I’m a huge fan of the March F1 Team. It all started with the Leyton House March Racing Team cars that appeared in 1987 on the grid with that lovely Miami blue colour scheme. The CG901 was an absolute beauty, a true eye-catcher. The biggest reason I want to be a guest of the team is Henny Vollenberg. It is Henny who would do almost anything in his power to keep the team afloat in 1992. What he tried after the season closure in Adelaide shows his true passion and dedication to keep the Miami blue cars on the track.
Indeed, I’m answering 22 years later the question on the “March F1 Competition” advertisement they placed in autosport 2 December 1992. I used too many words, as the maximum was twelve! There were also three “easy” multiple-choice question to be answered by calling a phone number. It seems the team at that time still under the lead of Henny Vollenberg still believed in their own future. We know now that around the same time a shady deal with “Tamoil” was in the making, which meant no money for the March F1 Team at all.
The prices you could win with only telling why you would be their guest were interesting!
The first price was a F1 weekend of your choice for two. Which included; Hotel, Flights, Race day Tickets, Pit Passes and meet and greets.
The second price was a VIP weekend with the team during the Grand Prix at Silverstone or the European Grand Prix at Donington.
The third price was a day at the Jim Russel Racing School.
On the paper, you had to fill in the answers of the multiple-choice questions, and the reason why you want to attempt a race with the team there was something else. Underneath the form there were three options you could tick the box. The March F1 Team was working on a special F1 Investor Pack for people who wanted to support the team. There was another membership pack for the regular fans. Probably you would receive some information about the team after every race. The last box is “March F1 Official Merchandise” for me personally this is the most interesting. Imagine we could all walk in March F1 Team Miami blue shirts!
It is interesting to see that March went this way; did they try to hide the real situation? Or did they really believe they would be on the grid in 1993? We will never know. The winter of 1992/1993 was a horror winter for the team. Despite all their efforts, the team folded after the South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, where the cars stood on blocks without tyres and an engine.
