March 732 car-by-car histories
Jean-Pierre Jarier winning his first race in the works March 732 at Mallory Park in March 1973. Copyright Ted Walker 2012. Used with permission.
The March 732 was the car that reshaped Formula 2 through its domination of the 1973 Formula 2 season, winning 11 of the 17 championship races. STP March team leader Jean-Pierre Jarier won eight races and the title.
March boss Max Mosley had a very good relationship with Jochen Neerpasch, Competition Director of Ford of Germany, and this paid off in 1972 when Neerpasch left Ford to take on the same role at BMW. Neerpasch offered March an exclusive deal for BMW's new Formula 2 M12/6 engine, as long as March agreed to buy 50. As well as being standard equipment on the new F2 March 732, March also built a range of 2-litre sports cars, the March 73S. After the disappointing side-radiator March 722, Robin Herd returned to the March 712M template for his 1973 F2 car. The nose was based on the wide "sports car" nose that March had tried on the 722 towards the end of the 1972 season, so the main radiator was returned to the front of the car. The more powerful engine prompted a change from Hewland's FT200 to its stronger FG400 gearbox, but in other respects, the car was a refinement of the 712M. In a further change from 1972, the Formula B/Atlantic and F2 cars had different type numbers, the Formula B/Atlantic variant being the March 73B. It appears that eight 732s had been completed in time for the opening race at Mallory Park on 11 March, although only three were actually present, and then another three were delivered in time for the second round, bringing the total production at that point to 11. Six other cars were later built in the season, the earliest of those appearing in June.
The BMW engine proved to be both powerful and reliable, and thanks to the inspired driving of March team leader Jean-Pierre Jarier, the March 732 was by far the most successful car of the 1973 season. Of the competition, Jochen Mass went very well in the factory Surtees TS15, winning two races, and Francois Cevert won one race with the Alpine A367, both these teams using Brian Hart's alloy engines. GRD won two races, but the marque's star driver Roger Williamson defected when his patron Tom Wheatcroft bought a March 732. The massed ranks of the Motul Rondel team won two races, and Wilson Fittipaldi won a non-championship race in a Brabham BT40. The success of the March-BMW had a profound impact on the constructor landscape. GRD only found one person to buy a F2 GRD for 1974, and soon folded; Brabham pulled out of production racing car construction; the Lotus team packed away their failed "Texaco Stars" and were not seen in F2 again; Pygmée quit F2 mid-season and stopped production; and as the impact of the oil crisis was felt, Rondel went into liquidation. The Ensign and Scott F2 cars turned out to be one-offs. Only Chevron, Alpine and Surtees survived the steamroller.
If you can add to our understanding of these cars, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
Jean-Pierre Jarier's March 732 at Mallory Park in March 1973. Copyright Ted Walker 2012. Used with permission.
STP March Engineering works car for Jean-Pierre Beltoise at the first race, then for Hans-Joachim Stuck at two races and then for Jean-Pierre Jarier at two races. A new car, 732-10, was later built for Beltoise so this 732-1 became what March called the "training car" and was used by Stuck later in the year and was then the third spare car remaining in March's transporter at several races. Probably for Mário Cabral at Estoril. Then unknown until June 1975 when acquired by John Calvert for libre racing in 742 spec. To Geoff Friswell mid-1976, rebuilt for him by Brian Lisles and fitted with a Hart 420R engine, but wrecked in practice at Oulton Park in September. Rebuilt on a 742 chassis and raced in two late-season events. Later to Jonathan Buncombe who fitted an FVC engine for libre races. Sold to Roger Orgee and further modified to 772P specification for Formula Atlantic in 1979. Sold after the 1979 season to Harry Vickers' Cowgate Motors in Newcastle and was used in the construction of their Group 5 Lotus Elan HV/80/S2 for Nicky Ellis. This car used a standard Elan backbone chassis with the suspension from the ex-Orgee 732/742/772 and a Swindon BDX. All that would have been left of Orgee's car would have been the monocoque, and as this was a replacement 742 tub, the March 732 had effectively ceased to exist.
Driven by: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Mário Araújo de Cabral, John Calvert, Geoff Friswell and Roger Orgee. First race: Mallory Park (R1), 11 Mar 1973. Total of 32 recorded races.
Unknown. This entry is blank in March records. Either this or 732/3 is likely to be the car that went to Japan, but nothing more known.
Unknown. This entry is blank in March records. Either this or 732/2 is likely to be the car that went to Japan, but nothing more known.
The ex-Beta March 732 when with Hall & Hall in early 2020. Copyright Hall & Hall 2020. Used with permission.
Beta Racing Team for Vittorio Brambilla 1973 and used as his main car all season. Crashed at Monza in June and rebuilt on a new monocoque. Crashed again in practice at Vallalunga in October and may have been written off, leaving Vittorio to drive brother Tino's 732/5 at the last race. This car appears to have been repaired on a new monocoque and retained by the team as a spare in 1974. It would be the car raced by Diulio Truffo at Mugello and Alberto Colombo at Vallelunga. It remained with the Brambillas until 1977, when it passed to sponsor Daniele Ciceri of Beta Tools, and was placed on display at the Beta factory. It 1988, it passed to the Autorevival Italia Association, and was displayed in the Museum Autodromo Monza until 2000, when it was acquired by Guido Romani (Milan). It was sold to Hall and Hall (Bourne, Lincolnshire) in 2019 when it was found to be in remarkably original condition. Sold to Graham Adelman in 2019. Still located in the UK in March 2020. Raced by Adelman at the Silverstone Classic in 2021, and at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in 2022. Still owned by Adelmann in December 2024.
Driven by: Vittorio Brambilla, Diulio Truffo and Alberto Colombo. First race: Thruxton (R3), 23 Apr 1973. Total of 13 recorded races.
Beta Racing Team for Tino Brambilla 1973 but crashed at Nivelles-Baulers in June. Repaired and then used as a spare car by brother Vittorio. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Ernesto "Tino" Brambilla, Vittorio Brambilla and Cosimo Turizio. First race: Hockenheim (R2), 8 Apr 1973. Total of 6 recorded races.
STP March Engineering works car for Jean-Pierre Jarier, winning the two opening rounds at Mallory Park and Hockenheim, but then crashed at the third race at Thruxton in April. Rebuilt on a new tub and raced by Jacques Coulon at Nivelles-Baulers in June. Thereafter Jarier's regular car, winning at Rouen, Mantorp Park, Karlskoga, Enna-Pergusa and Estoril. This may be the March 732 that was later exhibited in the BMW Museum, which is exhibited wearing the #23 that Jarier used at Rouen. A visit by Motor Sport magazine in early 1975 (Motor Sport March 1975 p245) mentioned a 732 being on display, and the car has been spotted on subsequent occasions.
Driven by: Jean-Pierre Jarier and Jacques Coulon. First race: Mallory Park (R1), 11 Mar 1973. Total of 11 recorded races.
Ecurie Filipinetti for Jacques Coulon with Antar sponsorship, completed on the Saturday morning of the opening Mallory race, but did not start. Transferred to Brian Lewis Racing after Georges Filipinetti's death in May. To Gérard Pillon (Geneva, Switzerland) 1974 and used in Swiss national events. In 1977, Pillon loaned it to his fellow Genevois Laurent Ferrier for the European F2 races at Hockenheim and Vallelunga, but Ferrier could not qualify the old car for either race. Pillon then appeared at three F2 events in 1978 in a March-BMW variously described as a 762 or a 782, and it is possible that this was the old 732 again. The 732 was next seen in 1979, driven by Ami Guichard, son of the Automobile Year editor of the same name, in French hillclimbs. After driving Pillon's new 782 in 1978, Guichard returned to the 732 and was still racing the car in Swiss championship events in 1988, when it was described as being largely original. The car remained with Pillon thereafter, and was still in Switzerland in 2015.
Driven by: Jacques Coulon, Gérard Pillon and Laurent Ferrier. First race: Hockenheim (R2), 8 Apr 1973. Total of 15 recorded races.
For Colin Vandervell, run by Brian Lewis Racing. Vandervell became disillusioned with F2 and the car was rented out to other drivers, notably Motoharu Kurosawa. Unknown after 1973 but there are no unexplained 732s in Japan to suggest Kurosawa took it home. This could be the unexplained 732 of Jean Lapierre in French hillclimbs in 1974.
Driven by: Colin Vandervell, Kurt Rieder, Motoharu Kurosawa and Silvio Moser. First race: Mallory Park (R1), 11 Mar 1973. Total of 15 recorded races.
Clarke Guthrie Racing for Mike Beuttler in Formula 2 in 1973, run by Brian Lewis Racing, but destroyed in an accident at Rouen-les-Essarts in June. For the rest of that season, Beuttler focused on his Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie-Durlacher Racing drive in F1. The chassis plate from 732/9 was used on March 732/15, a new car run by Brian Lewis Racing for Andy Sutcliffe.
Driven by: Mike Beuttler. First race: Hockenheim (R2), 8 Apr 1973. Total of 4 recorded races.
Howard Katz in his March 732 at Watkins Glen in 2008. Copyright Jim Knerr 2008. Used with permission.
Howard Katz in his March 732 at Watkins Glen in 2010. Copyright Jim Knerr 2010. Used with permission.
STP March Engineering works car for Jean-Pierre Beltoise at Hockenheim and later by Jean-Pierre Jarier at two races. Probably the car used by Jacques Coulon at Hockenheim, by Beltoise at Albi and by Stuck at Estoril. To Brian Lewis Racing for 1974 and updated to 742 spec for Andy Sutcliffe as '742-10b', then run for hire drivers later in the year. To Roger Heavens for Antônio Castro Prado for F2 in the latter part of 1975, then sold via Hervé Le Guellec to Jimmy Mieusset as a backup car for French hillclimbing at the start of the 1976 season. Also used by Roger Rivoire in May 1976, and then sold to Jean-Pierre Simon in June 1976. Retained by Simon for 1977, still with its BMW engine. Unknown in 1978, when it could have been the 742-BMW of, for example, Robert Despratx in southwest France. Then to Maurice Crozier and raced in 1979 and 1980 with a 1600cc Ford engine. Advertised by Crozier with or without its 1600cc Cosworth FVA engine in November 1980. Acquired by Daniel Mangini during 1981, and fitted with an ex-Pourcher Ford engine. Raced by him in courses de côte in 1982. History then unknown until it was advertised by Yves Bonjean (Pont-du-Château, Auvergne, France) in September 1997. The car was still in the 1977 bodywork used by Crozier. Sold via Philippe Demeyer (Liège, Belgium) to Simon Hadfield (Shepshed, Leicestershire). Sold to Howard Katz (New York, NY) who raced it extensively in US vintage racing around 2005. To Nick Osborn (UK) and raced in Historic F2 in 2016, still exactly in Katz' livery. Still owned by Osborn in February 2019, but by the summer it was owned by Graham Adelman, who also owned the Beta-liveried 732/4. Adelman raced the STP-liveried 732 at the 2019 Silverstone Classic. Still owned by Graham Adelman, and kept in the US since September 2024.
Driven by: Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Jacques Coulon, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Andy Sutcliffe, Gunnar Nilsson, Maxime Bochet, Vittorio Brambilla, Antônio Castro Prado, Robert "Jimmy" Mieusset, Roger Rivoire, Jean-Pierre Simon, Maurice Crozier and Daniel Mangini. First race: Hockenheim (R2), 8 Apr 1973. Total of 61 recorded races.
Bill Gubelmann's March 732/752 in the Oulton Park paddock on 16 April 1976. Copyright Alan Cox 2024. Used with permission.
New to Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) for F2 in 1973 and retained for 1974 when run by Brian Lewis Racing. Clay Regazzoni was due to drive the car at Vallelunga in October, but did not arrive, so a deal was done for Gabrielle Serblin to drive after he damaged his usual 742 in practice. Not seen in 1975, when the intention had been to sell the car to Stuart Chubb Racing, but Gubelmann returned for the 1976 Shellsport G8 series with the car updated to 752 specification, fitted with a Hart BDG, and run by Bob Gerard. Gubelmann also appeared in a handful of F2 races in 1976, but after failing to qualify for the Rouen race, quickly moved to Mallory Park in time to qualify for the Shellsport race. He was involved in a nasty accident in the race when he clipped the rear of Mike Wilds' F1 Shadow, rode up over its back wheel and hit the bank at the Esses very hard. He was taken to hospital with head injuries. The March is believed to have been destroyed.
Driven by: Bill Gubelmann and Gabriele Serblin. First race: Hockenheim (R2), 8 Apr 1973. Total of 32 recorded races.
To Jacques Joliat and used mainly in French hillclimbs but also some Swiss, German and Luxembourg events in 1973 and 1974. At the start of September 1974, Joliat crashed the car very heavily at a regional event and did not return to hillclimbing until August 1975. In a latter to Max Blees (Aachen, Germany) in 2005, Joliat recalled that he sold the engine, gearbox and wheels separately, and the bent monocoque and some suspension parts went to Albert Badan. Badan raced a March 722 in 1975, so the fate of the 732 monocoque is unknown.
Driven by: Jacques Joliat and Denis Rua. First race: Hautes-Vosges, 10 Jun 1973. Total of 27 recorded races.
To Roland Salomon for Swiss championship events from June onwards, replacing a GRD 272, and also some F2 races that season. After winning the Swiss title, the car was damaged in a hillclimb near the end of the season and rebuilt on a new tub in time for the Estoril F2 race. Salomon continued with the car in 1974 but focused on national events. Sold to Beat Blatter 1975 for Swiss Championship events. Then sold to Alain Jaccard (Thônex, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland) in 1976, when the car moved to eastern France, fitted with a 1600cc Ford engine, and used in the 1600cc class of French course de côte. To Michel Salvi (Malbuisson, Franche-Comté, France) for the 1978 hillclimb season, agai with the 1600cc Ford. Retained by Salvi for 1979, then sold to Jacques Bonnot (Chalon-sur-Saône, Franche-Comté) as a rolling chassis with Hewland FG400 gearbox but not raced by him. Later sold to Sébastien Brisard and being prepared in 2023 for historic racing.
Driven by: Roland Salomon, Beat Blatter, Alain Jaccard and Michel Salvi. First race: Dijon-Prenois (R6), 3 Jun 1973. Total of 47 recorded races.
The Roger Williamson March 732 in the Donington Museum in October 2012. Licenced by Jaimie Wilson under Creative Commons licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic. Original image has been cropped.
Bought by Tom Wheatcroft for Roger Williamson to race in F2 in 1973, replacing a pair of GRD 273s. Used in three F2 races in mid-1973. After Williamson's death in a F1 race at the end of July, the car remained in Wheatcroft's collection as part of a tribute to Williamson at the Donington Museum. After Tom Wheatcroft's death in 2009, the car was inherited by his son Kevin Wheatcroft, who has stated his intention to retain the car, even after other cars in his father's collection are sold. After the Donington Museum was closed in November 2018, the March 732 was moved into secure storage.
Driven by: Roger Williamson. First race: Rouen-les-Essarts (R9), 24 Jun 1973. Total of 3 recorded races.
A new car for Andy Sutcliffe at Karlskoga run by Brian Lewis Racing and replacing 732-9, crashed by Mike Beuttler earlier in the year. To save paperwork, the team put the "732/9" chassis plate onto the car and it still wears it today. Sold to Ken Smith in New Zealand after Sutcliffe's money did not appear and raced by him in the 1974 Tasman series. Then rebuilt as a ANF2 car with a Ford twin cam for the 1974 Australian Formula 2 series and sold to Ken Shirvington mid-season. The car remains in Australia in 2012.
Driven by: Andy Sutcliffe, Ken Smith and Ken Shirvington. First race: Karlskoga (R12), 12 Aug 1973. Total of 18 recorded races.
March 732 mysteries in 1973
In June, Ecurie Santos were said to have built up a Formula 5000 car using the March 732 monocoque damaged when Jarier crashed 732/6 at Thruxton in April. This car was entered for the British GP during a brief period when the Grand Prix organisers were haggling with the "Formula 1 Association" over the fee for the race and were threatening to fill the grid with F5000 cars.
The only unidentified March 732 in 1973 is the Heroes Racing Corporation car raced in Japan by Hiromu Tanaka. This would be 732/2, 732/3 or 732/16, but given how early in the season it appeared, it must really be 732/2 or 732/3. Either way, it can only account for one of those three unexplained cars. What happened to the other two remains unresolved.
Heroes Racing Corporation ran a March 732 in the Japanese Formula 2 series in 1973, raced by Hiromu Tanaka. Tetsu Ikuzawa raced the car in early 1974, and it is then highly likely to have been the 732 entered by Niscait Racing for Fukumi Koutake in November 1974. By the same logic, as it was the only 732 known to have gone to Japan, it was presumably the BDA-engined 732 raced by Tomohiko Tsutsumi in 1975. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Hiromu Tanaka, Tetsu Ikuzawa, Fukumi Koutake and Tomohiko Tsutsumi. First race: Fuji (R1), 3 May 1973. Total of 10 recorded races.
March 732s in 1974
Six of the March 732s cannot be traced beyond the end of 1973: 732/2, 732/3, 732/5, 732/6, 732/8, and 732/16. One of these will be the car that went to Japan, probably 732/2 or 732/3. The Brambillas kept one of their two cars, 732/4 and 732/5, but the other vanishes, possibly as the result of one of Vittorio's many accidents. Chassis 732/6 also vanishes, but may well be the car in the BMW Museum. Colin Vandervell's 732/8 also disappears, and was probably sold into the second-hand market. That leaves 732/16, about which we know nothing.
Two March appeared in French hillclimbs in early 1974 which were described initially as 1974 Marchs, but neither had BMW engines, so are unlikely to have been 742s. These were both supplied by French March agent Pierre Maublanc Racing to two of his customers: Jean Lapierre and Régis Péchaire. As best we can tell, Lapierre's car was fitted with a 2-litre Racing Services BDA engine, a popular option in F2 in 1973 for those who could not get hold of a BMW engine. Péchaire's car was initially called a 74B, then later a 742. When it was advertised in May 1975, the engine was a 1900cc Cosworth FVC, an even lower-cost option. Although this car is currently listed with the 732s, one possibility is that it was the March 74B ordered by Miguel Coarasa for 1974 but sold to Pierre Maublanc before it was raced.
The other car to appear in 1974 was Max Bonnin's, which was built using a previously unused tub, and first raced in August.
Jean Lapierre ran a March 732 in French hillclimbs from the start of 1974 until the end of the 1976 season. Its identity is still unknown but nearly all the March 732s can be traced into 1974 so it is most likely to be the ex-Colin Vandervell chassis 732-7. Lapierre ran the car in the 2-litre Group 8/9 class but its engine is usually only described as a Ford. The one time it is identified in any detail, it appears to have been a Racing Services BDA, a popular option in F2 in 1973. As the car did not have a BMW engine, it is possible - but unlikely - that it was an updated 722. At some point in 1976 the car was crashed and Lapierre may have had two Marchs by the end of 1976. In 1977, it was reported that Hervé Bayard had acquired the wrecked ex-Lapierre March 742 and had rebuilt it. However, another report said that he had the ex-Lateste March 742-BMW, which seems much more plausible.
Driven by: Jean Lapierre and Bernard Delage. First race: Ampus, 31 Mar 1974. Total of 50 recorded races.
Having run a 1970 Pygmée during 1972 and 1973, Régis Péchaire acquired a Formula 2 March for French hillclimbs in 1974. The car was described throughout his three seasons as a March 742, but a later owner described it as a 732, hinting that it was older than Péchaire's description. Péchaire used this with an unknown 2-litre Ford engine during 1974, 1975 and 1976, regularly winning regional events and being well placed in major events. He moved to a Chevron B35 for 1977, and the '742' was sold to Michel Turrel for 1977, who raced it in south-eastern France with a 2-litre Hart engine. Although this was described by Echappement as the ex-Péchaire 742, it is also described as a 732 on at least two occasions. This might be the result of its early-1974 short-nose bodywork, but is thought to indicate it was a 732, not a 742. Turrell raced the car again in 1978 and 1979, and advertised it in December 1979 as a March 742 with Hart 420 engine. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Régis Péchaire and Michel Turrel. First race: Ampus, 31 Mar 1974. Total of 62 recorded races.
Max Bonnin raced a March in F2 in 1974, which was described by Motoring News as being "one of last year's March monocoques", to which Bonnin had fitted his own suspension, "which featured narrower track and revised roll centres". Bonnin later told Gérard Gamand that he acquired an unused 732 monocoque to build this car. It was powered by a Hart BDA. Bonnin raced this car in F2 through 1974 and 1975 before buying a March 752 for 1976. The 732, by then called a 742, was sold to Jean-Louis Albinet and used in French hillclimbs in 1976, 1977 and 1978, using a 2-litre Hart engine. In July 1978, Albinet acquired a Martini MK22, and the March-Hart was sold to Gérard Lafaurie (Bordeaux, Aquitaine), first appearing in August 1978 in a "March 732", and then regularly from the start of 1979 in a "March 742". Lafaurie raced the car again in 1980, 1981, and 1982. Later in 1982, the car was sold to Pascal Malateste, who fitted the 1600cc engine from his Pygmée. He raced the car in 1982 and 1983, before it passed to his father Yves Malateste in 1984. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Max Bonnin, Jean-Louis Albinet, Gérard Lafaurie and Pascal Malateste. First race: Enna-Pergusa (R8), 25 Aug 1974. Total of 78 recorded races.
March 732s in 1975
Of the 17 March 732s, one (732/9) had been destroyed in 1973 and six went missing at the end of that season, leaving 10 that could be traced into 1974. After one more (732/12) was wrecked in 1974, the remaining nine can be tracked through into 1975: 732/1 went to John Calvert for libre, 732/4 remained with the Brambillas, 732/7 remained with Gérard Pillon, 732/10 went to Roger Heavens for Antônio Castro Prado for F2, 732/11 was still with Bill Gubelmann, 732/13 went to Beat Blatter in Switzerland, 732/14 was in Tom Wheatcroft's collection, 732/15 remained with Ken Shirvington, and 732/17 was retained by Roland Binder.
The six that had gone missing at the end of 1973 (732/2, 732/3, 732/5, 732/6, 732/8, and 732/16) can be partly explained by one car going to Heroes Racing in Japan, one probably being lost in all the Brambillas' accidents, one going to the BMW Museum and one perhaps going to Jean Lapierre, and one maybe going to Régis Péchaire. The Heroes Racing, BMW Museum, Lapierre and Péchaire cars can all be tracked into 1975, so no further 732 went missing between 1974 and 1975.
Another car joined the March 732 story in 1975, and needs to be listed here. It began life as a March 733 raced by Max Bonnin but it's quite possible he built it from parts. It was acquired by Spaniard Luis Maria de Almenara for F3 in 1974, then was rebuilt to Formula 2 specification in 1975 and called a 732. A photograph of this car taken towards the end of 1975 shows it in works 742 bodywork with side radiators.
Previous versions of this page listed the car of Italian Adriano Parlamento as a likely March 732. Better photographs have since indicated it is more likely to have been a March 712M.
New to Max Bonnin at some point during the 1973 Formula 3 season. Sold during 1974 to Luis Maria de Almenara Juandò (Barcelona, Spain), who raced it at Magione in September 1974. Then rebuilt as a March 732 for Formula 2 in 1975, using an ex-Alpine Hart BDA engine. De Almenara raced the car at five races in Formula 2 in 1975, but failed to qualify for four of them. He also ran it at the Carrera en Cuesta a la Rabassada hillclimb in Spain in October 1975, finishing second. A photograph of the car at Rabassada shows it wearing works-style 742 bodywork with side radiators, and the rollhoop casing cut down as happened to the 752s early in the 1975 season. Subsequent history unknown.
Driven by: Max Bonnin and Luis Maria de Almenara. First race: La Châtre (R6), 20 May 1973. Total of 7 recorded races.
March 732s in from 1976 to 1979
By the end of 1975, four March 732s had appeared in French hillclimbs: Gérard Pillon's ex-Ecurie Filipinetti/Jacques Coulon 732/7, the ex-everyone 732/10, the mystery ex-Jean Lapierre 732/742, and the ex-Régis Péchaire "742". Also, Max Bonnin had built a car around an unused 732 monocoque, which had been sold to Jean-Louis Albinet for French hillclimbs. These cars were later joined by 732/13, which moved from Switzerland to France and was raced by Alain Jaccard in French hilllcimbs in 1977, and later by Michel Salvi in 1978 and 1979.
Pillon's 732/7 was retained for many years, so its movements are fully understood through to 1980. The ex-everyone 732/10 can be traced confidently to 1982 at least, and almost certainly to 1986. Lapierre's 732/742/752 was last seen in Bernard Delage's hands in September 1977, before he replaced it with the ex-Max Mamers March 762. The Péchaire "742" was with Michel Turrel as late as December 1979. The ex-Bonnin/Albinet car was with Gérard Lafaurie in 1982. Michel Salvi's 732/13 has a continuous ownership history to the present day. So the only one of these cars to go missing before the end of the 1970s was Jean Lapierre's car, last seen in September 1977.
Of the three 732s that had gone to Switzerland: Jacques Joliat's 732/12 had been wrecked hillclimbing in Switzerland in 1974 and parted out, and 732/13 had moved to France as recounted above; leaving just the 732/17 of Roland Binder, last seen being raced by him in Switzerland in 1975.
The Brambilla brothers did a deal with Lancia for 1976 to provide Lancia-Ferrari V6 engines to Ron Dennis's Project 4 Formula 2 team. Engines were installed in March 752 and 762s for Project 4, but the engine was not a success, and Dennis pulled out. The Brambillas then installed the engine in a test car that appears to have been a 1973 or 1974 March chassis, possibly one of the 732s the brothers had raced in 1973. The car was described by Autosprint as a 732 and "apparently ex-Pesenti" [Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi], suggesting it was his 742, but that 742 was in long-nose specification in early 1976 and the Lancia test car was in an older specification, so the Pesento reference is thought to be incorrect. Vittorio Brambilla drove this test car at Enna-Pergusa in July 1976 but failed to qualify. He then raced it in the non-championship race at Misano four weeks later, finishing last in the first heat but improving to ninth in the second heat. The car's only other known appearance was when Guido Pardini raced it at Mugello in June 1977, retiring after only two laps. The identity of the car remains unresolved.
Driven by: Vittorio Brambilla and Guido Pardini. First race: Misano, 22 Aug 1976. Total of 2 recorded races.
March 732s in the 1980s
Of the six cars mentioned above as being 732-ish and active in French hillclimbs up to the end of 1979, four can be traced through to 1982 at least: Pillon's 732/7, the ex-everyone 732/10, Salvi's 732/13 and the ex-Bonnin/Albinet car. That leaves the ex-Jean Lapierre 732/742, last seen in September 1977, and the ex-Régis Péchaire "742", last seen in December 1979.
Another mystery 732 appeared in 1980 and 1981: Gérard Fau's March 732/772 with Renault engine in 1980 and probably early 1981. The Lapierre car and the Péchaire car are the most likely contenders, although the latter was nearly always described as a 742, not a 732. Note that Patrick Thibonnet's March "732", raced in 1981 and 1983, which used to appear on this page, has now been identified as March 722/14.
Gérard Fau raced a March 732/772 with a 1.6-litre Renault engine in French hillclimbs in 1980 and 1981. He advertised the car in Echappement in September 1980 as a 732 with 772 bodywork, a Renault engine and Hewland FT200 gearbox. In early 1981, Fau was reported to have a 742 with 1600cc Ford engine, but by August 1981, it was clear that he was racing a March 782 or 783. Exactly when he moved from the 732 to the 782 is unclear.
Driven by: Gérard Fau. First race: Hautefage-la-Tour, 11 May 1980. Total of 12 recorded races.
March 732s in the 1990s
For much of the 1980s, the Historic F2 races were only held for cars built up to 31 December 1971, which meant there was nowhere for a 732 to race, unless of course it was rebuilt into a 712M. In the early 1990s, the first 2-litre cars started to appear in a few events, but it was only in the early 2000s that 2-litre Historic Formula 2 really started to develop.
Pierre Regnault's March 732 when for sale around 2004. Copyright Kevan McLurg 2007. Used with permission.
A car first known when registered with the FFSA in 1992 by Daniel Loiseau (Bures-sur-Yvette, France) for historic racing with an 1840cc Ford engine. It was said to be the Jacques Joliat car, and to have been owned by John Beattie from 1975 to 1990. Loiseau raced it in 1992, but it was then unknown until 2005, when it was owned by Max Blees (Aachen, Germany) and was restored to works livery. It was then said to have been owned by Pierre Regnault from 1990 to 2005, and to have been maintained by Dominique Huet (Millançay) but Beattie's name had been replaced with a single reference to Albert Badan. Raced by Blees in Historic F2 in 2006. Sold to Hugo Willmars (Aachen, Germany) in 2007.
Will Tomkins' Wheatcroft-liveried March 732 at Oulton Park in July 2022. Copyright Will Tomkins 2023. Used with permission.
In May 1996, Tony Hansford (Tunbridge Wells, Kent) registered a March 732 with the HSCC. It was said to be the ex-Ecurie Filipinetti/Jacques Coulon chassis 732-7, and to have been used by Steve Choularton and Jim Crawford as a 73B in 1974. The application stated that the car had been bought from March in 1993 by the late Roger Hurst, a well-known dealer from Folkestone in Kent, who sold it to Hansford in 1994. By 1996, it was restored as a 732 in STP livery but with a BDG engine, and was then identified as chassis 73B-1. This car was later sold to Bob Machinist (New York, NY) in mid-1999, and was used by him in US vintage racing between 1999 and 2004. In September 2007, it was acquired from Vintage Racing Services Inc by Will Tomkins (Peterborough, UK), and was raced in Historic F2 in 2014 and 2016. Tomkins restored the car using the livery of the Roger Williamson/Tom Wheatcroft 732, and in 2022 it was raced by Sam Wilson in the HSCC Aurora series. Still with Tomkins in January 2023.
Roberto Farneti's March 732 at the Historic Minardi Day at Imola in 2017. Licenced by Fabio Casadei (fabiocasadei77.wordpress.com) under Creative Commons licence Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic. Original image has been cropped.
Roberto Farneti had a March 732 at the Historic Minardi Day at Imola in 2016 and 2017. It was in Beta livery, and said to be Vittorio Brambilla's Schnitzer-engined car. Nothing more known.
In addition to the above, an unknown March 732 was driven by Ph. Montier.
Acknowledgements
This has been a very long project, and I am grateful to Chris Townsend for the immense amount of work he put into this topic. Thanks also to Adam Ferrington, Simon Hadfield, Ted Walker, Bryan Miller, David McKinney, Michael Ferner, Philippe Demeyer, Jeremy Hall, Michael Oliver and Brian Speake for their assistance with the research. This topic was initially researched on 10 Tenths from 2003 to 2009 by Chris, David, Bryan, Ted, Adam, Michael O and myself, and thanks from that time must also go to Jeremy Jackson, Max Blees, Leighton Irwin, Andrew Fellowes, Ian Douglass and Dan Rear. Thanks to the impressively well connected Kevan McLurg, whose email from Roger Orgee regarding 732/1 and from Sébastien Brisard regarding 732/13 were very useful. In more recent times, thanks also to Rob Hall and Andy Willis at Hall & Hall, Marcel Biehl, Gérard Gamand and Will Tomkins.
This is an especially complex subject, and we are a long way from knowing the whole story. If you can add to our understanding of these cars, or have photographs that we can use, please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com.
These histories last updated on .