1973 March 73A

March Engineering was founded in 1969 by Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker, and Robin Herd. Mr. Herb was the designer, Mr. Rees managed the racing team, Mr. Mosley handled the commercial side, and Mr. Coaker looked after the production at the factory in Bicester, Oxfordshire. Their customer cars provided financial stability while their Grand Prix cars built the reputation. They began with a single Formula Three car in 1969, followed by customer cars for F1, F2, F3, Formula Ford and CanAm in 1970 (running works cars in F1, F2, and F3).

March entered Formula 5000 competition in 1973 with their 73A. One example was put on display at the 1973 London Race Car Show where it was purchased by John Gunn and raced in the UK Formula 5000 series for three races with little success. It then raced in the United States series where it was quickly outclassed by the other cars, including the Lola T330 and Chevron B24s. Other customers racing the March 73A in the US series included Gus Hutchison, Bob Lazier, and Skip Barber. Lazier and Barber soon abandoned their March 73As and purchased Lolas. Hutchison and Gunn continually modified their rides throughout the season. For the 1974 season, Gunn initially raced the March but soon switched to a Lola. Hutchison purchased a 1974 March monocoque and rebuilt his car. In 1975, John Cannon raced the former Skip Barber car, which had undergone modifications in similar fashion to the works 1974 March 742s.

March records indicate that six examples were built, with the sixth example being supplied as a kit.

by Daniel Vaughan | May 2019