Page 1 of 1 During the late 1960s, former barrister turned racer Max Mosley, racing driver turned team manager Alan Rees and his friend Graham Coaker concluded that there was room for a new manufacturer of racing cars. They reasoned that the sport had become a lot more accessible due to the availability of competitive customer engines from the likes of Cosworth and the new influx of funding thanks to the arrival of American style sponsorship. The three men then convinced star designer Robin Herd to join them. Using an acronym of their names, they established March in 1969.
A full range of single seater racers was planned for 1970 but to get the ball rolling one Formula 3 car was built for the 1969 season. For the aptly name 693, Robin Herd penned a straightforward square-tube chassis. Suspension components were borrowed from contemporary Lotus and Brabham racers. Fitted behind the cockpit was a Novamotor tuned one-litre Ford 105E engine that drove the rear wheels through a Hewland gearbox. The 693 was clothed in a fibreglass body with a distinct oval shaped radiator intake at the front.
The very first March was ready in time for a young Ronnie Peterson to race at the Lincolnshire International Trophy at Caldwell Park at the end of September. The Swede instantly impressed and finished third in the F3 race behind a Brabham and a Chevron. Peterson then crashed the car at Monthléry the following week. Substitute driver James Hunt then finished a lowly 10th overall at Brands Hatch in what was the 693's final works outing.
Effectively raced for less than a month, the 693 was set aside and replaced by the new 70* range that included anything from Formula 1 through to Can-Am cars. The 693 remains as the crucial first step in the colourful and and at times highly successful March history. Page 1 of 1
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During the late 1960s, former barrister turned racer Max Mosley, racing driver turned team manager Alan Rees and his friend Graham Coaker concluded that there was room for a new manufacturer of racing cars. They reasoned that the sport had become a lot more accessible due to the availability of competitive customer engines from the likes of Cosworth and the new influx of funding thanks to the arrival of American style sponsorship. The three men then convinced star designer Robin Herd to join them. Using an acronym of their names, they established March in 1969.