for the new season…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tApril 1970\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDenis Jenkinson<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
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Another F1 chassis had been shipped to South Africa for an extended and lucrative F1 tyre test prior to the opening Grand Prix on 7 March.<\/p>\n

Boom!<\/p>\n

Could Colin Chapman have pulled off something similar? Perhaps, if minded. But the remainder of F1\u2019s old guard wouldn\u2019t have considered it \u2013 and maybe wisely so.<\/p>\n

March was too far ahead of the sport\u2019s accelerating commercial curve: it failed to land sufficient sponsorship; spread itself too thinly; and its first F1 car was by necessity conservative and 70kg overweight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were doing too many things, too many different cars and, not having massive resources, couldn\u2019t develop the car,\u201d says Mosley.<\/p>\n

The astute Stewart quickly sussed that 701 had little development within it; and Tyrrell had already decided to defect. Amon, in turn, was pissed about the dilution of his deal.<\/p>\n

Yet there they sat, 1-2, at Kyalami \u2013 one blue (on pole), one red, inseparable by lap time. Stewart would lead before slipping to third; and Amon would suffer his habitual abysmal luck and retire early.<\/p>\n

\n \"Start\n
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Marches lead the way at the start of the 1970 season in Kyalami<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Incredibly Marches would win the next three F1 races \u2013 the Race of Champions<\/a>, the Spanish GP<\/a> and the International Trophy<\/a> \u2013 two of them from pole, but reality was soon to bite in the form of Rindt in the radical Lotus 72.<\/p>\n

March finished third in the constructors\u2019 race \u2013 and repeated that feat in 1971, as Peterson confirmed his promise in Herd\u2019s best, the 711.<\/p>\n

It would win two GPs \u2013 Vittorio Brambilla in Austria in 1975<\/a> and Peterson at Monza in 1976<\/a> \u2013 but F1 would, in truth, be a long and slippery slope for March.<\/p>\n

But, oh, to have been on the crest of that wave, on the crest of that hill, with a clear track ahead shimmering with promise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI caught Jochen\u2019s eye on the grid [Rindt had qualified fourth at Kyalami in a Lotus 49C],\u201d says Mosley. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be triumphalist but there was an exchange of info in a glance.\u201d<\/p>\n

That schoolboy dream had come true.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":744,"featured_media":643407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[118712,121828],"tags":[122086,124049],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/744"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643402"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":643429,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643402\/revisions\/643429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}