The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend
By Mike Lawrence
You can’t say he didn’t warn you. Several months ago, our intrepid “Last Lap” columnist, Mike Lawrence, alluded to (read mercilessly plugged) the fact that there would be a new and expanded edition of his acclaimed book chronicling the story of March engineering. Founded by four die-hard racing enthusiasts in 1969 with nothing more than £10,000 and a telephone, by 1980, March had become one of the great motor racing success stories.
In less than a year, March had opened its doors, designed and built a Formula Ford and two Formula One Cars. Even more astounding was the fact that the new 701 F1 car won three of its first four race outings, making March the only postwar manufacturer besides Mercedes to have enjoyed such early success.
By the mid-1980s, March had also won the F3000, IMSA and Atlantic championships, as well as commanded a virtual strangle hold on American Indy car racing. In 1984 alone, 29 of the 33 starters for the Indianapolis 500 were Marches. In addition to these racing achievements, March also holds a very unique place in racing history by being the first racecar manufacturer to become a publically traded company. Unfortunately, it was this last achievement which would ultimately spell the downfall of March by 1989.
With the benefit of input from the principals who founded the company, this expanded second edition (272 pages with over 225 illustrations), now tells the complete story from birth to death. Embued with Lawrence’s witty writing style, “March: The Rise and Fall of a Motor Racing Legend” is not only an excellent historical piece, but a very entertaining read as well.
Published by Motor Racing Publications, Ltd. for £27.50
