March 73A car-by-car histories
Skip Barber's March 73A at Michigan in 1973. Copyright Mark Windecker 2005. Used with permission.
The March 73A was March's first production F5000 car, following the relative success of the 1972 F2-based car, but it was not competitive with the Lola T330.
Given March's success in other categories, much was expected of the March 73A, and the car exhibited at the Racing Car Show was snapped up by experienced American F5000 driver John Gunn. He had a terrible time with it in the first few races of the British series before taking it to the US for the start of the US series, where other 73As were raced by ex-Lola T300 customer Gus Hutchison, Formula B front-runner Bob Lazier, and by Skip Barber, who had previously raced a F1 March 711 in F1 and F5000. In the highly-competitive L&M-backed series, the Marchs were off the pace of the leading Lola T330, Trojan T101 and Chevron B24 runners, and both Lazier and Barber soon gave up on their cars, Lazier buying a Lola. Hutchison and Gunn carried on, their cars being progressively modified during the season. Gunn persevered with his car at the start of 1974, before buying a Lola as well, while Hutchison rebuilt his car using a 1974 March monocoque. John Cannon then took over the former Skip Barber car for 1975, which had been reworked along the lines of the 1974 works March 742s, and later that season appeared with a completely reworked '75AM' engineered by former March F1 and F2 team manager Ray Wardell. This car turned out to be a great success, notably in the Australian Internationals at the start of 1976.
March records say six were built and five of these can be seen in contemporary race results: the US-based cars of Gunn, Barber, Lazier and Hutchison and the UK-based car of Clive Baker. March records say the sixth car was supplied as a kit.
The 73As have not had straightforward careers. The Skip Barber car multiplied and exists at least twice over; and the Gus Hutchison car also split, leaving one F5000 car and F1 car. At least one other 73A found its way to Jock Topin's Ecurie Santos and he later sold a total of around five cars to Ray Gibbs, including two that may be 73As and two that may be 72As.
John Gunn's 73A in its Roman Brio livery at (probably) Mid-Ohio. Copyright Drake Moore 2004. Used with permission.
John Gunn's 73A wearing Marchal America livery at Mosport. Copyright Drake Moore 2004. Used with permission.
Built for 1973 season (white). John Gunn: raced in US 1973, US 1974 (last race September 1974) - Les Hudelson mid-1974: raced by John Cannon US for the two Californian races in October 1974. Car then "put away"; retained by Hudelson in storage for nearly 20 years - Greg Wold (Maple Grove, MN) about 1993: restored to 1973 specification over next six years; raced in the SVRA series 2002. To Nick Smith (San Diego, CA) Feb 2007. To Roger Williams (New Zealand) Jan 2010. To Clark Proctor (Auckland, New Zealand) later in 2010 and raced in the Tasman Revival series in 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15. Raced by Proctor at Hampton Downs in January 2015, and again in January 2017. Sold to Mike Crewsell for 2018. Still with Creswell in May 2022.
Driven by: John Gunn and John Cannon. First race: Brands Hatch (UK R1), 17 Mar 1973. Total of 13 recorded races.
The first iteration of Skip Barber's March 73A, seen here at Mid-Ohio early in 1973. Copyright Terry Capps 2013. Used with permission.
John Cannon's early-1975 car, now with side radiators and a 1975 nose, but before the first '75AM' car appeared at Long Beach. Copyright Norm MacLeod 2016. Used with permission.
New to Gene Mason Racing for Skip Barber to race in the 1973 US F5000 series. Ready for the first race, at Riverside in April, but the car was well off the pace and retired. Barber managed fourth in his heat at the next race but a lap down, was only tenth in the final. After retiring from his heat at Michigan, and then another dismal performance at Mid-Ohio, Barber skipped the Watkins Glen race while suspension changes were made. The car did not reappear and was returned to March.
It was not seen during 1974, but reappeared in 1975 for John Cannon to drive. It had been updated with side radiators and a 1975-style nose, but was still effectively the same car that Barber had raced. The car was still well off the pace and still unreliable, so the team skipped Road Atlanta and reappeared for the high-profile Long Beach GP in September with a heavily modified car incorporating a new monocque and some 751 parts.
The original monocoque was stored and is now a separate car, described below as 73A/2(A). With the identity of this car now splitting, the new car is covered below as 73A/2(B).
Driven by: Skip Barber and John Cannon. First race: Riverside (US R1), 29 Apr 1973. Total of 9 recorded races.
Paul Wilson's March 73A at Circuit of The Americas in 2015. Copyright Graham Collins 2016. Used with permission.
The remains of one of these cars stayed with the Cannon family for many years. In 2004, Michael Cannon sold a tub and bodywork from 73A/2 to Paul M. Wilson (Los Angeles, CA). The car came with the original 73A/2 chassis tag and is green with a yellow stripe, matching the livery of the car prior to Long Beach 1975. So it appears the 'new' Cannon car - i.e. the second one described in period as '75 AM' and listed below as 73A/2 (B), can be dated from Long Beach 1975.
Rebuilt in 2004 by John and Graham Collins Fabrications (Santa Ana, CA). Collins continued to prepare the car for Wilson through to 2011. Graham reports that the tub has been reskinned and new suspension built as the car has been developed. Raced by Paul WIlson at Road America July 2013, at the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational at IMS in June 2014, and at Road America in July 2015.
John Cannon's heavily revised F5000 March at Road America in 1976. Copyright Glenn Snyder 2015. Used with permission.
A new car built by former March F1 and F2 team manager Ray Wardell for John Cannon's team and first seen at Long Beach in September 1975, entered by John Lane. Autosport described it as having a March 73A tub and "a selection of 751 bits". The survival of the tub from the early-season green-and-yellow car shows that this Long Beach car must have been built on a new monocoque. This could have been a 732 or 73B monocoque as these are very similar, but a 722 is also plausible. Given the shape of the car, a F1 731 tub is very unlikely.
After the US series, Cannon took the car out to Australia F5000 Internationals in February 1976 where it was described as:
'March 75, AM: March Formula 1 Chassis built 1975 as spare to works team. Sold to Cannon and modified in USA to take Chev engine. Used last year in US Formula 5000 championship' (1976 Surfers Paradise program p7)
As the US series did not start until May, Cannon then had time to compete in the opening races of the 1976 British series, where he was run by Richard Oaten Racing. The car was then described as:
'The March, sponsored by John Lane, was cobbled together "from a box of bits. I don't suppose March even know of its existence." It features a new 1973 F1 monocoque 1975 F1 front suspension, 1976 F1 bodywork, and "our own back end."' (Autosport 18 Mar 1976)
Cannon then returned to North America and raced the 73A/751 at Watkins Glen in July. It was rented it to Don Breidenbach for Road America later than month, and to David Purley for Mid-Ohio in August. Cannon then drove it at the two remaining races at Road America and Riverside. It was entered for the 1977 Australian series but was crashed while testing in California in January 1977. Parts were used on another "duplicate", car for 1978, described below as 73A/2(C).
Driven by: John Cannon, Don Breidenbach and David Purley. First race: Long Beach (US R7), 28 Sep 1975. Total of 14 recorded races.
John Cannon's ultimate F5000 March, at Oran Park in February 1978. Copyright Glenn Moulds 2007. Used with permission.
Michael Duncan's "Ex-Cannon 73/75 F5000" prior to restoration. Copyright Michael Duncan 2014. Used with permission.
Following Cannon's testing accident in California in January 1977, he was unable to attend the 1977 Rothmans series. The US series had been cancelled but Cannon's team built up another March in time for the 1978 Australian Rothmans series. This "new" car was described in press material as:
Re-built replica of successful March 73B brought to Australia by Cannon in 1976. New chassis with no number. Believed to be ex Vittorio Flammina [sic] chassis used in American F5000 races in late 1976. Not used during 1977 as Cannon did not contest Can-Am series with this car. Some body panels from original 73B that was crashed in testing accident in January 1977 in California. (1978 Surfers Paradise program p36)
It is unlikely to have been the "Flammina" car (i.e. the 76A) as that had a completely different chassis shape. The "73B" notation is also incorrect, as that was a Formula Atlantic car. However, we can believe that it was a new car, replacing the earlier 1975 '75 AM'. The donor tub is not possible to trace at this point, but as it was described as a duplicate of the 1976 car, it is likely to have had a 1973 chassis, so a 732/73A tub. This car should probably be regarded as '75 AM/2'.
Cannon finished third in the opening race, at Sandown Park, but retired from the other three races. The car was left in Australian by Cannon after the series and was acquired by Graham 'Tubby' Ritter (Melbourne, Australia) who dismantled it to use its engine, gearbox, corners, wheels, brakes and instruments to convert Ritter's ex-Dave McKay Ford Capri RS2600 into a ‘Sports Sedan’, an Australian libre class of saloon racing. As the March was only in Australia on a temporary import licence, the monocoque of the March was combined with a VW transmission and other parts to resemble a racing car, and shipped to an address in Auckland, New Zealand, for potential sale, with instructions that it should be crushed if it was not sold. The Capri was fitted with a twin-turbo Holden engine by Ritter, and had been sold to Jim Keogh by 1980. Keogh was in the process of transferring the ex-March running gear onto a Zakspeed-style Ford Mustang when the rules changed and he dropped the project. The running gear was later acquired by Ray Gibbs (East Malvern, Victoria, Australia), and may have contributed to his recreation of the last Cannon car.
Meanwhile, the March was bounced between customs jurisdictions and somehow was returned to the US. According to later owner Walter Hagstrom, it was bought at a customs auction by the principal of a a very large Jeep dealership headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA. He had acquired it partially assembled and on pallets, and was told that it was a former F1 car that had been repurposed to a F5000 car for John Cannon. Hagstrom (Laguna Niguel, CA) acquired it from him in the mid-1980s, and sold it on to Michael Duncan (San Jose, CA) in December 1988. Duncan recalls that it was then "a complete car from the roll bar forward, + the rear wheels + a pair of Morand valve covers". The bodywork it then had is very clearly that of John Cannon's 1978 F5000 March.
Duncan recalls selling it to Ernie Spada (Lake Oswego OR) about a year later, but paperwork with the car says it was sold by Duncan to Joe Carr then to Ernie Spada Jr. Spada bought the car as tub, body, engine and gearbox and had it fully restored by March 1990, advertising it in October that year in Cannon's 1976 livery for $100,000. It was bought by Mike Yanchek (Romulus, Michigan) by September 1991, changed to F1-style Beta signwriting, and was raced by Yanchek at HSR Mid-Ohio in August 1993. Sold by Yanchek to Dr VJ Mallya June 2005 and held in the Mallya Collection Private Car Museum (Sausalito, CA). The collection was disbanded in 2014, and the March was sold to classic car dealer Steve Tillack (Redondo Beach, CA).
Driven by: John Cannon. First race: Sandown Park (R1), 5 Feb 1978. Total of 3 recorded races.
Gus Hutchison's March 73A at Mid Ohio in 1973. Copyright Terry Capps 2014. Used with permission.
Built for 1973 season (yellow). Gus Hutchison (Dallas, TX): raced in US 1973; presumably formed basis of '73A/741' first seen October 1974. As the original 73A monocoque is now being rebuilt into a complete car, this car must be regarded as having split when it was rebuilt in 1974. The original 73A monocoque is listed below as 73A/3(A) and the rebuilt car with what appears to be a 74A monocoque is listed as 73A/3(B).
Driven by: Gus Hutchison. First race: Riverside (US R1), 29 Apr 1973. Total of 8 recorded races.
The "slightly damaged" 73A monocoque was listed by Gus Hutchison among the spares in the sale of his F5000 March to Geoff Davie (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) in 1975 and remained with the complete car through the ownership of Ray Reimer, John O'Hanlon, Bill Tempero and Pete Klain. Klain sold the 73A monocoque to Don Ludewig who stripped the yellow paint and according to a later owner "was thinking of standing the tub upright and putting in some shelves to use it as a bookshelf". Sold about 2012 to collector Bill Wiswedel and retained by him until sold to ex-F5000 racer Eric Haga. Haga had Marc Bahner restore the moncoque for him. Fully restored at Road America in July 2016. Raced at Monterey in August 2018. Eric Haga died in November 2021.
Geoff Davie's March 73A/741 at Mid-Ohio in 1976. Copyright Richard Deming 2016. Used with permission.
The resulting '741' with 751 bodywork when owned by Mike Mallinen in February 2008. Copyright Jeremy Hall 2015. Used with permission.
Gus Hutchison rebuilt his March 73A on a 1974 monocoque at some point in 1974. The origins of the 1974 monocoque are unknown and although the car was later rebuilt as a Formula 1 741, the triangular sidepods seems to have more in common with a F5000 74A than with a 741.
Raced by Hutchison at Laguna Seca and Riverside in October 1974. Sold to Geoff Davie (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) and entered by Davie-Kroll Racing for Horst Kroll (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) in the SCCA Pro series in 1975. Raced by Davie himself in the SCCA Pro series in 1976, when it was entered as a March 741. Not used in 1977 and advertised by Davie in Autoweek 3 Feb 1978. Sold to Ray Reimer (Middlebury, IN) and used in SCCA FA 1978. The car was rebuild for Indy racing, retaining the #93 that Davie and Reimer had used in F5000, but now fitted with a 355ci Chevrolet. Used in practice by Larry McCoy at the 1979 Indy 500 when it was referred to as a "F1 car". It reappeared at Indy races later in 1979 when it was called a 'Marathon' and entered by John O'Hanlon and Wayne Woodward's O'Hanlon Racing. Now as the #75 entry, it was driven by Dana Carter and Jan Sneva but did not start a race.
John O'Hanlon (South Bend, IN) teamed up with Bill Tempero (Fort Collins, CO) for 1981 when Tempero drove O'Hanlon's McLaren M24B. The March was advertised by John O'Hanlon in February 1982, but it remained with Tempero, who coincidentally had previously owned 73A/4. Tempero sold it, in bits and still with its old 73A monocoque, to Pete Klain (Beverly Hills, MI). The complete car was sold by Klain to David W. Smith (Patterson, CA) in September or October 1987. According to Dave Kane's research, the project was sold by Smith's widow to chassis fabrication expert Marc Bahner (Newbury Park, CA). Subsequent history unknown but in December 2005, Deane Tank (Naperville, IL) had a March '741' in US vintage racing, using 751 bodywork. This is clearly the ex-Indy 500 car as it has the USAC tanks and tech stickers from 1979/80. By 2008, this car was with Mike Mallinen (Hayward, CA) and raced by him at Monterey in 2008 (as '741-1B') and 2010. In October 2012, an "ex-Stuck March 741" in identical bodywork and livery was acquired by Joe Calleja (Melbourne, Australia) from Scott Drnek of Virtuoso Performance for John Bowe to race in US vintage racing, including at Monterey in 2013. This would be the #19 Apex Steel March raced by Drnek at the Phillip Island Classic in March 2013, and by Bowe at Phillip Island Classic in March 2014. The car was then raced by Bowe at Sydney Motorsport Park in May 2014. Raced by Bowe at the Mallala Historics April 2015.
Driven by: Gus Hutchison, Horst Kroll, Geoff Davie, Ray Reimer, Larry McCoy, Dana Carter, Jan Sneva, Bill Puterbaugh, Bruce Hill and Lee Kunzman. First race: Laguna Seca (US R6), 13 Oct 1974. Total of 18 recorded races.
Bob Lazier's March 73A at Wilbur Bunce's Miller St. shop next door to Anaheim Lake in May 1973, prior to the crash at Riverside. Copyright Alan Degasis 2016. Used with permission.
Jim Gustafson in his March 73A at Road America. Copyright Glenn Snyder 2009. Used with permission.
Built for 1973 season (black/alum). Bob Lazier: raced in US 1973 (two races; crashed at R2 Laguna Seca 6 May 1973 and replaced by Lola T330). Rebuilt on a new tub (stamped 73A/6) and hired to Larry McNeil (Palos Park, IL) for the Road America L&M round in July. Sold to Bill Tempero who had deformable structures fitted, and raced the car in the US series in 1974. Then to Jim Gustafson (Bessemer, Michigan) and raced in US 1975. Gustafson returned with this car in SCCA Formula A in 1978, and then converted it to sports car specification and raced it in Can-Am 1979 (1 race: Road America + 1 DNS: Brainerd) and 1980 (1 race: Brainerd). Gustafson sold his car via dealer/collector Chuck Haines (St Louis, MO) to Mike Engstrand (Des Moines, Iowa) in 1982. Engstrand rebodied it as a GTP, and raced it in amateur events and in the Brainerd Can-Am race in July 1984. Sold to ARCA racer David "Frog" Hall (Kansas City, MO), who took it apart but then lost interest and sold it back to Haines in 1987. Chuck stored it in his collection, still in pieces.
During this time, the original tub (stamped 73A/4) was stored by Russ Neice (Columbus, Ohio), who worked on the car for Gustafson. He sold it to Chuck Haines to rejoin the complete car in 2005. Chuck then sold both car and tub to Anthony Corin (Centurion, South Africa) in 2005. The car was still with Anthony in Cape Town in April 2016, and planned for full restoration at some stage
Driven by: Bob Lazier, Larry McNeil, Bill Tempero, Jim Gustafson and Mike Engstrand. First race: Riverside (US R1), 29 Apr 1973. Total of 15 recorded races.
Clive Baker's March 73A at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in 1973. Copyright Stuart Dent 2006. Used with permission.
Peter Dunn in his March 73A at Spa in 2005. Copyright Norbert Vogel 2007. Used with permission.
Built for 1973 season (black). Clive Baker: raced in UK 1973, UK 1974. Advertised by Baker May and June 1974 and then in early 1975. To Simon Clarke (Weatherby, West Yorkshire) for hillclimbs: run at Harewood 20 Apr 1975 and at Scammonden 3 May 1975, shared with Simon's father Ed Clarke. Simon recalls that they kept the car until approximately 1978 and then he thinks they sold it "to Mick Hill in Derby where it was to be stripped down into a Skoda ‘Silhouette’ Saloon car". However, the construction of Hill's Skoda "Phoenix" for the 1979 season makes no mention of March components and Hill advertised a March 73A rolling chassis in April 1979.
Quite possibly the car advertised by Bobby Howlings (AMCO Racing) in Autosport in June 1980 which had a dummy engine, suggesting it had been used as a show car. Then the complete 73A rolling chassis "dummy engine (show car)" advertised from a Manchester number in October 1980. Also the car advertised by Lancashire wheeler-dealer John Brannigan as "March F5000 73/A No 7" in April 1983 noting that it had a dummy engine and had been used as a display.
It was sold by Brannigan to Peter Arthur (Jersey) and arrived with a bare block and empty Hewland DG300 gearbox. Mike Endean built up the gearbox but it was still a roller when sold to Rob Romeril (Jersey) in the late 1980s. It remained in storage until Romeril completed it with a 5.7-litre Chevrolet in 1999. He did not drive it but sold it to Nick Crossley (Sussex, UK) in 2000. Crossley rebuilt the car and raced it in the UK historic F5000 series in 2001. Sold to Peter Dunn (UK) July 2005. Won the Philip Island Classic in March 2007, raced by Dunn in HSCC Derek Bell Trophy events in 2009, then moved to New Zealand and raced in the Tasman Revival Series in 2009/10 but crashed at Pukekohe in January 2010, creasing the tub and requiring a new monocoque. Returned for the 2010/11 series and again two years later for the 2012/13 series. Maintained for Dunn in New Zealand by Murray Sinclair.
Driven by: Clive Baker. First race: Oulton Park (UK R6), 13 May 1973. Total of 7 recorded races.
Also, Ray Allen was said to have ordered a 73A to run in the British GP (at a time when their were fanciful rumours that the GP may be held to libre rules). Just after the GP, such a car was advertised by Ecurie Santos (Jock Topin) and remained in his adverts into 1974.
By mid-1974, Ecurie Santos was advertising a "1973/74 Santos March F5000" with "95% brand new parts", an "ex-Cannon 73A" (the 72A rebuilt to 73 spec?) and a 721 "modified to accept Chev".
Early in 1975, Ashtune Race Hire (Ashton, Essex) advertised that they had a March 73A for the 1975 season. A month later, a "March F5000 built from all new parts, never raced" was advertised by Peter Vernon-Kell (London)
Other "73A" adverts include Lynx Engineering's "F1/F5000 car" in June 1977. Also possibly relevant to the story is the '1974 March F1/F5000/Libre Brand new and unused' advertised in February 1976 by Ron Beaty (Hampton in Arden) with bodywork that looks more like a 73A than a 74A.
Larry McNeil's car, listed on previous versions of this page, is now known to have been Bob Lazier's 73A/4. Also the car owned by Walter Hagstrom in the mid-1980s is now known to be March 73A/2(C). As of May 2015, Richard Taylor has the earlier March 725.
Ray Gibbs says he bought two 73As from Jock Topin in the late 1970s. However, that number seems to have increased to four if the 725 that stayed in England is included. These are covered below.
The Ray Gibbs cars
Sandy Topin, also known as Jock Topin, ran Ecurie Santos in Watford in the mid-1970s and regularly advertised in Autosport a large number of March F1, F2, F5000 and sports cars. It is not clear whether Topin actually had all these in stock, or whether they were cars that were at March that he'd had some agreement to sell. Few cars left the adverts, and most of those that did have known histories. Ray Gibbs in Australia clearly had dealings with Topin as at least two of the cars Gibbs later owned have Ecurie Santos livery. Unfortunately, Gibbs was extremely secretive and nobody knows exactly what he bought. The four cars below have emerged from his ownership since 1996.
John Henderson's March 725/73A in 2005. Copyright John Henderson 2005. Used with permission.
Harry Read testing his ex-John Henderson March at Spa in November 2008. Copyright Mike Rowe 2009. Used with permission.
Reported to have been bought from Jock Topin's Ecurie Santos (Watford, UK) and imported to Australia by Ray Gibbs (East Malvern, Victoria, Australia) in 1978. According to a later history, Gibbs sold it to Terry Healy (Bowen Hills, Queensland, Australia) in 2000, then it passed to Rick Hall (Bourne, Lincolnshire) 2000, then to Roger Cowman (Belper, Derbyshire) 2001. Later to Mike Wrigley (Ashbourne, Derbyshire) and then exchanged with John Henderson for a Lola T88/00 Indy car some time before 2005. The car is said to be the John Cannon 725 which "was then loaned to John Gunn while his 73A was being built", but reports from early 1973 do not support such a loan. Henderson reports that the car has "ESR1 73A" on its chassis plate and a tub number "AM 725/13X" , which are consistent with a 1972 history, but there is 725 in the UK with a highly credible claim to this identity.
Sold to Harry Read (Aachen, Germany) and appeared in testing at Spa late 2008. Still with Read in May 2015 but unraced as he has stuck to his McLaren M8. Sold to Peter Schleiffer later in 2015. Run by Schleiffer in the Racecar-Trophy Tauplitzalm in July 2017.
Ray Gibbs' March as raced by Russell Davidson in Australia in late 1981 and early 1982. Copyright Chris Jewell (Velocity Retro) 2015. Used with permission.
Graham Smith in the March 732/73A at Eastern Creek in November 2008. Copyright Richard Taylor 2009. Used with permission.
Reported to have been bought from Jock Topin's Ecurie Santos (Watford, UK) and imported to Australia by Ray Gibbs (East Malvern, Victoria, Australia) in 1978. Entered by Gibbs for Russell Davidson in the Australian ARCO Graphite series in 1980. The car has March 722 bodywork. It has no chassis plate but has the tub number 732/15 with an 'A' below the number implying that a March 732 (or 73B) was converted to 73A specification by March or by Topin. From Gibbs to Ron Cullen (Sydney, NSW) about 1996: restored but sold soon after to Graham Smith (Bellbrae, Victoria) late 2000/early 2001.
Raced by Smith in F5000 Revival Series races in early 2006, in Australian historic races including VHRR Historic Sandown and the Phillip Island Classic, and in the Australian Grand Prix support races in 2009 and 2010. Sold by Smith to an unknown owner in Victoria in 2014. Sold at auction in April 2016 to Rob Splatt. Raced by Splatt at the Phillip Island Classic in March 2018.
Driven by: Russell Davidson. First race: Calder (R2), 8 Nov 1981. Total of 4 recorded races.
The Ecurie Santos 'ESR 5000|03' as acquired by Peter Brennan. Copyright Peter Brennan 2014. Used with permission.
A car in Ecurie Santos Racing livery acquired from the family of Ray Gibbs (East Malvern, Victoria, Australia) by Peter Brennan (Melbourne, Australia) in August 2014 after it had sat in the Len Lukey Museum at Phillip Island circuit in Australia for many years. Note that its livery is very similar to that of 'the second Ray Gibbs car' above but that this car has forward-facing rollhoop supports, indicating that it a 1973 monocoque.
Sold to David Crabtree in April 2017. The car was ready for a shakedown in April 2016. Sold to David Crabtree in April 2017, and raced by him at the Phillip Island Classic March 2018 and Historic Sandown in November 2018.
Shannon's auction picture of their '1975 March Formula 5000 Race Car'. Copyright Shannons Auctions 2007. Used with permission.
Built up by Ray Gibbs (East Malvern, Victoria, Australia) as a recreation of John Cannon's 1976 'March 73A/751'. This used a 1975 March monocoque bought from Roger Hurst in England, and a set of bodywork that may have come from the same source. Gibbs also acquired some parts from John Wright (Sydney, Australia), believed to be a DG300 gearbox, and other components which may have been left over from the 1978 Cannon car, the car that Graham Ritter had dismantled and allegedly shipped to Auckland in 1979.
The recreation was painted in Cannon's 1976 John Lane livery and offered for sale via a Shannons auction in Australia in March 2007. It was claimed at that time that the car had been acquired from Ritter via three intermediate owners in 1979, 1986 and 2002 but this chain of ownership appears to refer only to unspecified suspension or transmission components. Shannons' description of this car is available here.
The car was unsold at the auction and was on display in the Len Lukey Museum at Phillip Island circuit until 2013, when a number of Gibbs' cars were offered for sale. In late 2014, the car was sold to Bob Harborow (Camberwell, Victoria, Australia).
Other relevant cars
This section has grown and shrunk again as we have come to understand these cars better. The only car left on the list is a "73A" that was bought as a tub and parts by John Mackinlay in New Zealand from Kenny Smith in 2001. The tub now appears to be a March 723 monocoque that spent part of its life as a Formula Pacific car in Malaysia.
John Mackinlay's March 73A in 2016 after it was rebuilt with 73A bodywork. Copyright John Mackinlay 2016. Used with permission.
Bought as "a basic unrestored tub and some running gear" from Kenny Smith (NZ) by John Mackinlay (Auckland, New Zealand) in 2001. Like so many March F5000s of this period, it is said to be ex-Cannon but this car also has a chassis plate stamped '73A/2', despite having a 1972 March monocoque. John originally had the car restored by Bob Needham of Diversified Engineering into the spec of Cannon's 1972 March 72A-Oldsmobile. It was fitted with a 4.4-litre Aluminium Oldsmobile V8 and 721 bodywork.
The car was entered by Mackinlay in the 2005/06 New Zealand F5000 Revival Series, starting at Fielding 12-13 Nov 2005, but first raced in the series at Sandown Park Nov 2006. Mackinlay appeared in selected rounds of the 2007/08 and 2008/09 Tasman Cup Revival series including the Australian GP meeting 28 Mar 2009, was a regular competitor in the 2009/10 series, then missed 2010/11 and returned for the 2011/12 series. Last seen at Hampton Downs Jan 2012. Taken to Shayne Windelburn in 2014, to fit a 1973 March body with front-mounted radiator. Restoration completed by July 2016.
When investigated in 2021, this car was found to be marked 'Marlo 801-1', indicating that it was the March-based Marlo Formula Pacific car raced by Kookie Ramirez in Malaysia in 1981. Its tub is numbered 'AM72/23', which is consistent with it being built from the ex-Chris Cramer March 723-12, which was reported to have been the basis of the Marlo. Kenny Smith is unable to recall where he acquired the monocoque.
A note on chassis number identification
The chassis numbers used here are taken from March factory records and provided by Adam Ferrington.
| Chassis | Customer | Colour | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 73A/1 | John Gunn | White | |
| March 73A/2 | Skip Barber | Red | |
| March 73A/3 | Gus Hutchison | Yellow | |
| March 73A/4 | Bob Lazier | Black/Alum | |
| March 73A/5 | Clive Baker | Black | |
| March 73A/6 | Skip Barber | Red | Kit of spares |
My thanks to Wolfgang Klopfer, Mike Engstrand, Chuck Haines, Greg Wold, Roger Cowman, Mike Duncan, Terry Healy, Marcus Pye, Paul Wilson, Steve Bay, Russ Neice, Pete Klain, Kevin Drew, Nick Smith, John Henderson, Deane Tank, Graham Collins, Peter Dunn, Murray Sinclair, Bill Wiswedel, Eric Haga, Peter Brennan, Harry Read, Anthony Corin, Steve Tillack, Alan Degasis, John Mackinlay and others for getting these histories so far. Especial thanks to Adam Ferrington for supplying March's factory records for the 73A.
Please contact Allen Brown (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can add anything to our understanding of these cars.
These histories last updated on .