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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | March Engineering | ||||||||
| Designers | Robin Herd Gordon Coppuck Adrian Reynard | ||||||||
| Predecessor | March 781 | ||||||||
| Successor | March 821 | ||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||
| Chassis | Aluminiummonocoque | ||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, rocker-actuatedcoil springs anddampers,anti-roll bar | ||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, rocker actuated coil springs and dampers, anti-roll bar | ||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,692 mm (106.0 in) | ||||||||
| Engine | Ford-Cosworth DFV 2,993 cc (182.6 cu in) 90°V8naturally aspirated mid-mounted | ||||||||
| Transmission | Hewland FGA 400 6-speedmanual. | ||||||||
| Power | 485 hp (362 kW) | ||||||||
| Weight | 582–632 kg (1,283–1,393 lb) | ||||||||
| Tyres | Michelin Avon | ||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||
| Notable entrants | March Engineering | ||||||||
| Notable drivers |  Derek Daly Eliseo Salazar | ||||||||
| Debut | 1981 United States Grand Prix West | ||||||||
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TheMarch 811 is aFormula One car built byMarch Engineering and used byRAM Racing in the1981 Formula One World Championship. Designed byRobin Herd,Gordon Coppuck, andAdrian Reynard, it was powered by the traditional 3.0 L (180 cu in)Ford-Cosworth DFVV8 engine. It initially usedMichelin tyres, but eventually switched toAvon tyres at the1981 French Grand Prix. It was March's first Formula One car since 1977.[2][3][4]
The March 811 was designed on behalf of RAM Racing.
RAM Racing was a British racing team that had been involved in various motorsport classes since 1975. In the second half of the 1970s, the team's focus was on theAurora AFX Formula One Series, an all-British championship run under Formula One regulations. RAM won the championship title of this series in the1980 season. In the Formula 1 World Championship, on the other hand, RAM initially only competed sporadically. In 1976, 1977, and 1980 it used race cars from other manufacturers such as Brabham, March and Williams, which were purchased or rented, as a pure customer team at selected Grand Prix events. After RAM and driverEmilio de Villota won the Aurora Series in 1980, team manager John Macdonald decided to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship regularly from 1981. Unlike in the Aurora series, the use of customer chassis was no longer permitted; rather, each team had to construct its own racing car. In the autumn, however, RAM did not have the logistical and technical requirements for the construction of a Formula 1 car.
The team, therefore, linked up with British racing car designer Robin Herd, who had been one of the founders of March Engineering in 1969 and was still one of the owners of the established racing car manufacturer. Herd and RAM founded the company March Grand Prix in the autumn of 1980, which was legally and organizationally independent and had nothing to do with March Engineering. No technology transfer with March Engineering, where Formula 2 cars were still being manufactured, took place. The cars were eventually assembled at March Engines, another independent company also owned by Robin Herd.
For reasons of better publicity, the car that Herd designed for RAM was given the type designation "March", and the model designation 811 also followed the nomenclature customary at March Engineering, according to which the first two digits documented the year of manufacture and the third digit the racing formula for whom the car was intended. In motorsport literature, the March 811 (just like its successor 821) is not seen as a member of the traditional March family; rather, it is occasionally described as "March who was no March".
RAM Racing competed under the name March Racing Team for the 1981 Formula 1 season.
Conceptually, the March 811 was a copy of theWilliams FW07, which in turn was heavily based on theLotus 79. Observers emphasized this in the formulation: "March is building a Williams." Over the course of the year, the basic construction was "tinkered with". One after the other three designers worked on the car, pursuing different philosophies. Robin Herd, the author of the design, was followed for a few weeks by Gordon Coppuck, who was replaced by Adrian Reynard in the early summer of 1981.[5]
The 811 was considered a very simply built car, had an aluminiummonocoque and sheet piling made of magnesium. Robin Herd used internaltorsion bar springs front and rear. The powerplant was a naturally aspirated Cosworth (DFV) engine, which was connected to a five-speed gearbox fromHewland (type FGA). The brakes came from AP, the tyres initially fromMichelin, and later, from the French Grand Prix onwards, fromAvon. Observers got the impression that the Avon tyres improved the handling of the 811.
Since Herd, unlikePatrick Head atWilliams, did not use expensive but lightweight plastics for the 811, the weight of the first three chassis was 632 kg, well above the minimum permissible weight. Coppuck tried to reduce weight by using thinner aluminium sheets. This increased the torsional flexibility of the 811: the monocoque of chassis 04 and 05 warped when driving. Only the sixth chassis, which made its debut at the British Grand Prix, reached the minimum weight of 580 kg.
John Macdonald, RAM Racing team boss, and client of the 811 was disappointed with the race car: “When I saw March GP doing a copy of a Williams, I knew they weren't serious. A copy is never as good as the original". Herd did it "in March's typical way: they cut corners and corners instead of using the same material as Williams". Outside observers felt that the March 811 was not only poorly designed but also poorly assembled. On the occasion of the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which suspension parts fell off the car, team boss John Macdonald told the press: "this car is a pile of shit, and that's official". Derek Daly described the vehicle as a "sleeper" and named the lack of quality as the main reason to leave the team forTheodore the following season.[6]
March Engines built six examples of the March 811 between January and June 1981.[7]
| Grand Prix | 811 RM01 | 811 RM02 | 811 RM03 | 811 RM04 | 811 RM05 | 811 RM06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States | Derek Daly | Eliseo Salazar | ||||
 Brazil | Derek Daly | Eliseo Salazar | ||||
 Argentina | Derek Daly | Eliseo Salazar | ||||
 San Marino | Derek Daly | Eliseo Salazar | ||||
 Belgium | Eliseo Salazar | Derek Daly | ||||
 Monaco | Eliseo Salazar | Derek Daly | ||||
 Spain | Derek Daly | |||||
 France | Derek Daly | |||||
 United Kingdom | Derek Daly | |||||
 Germany | Derek Daly | |||||
 Austria | Derek Daly | |||||
 Netherlands | Derek Daly | |||||
 Italy | Derek Daly | |||||
 Canada | Derek Daly | |||||
| United States | Derek Daly |
In the 1981 Formula 1 season, the March 811s were used by the March Grand Prix team, which was in fact Team RAM Racing. The racing team was sponsored by the Irish breweryGuinness for most of the year's races. The cars were painted black with white sponsor lettering.
The team started the season with two drivers. For the first car, RAM committed the Chilean Formula 1 debutant Eliseo Salazar. Robin Herd wanted to give the second car to the ItalianTeo Fabi, who had been the first to drive it, testing it in late November 1980 atGoodwood.[8] However, RAM team boss John Macdonald chose the Irishman Derek Daly. Macdonald later publicly regretted this choice. [9]
The team debuted at the 1981 South African Grand Prix, a race that did not have World Championship status. Forpolitical reasons, only the teams organized inFOCA started here; Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Osella and Renault were absent. In a field of just 18 drivers, Daly finished 11th and last; Salazar retired after 18 laps due to a gearbox failure.
Five weeks later, the World Championship began with the US West Grand Prix. Salazar was entered for the first six World Championship races. He only qualified for the San Marino Grand Prix; in all other races he failed in qualifying orpre-qualification. In Imola he retired after completing 38 laps due to an engine defect. After two more non-qualifications, Salazar gave up his involvement with RAM and joined rival teamEnsign along with his sponsor. After Salazar's departure, the second March chassis was not reassigned; the team continued the season with just one car.
Daly contested all races of the 1981 season for RAM. At the beginning of the season he drove the chassis RM01, RM02 and RM03 twice. He did not qualify with any of the chassis. Only when he took over the RM04 chassis previously used by Salazar for the Spanish Grand Prix did he qualify for a race for the first time. In Spain he finished 16th, five laps down. From the British Grand Prix Daly had access to the new Adrian Reynard revised RM06 chassis fitted with Avon tyres. With the new chassis, Daly qualified regularly, apart from the last race of the season in Las Vegas. His best grid position was 17th in Great Britain; here he achieved the team's best result of the year with seventh place. However, the car continued to be unreliable. Four failures were due to technical defects.
RAM Racing did not score a championship point with the March 811.
Colin Bennett Racing entered the 811 RM05 in the British Formula One Championship with Italian-British driverValentino Musetti in the first half of 1982. The championship consisted of five races held on British circuits. During the year, seven teams with a total of 10 drivers took part in the series. Musetti contested the first three races of the season. At theOulton Park International Gold Cup, Musetti failed due to technical reasons. The subsequent Caribbean Airways Trophy atBrands Hatch, in which only six drivers competed, Musetti finished third, and at the Rivet Supply Trophy atThruxton he finished second. Musetti skipped the remaining two races of the British Formula 1 Championship.
In the summer of 1982, Colin Bennett Racing left the British Formula 1 championship and instead became involved in the North AmericanCan-Am series. Vehicles with 5.0-liter eight-cylinder engines derived from standard engines were permitted there, as were Formula 1 cars with 3.0-liter racing engines. Colin Bennett Racing competed in two races in this series in the summer of 1982. The team entered the March 811 RM05 for Val Musetti and the 811 RM06 for Arnold Glass. The team debuted at the fourth race of the season atElkhart Lake. Musetti qualified as the best driver with a 3.0-litre car in ninth place on the grid. He did not finish the race because the power transmission broke on the ninth lap. Glass started the race from 28th position and finished 17th. In the subsequent race inTrois-Rivières, Canada, Glass failed to qualify while Musetti placed 12th on the grid. Musetti did not finish this race either. Colin Bennett Racing then gave up participation in the Can-Am series.
After the Trois-Rivières race, Colin Bennett sold the March 811 RM05 to the Canadian team Gordon Lightfoot Racing. It started withJohn Graham in the last four races of the season. Graham finished all races. His best finish was eighth in the final race atLaguna Seca Raceway.
The car proved not very competitive, never reaching the points and often having difficulty in qualifying. The best result was a seventh-place finish withDerek Daly at theBritish Grand Prix.
In addition to Daly, the car was entrusted to theChileanEliseo Salazar, who however was never able to qualify. Only one car entrusted to the Irish driver was lined up from theSpanish Grand Prix.
The March team finished the 1981 Formula One World Championship season with 0 points.
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