orc dossier - march 722-8 final

7/23/2019 ORC Dossier - March 722-8 Final

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DOSSIER

MARCH 722- 8

Chris Townsend

Translation into Japanese by - ****************


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MARCH 722- 8

This car was one of a large run of Formula Two and FB cars built by March in 1972. It was consigned toPeter Bloore Racing for the Japanese driver Hiroshi Kazato to use in the European Formula 2championship. The car had relatively little use after the 1972 season. Where most British based March 722s

ended up in Formula Atlantic and having long after-lives in club racing, 722-8 is shown in a document fromthe March factory records as being sold to J.C. Gridley from Tooting, south London. Gridley was probablyplanning to enter the car in the 1973 British Formula Atlantic championships for saloon car ace HolmanBlackburn. Blackburn recalls that he was offered the car by a chap from south west London but he could

never afford to put a BDD in it, and although many entries were made the car never actually raced. It wassold in September 1973. After this the history of the car is somewhat murky. It seems to have been acquired,still as a rolling chassis, by a hill climber in Mitcham, south London, or it was perhaps kept by Gridleyhimself. It was found in autumn 1984 by British hill climber and photographer Ted Ferret Walker,actingon behalf of John Harper, under a car cover in a lock-up garage. The car was, in fact, less time-warp than

Walker recalls since in the back was a seized iron block Alan Smith 1850cc BDA - and Kazato had neverrun a Smith engine. It must, presumably, have been installed by the mystery hill climber, who told Walker

that it had done a couple of continental hill climbs. However, these must have been relatively low-keyevents - perhaps regional events in France, which were popular with British club drivers - since no recordcan be found of a British entered March, far less Gridleys name, amongst the entry lists for the major

Swiss, French and German events of 1973-74. It is more likely that the car was used in British hill climbs,but even then there may have been only one or two events before the engine was irreparably damaged -and without entry lists for minor events, and with no supporting documents from Walker, tracing theidentity of this owner may be a protracted task. Walker soon sold the car to collector Nigel Smith who soldit on to Gerry Wainwright who began restoration, planning to use it in historic racing. That work wascompleted by Simon Hadfield on behalf of Jim Bennett, from him the car went to Scott Meehan in 2005and to Andrew Gifford in 2012.

DRIVERS

The only driver to race March 722-8 in period was Hiroshi Katazo (1949,Chiba-1974, Shizuoka). Kazato began racing in his native Japan in 1967

with a Honda S800. He moved quickly on to single seaters with aBrabham, and then to the Grand Champion sports car series with aPorsche 910. By 1970 he was using a Porsche 908 Spyder in the GrandChampion series and won two rounds. With support from a Japanesebusiness- man, and encouragement from American sports car racerChuck Parsons, he quickly progressed to competing on the international

stage, driving a Lola T222 in the Can Am series in 1971, run by Carl Haas,earning a fifth at Elkhart Lake as his best result. For 1972 his mentorarranged the backing that would allow Kazato a full season in Europe

with the March. He would stay on in Formula 2 in 1973 driving a worksGRD alongside fellow countryman Tetsu Ikuzawa, whilst commutingback to Japan for important sports car races. In 1974 he was planning athird season in Europe, with Chevron, whilst still racing in Japan, drivinga Chevron B26-BMW. Kazato was killed in a multi-car collision in thebanked turn one at Fuji Speedway in June 1974, when the leadingMarches of Urushisbara and Kitano came together on the opening lapand bounced back into the path of the rest of the grid. Kazato died along

with one of his best friends, Seiichi Suzuki, in a Lola T292.


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MARCH

March Engineering was founded in 1969 by Max Moseley, after a career in Clubman formula and racingFormula 2 in 1968, former F2 driver Alan Rees, club racer Graham Coaker and former McLaren designerRobin Herd. March sought to imitate Lolas success in volume car production, though unlike Lola it limited

itself largely to single seaters. March also borrowed from Colin Chapmans model at Lotus where successat the higher levels of racing could stimulate sales amongst drivers in lesser formulae. Whilst its Formula 1cars were never hugely successful, March became established as a front runner in Formula 2, using RonniePeterson as a works driver alongside his Grand Prix commitments. March also developed satellite teams,running in various semi-works set-ups. By the mid-1970s March would become completely dominant inFormula 2, with their works drivers usually favourites for the European title, even if they did not always

win it, and the bulk of the field composed of new Marches. The proliferation of March spares and second-hand cars made them a firm favourite with club racers across Europe, and Musetti was not alone in usingnew (or newer) parts to updateold cars or create new ones outside the factory. In the 1980s the companychanged policy and abandoned high- volume, low-margin production for junior formulae and concentratedon cars for the lucrative American and Japanese markets alongside F2 and later F3000. However, financial

troubles at the end of the decade saw the company merge with RALT and sold to a succession of buyers.Eventually the company was wound up in the1990s with its engineering assets sold to Andy Gilberg.

MARCH 722

Designed by Robin Herd as a dualpurpose F2-F.Atlantic-FB car, the 722 was one of the largest of

Marchsproduction runs with some forty-five being constructed (although the last of these may have

been an adaptation of an existing March 723). It was essentiallya revised version of the 712[Motoring

News17 February 1972 p.8] with a revised front end to the monocoque to accommodate the lower nose

allowedby the use of side radiators. The front of the tub tapered down forward of the front shock absorber

mounting, where the 1971 series had been squared off. The engine was a semi-stressed member,

supported by a detachable, tubular frame, with the rear suspension carried by a fabricated top cross

member and a magnesium casing below the gearbox. Front suspension was unequal length wishbones,

withparallel lower links. Rear suspension was adjustable top link and radius rods. Brakes were ventilated

discs front, and solid rear [F2]. Gearbox FT200; fuel tanks three cells, 25 gallons [F2] onebelow drivers

seat, one either side. Atlantic models had solid discs all round and no seat tank. Designed between April

and June 1971, the works test car [722-1] was first run at the Silverstone GP circuit on 19 August [Autocar

14 October 1971 p.38] drivenby Mike Beuttler, and fitted with an FVA engine. A week later Peterson

drove the same car on the Silverstone club circuit.

Formula 2 in 1972

Formula 2 had become established as the preferred training ground for future Grand Prix drivers eversince its reintroduction by the FIA in 1964. Aspiring stars could test themselves against many of the

existing aces, since leading drivers would often take guest drives in Formula 2. The principal focus

of aspiring non-graded drivers was the FIA European Championship; however, there were a number

of prestigious non-championship events, where lucrative deals with the organisers attracted guest

Formula 1 stars, and for 1972 John Player extended its sponsorship reach beyond the Lotus team to

support a British championship. 1972 was also the first year of a new formula, announced in 1969,

using 2.0 litre engines drawn from Group 2 homologated blocks and heads, with a minimum of 1000

units having been constructed. In 1971 Cosworth homologated its belt drive, 16 valve BDA engine

based on a Ford block. Since this would be the only competitive engine under existing rules the FIA

promptly reduced the number of built units to 100 to allow in other competitive units.


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This rendered the BDA uncompetitive within a year, since the BMW M12 was a superior engine.

However, for 1972 the BDA itself posed considerable problems: firstly, there was an actual shortage

of engines, clear at the start of the season when more than half the entries for the Mallory Park raced

didnt show up; secondly, there was a problem with getting the initially 1600cc BDA out to 2.0 litres.

Eventually FIA decreed that metal could be added to, as well as removed from, the block, allowing

engine tuners something approaching carte blanche. Thirdly, that process of tuning and expansionproduced some dreadfully unreliable engines. 1972 would see most teams experimenting with a wide

variety of engine capacities and builders in vain hope of finding a combination of power and

reliablity. This rarely happened: at the super fast Osterreichring, for example, Niki Laudas works

March 722 went through five engines in practice, from four different builders, and the Austrian took

the start with an engine rebuilt in the paddock out of the remains of the others! That lasted as far as

lap seven... It was Brian Harts version of the BDA, at 1850cc rather more conservative in capacity

than those of Racing Services and others, that emerged as the most reliable and powerful, giving

Team Surtees an edge in its pursuit of the European title with Mike Hailwood.

By mid season the battle for the European championship had resolved itself into a battle between

Hailwood, with the considerable resources of John Surtees and toy company Matchbox behind him,

Jean- Pierre Jaussaud, running as the experienced hand to the rather erratic, if wealthy, Count Adam

Potocki in an essentially private team using Brabham BT38s, and the Rondel run Brabham of

Argentinian Carlos Reutemann, with backing from French oil company Motul. Where both Hailwood

and Reutemann had the support of competitive team mates, in the form of Carlos Pace and Bob

Wollek, Jaussaud was very much on his own, with no spare car and very few engines. Reutemann,

however, was lucky to be in the hunt at all. He had a bad crash in practice at Thruxton, breaking his

ankle and missing several rounds. That he remained in contention was largely due to the unreliability

of others: having racked up fifteen points in the first two rounds, Niki Lauda didnt score again until

late July, and March, unusually, wouldnt really feature as a title contender in 1972, despite the solid

virtues of the 722 model. Going into the ante- penultimate round at Albi, Hailwood had pulled out an

18 point lead over Jaussaud and even sixth place would ensure the title. Reutemann had been

eliminated from the battle after a first lap collision with Mike Beuttler at the Salzburgring. Unusually,in a very well conducted season, Hailwood made a mistake whilst

leading and bent the rear suspension. Jaussaud won, using Potockis car which was the only straight

chassis the ASCA team had left, and the race was on again. Sadly it only lasted as far as lap two of

the final round at Hockenheim before a driveshaft broke. Hailwood drove sensibly into second place

behind his team boss, and that was the title wrapped up. With everything settled, the last round at

Vallelunga was cancelled.

Of the class of 1972, Hailwood made it into Formula 1, though probably too late, and then had his

second chance at the top cut short by accident in 1974; Reutemann went on to be a regular Grand

Prix winner but never got the championship his determination quite merited; Jaussaud, deemed too

old, at 35, never got to Formula 1, though he deserved a chance and instead excelled in sports cars.The real successes of the cohort were of course Niki Lauda, who had a season of wretched reliability,

even if he won the John Player championship, and Jody Scheckter, who ran a limited programme

with the unique and underdeveloped McLaren M21.


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March 722-8 Race by Race

The 1972 Formula 2 season began at the short, fast Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire. Apart fromthe tight Shaws Hairpin and the left hander leading onto it, the circuit was pretty straightforward. It wasalso limited to only twenty starters, so the twenty-odd non-arrivals from the entry list were not a problem.

Most teams still hadnt got their hands on new BDA engines to satisfy the new rules for the formula.The Peter Bloore team was in the fortunate position of having a solitary Broadspeed tuned 1798cc motorfor their Japanese driver, so Kazato set about learning the circuit and about European racing. Practice

was topped by Ronnie Peterson in his works March [722-17], in 43.4 using a special Racing Servicestuned 1927cc BDF. This was 0.2 up on British Formula 3 ace Dave Morgan, who was using his backerEd Reevess year old Brabham BT35 with a1860cc Wood BDA on a circuit he knew very well. The frontrow was completed by Carlos Reutemann in the Ron Dennis run Brabham BT38. Kazato was near theback of the grid, seventeenth fastest in 45.8.On the row in front were Swiss hill climber Xavier Perrot,in March 722-16, and David Purley, in March 722-20, with 45.1 and 45.4 respectively. Kazato satbetween American Brett Lunger, embarking on a European season with a Space Racing run March 722[chassis 11], who set 45.6 and British Formula Atlantic and Formula 3 ace Cyd Williams, using a 1798ccBDA tuned by Graham Eden in the Chevron B18 that he more regularly used in Atlantic races. The rowbehind contained another pair of Atlantic interlopers - Dane Tom Bels, setting 46.3 in his old BrabhamBT28, wearing BT35 bodywork and still with a 1598cc Steele tuned BDD in the back, and Dick Barker,with an Eden tuned BDD in his Brabham BT28, setting 47.6.

The first fifty lap heat was led off by Reutemann and Peterson, from Jody Scheckter in the worksMcLaren M21, Morgan, Wilson Fittipaldi in a Brabham BT38, and Niki Lauda in the second of the worksMarch 722s [722-5]. Peterson had a fuel pipe come off on lap three, and whilst it was fixed he was left along way back and finally gave up when the metering unit broke. Running harder compound FirestoneR24s gave Morgan a distinct advantage and he took the lead from Reutemann on lap thirty five, withLauda following through two laps later. Kazato, meanwhile, had been having a fairly untroubled race inPurleyswheel tracks towards the back of the field. Barker had retired after seven laps with engine woes,

and Belso, whod been following Williams stopped when a water leak threatened to overheat his engine.However, after thirty-one laps the engine broke and that was the end of the day. Engine failures were tobe a major story of the season. Reutemann and Lauda finished one-two in the second heat, but Morgandid enough behind them to take a startling win on aggregate.

There was a two and a half week break before the British and European series continued with a pair ofraces on the Easter Friday and Monday. That gave time for Broadspeed to repair the ravages of Malloryon their engine, and for Kazato to do some testing. However, because practice for the Europeanchampionship round at Thruxton on Easter Monday took place on the Saturday, not the Sunday tokeep the local churchgoers appeased - a Friday race in the north of England, followed by an overnightdash with no time to repair damage, was not especially attractive. So, Kazatos March was joined in thepaddock in Cheshire by only fourteen other cars. David Purley, whod been a good if not outstanding

racer in Formula 3, took pole with 129.6, well clear of Lauda and Formula 1 guest driver Tim Schenkenin one of the Rondel Brabham BT38s, both with 130.2. John Surtees, shaking down one of his teams

TS10s shared row two with Gerry Birrell in the prototype March 722, run by Sports Motors. Kazato didmuch better at Oulton Park, qualifying eighth in 133.6. He shared the third row of the grid with Roger

Williamson, debuting his Tom Wheatcroft owned March 722 [chassis 41 - with March having despatchedabout twenty cars to the USA as Formula Bs] and Mallory winner Morgan. Behind were Richard Scott

with his year-old Brabham BT36, with 135.4, and Lunger in 137.2.

After a dry practice, Kazato got a proper taste of northern English weather. As the cars set out on theirwarm-up laps it began to rain, and it didnt stop for the rest of the day. Everyone came in for wets and set

out again to form the grid. Lauda made the best start to lead from Schenken and Surtees, Williamson andBirrell. Kazato was one of several cars passed in very short order by Jody Scheckter who charged up to


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sixth almost immediately after a troubled practice. But, even at that point the March was hampered by amisfire, and after only four laps Kazato brought it into the pits with the electrics doused in rainwater.Lauda splashed round to take victory by nearly a minute from Birrell and Schenken - whose fastest lap,143.6, some thirteen seconds off his qualifying time, gave some idea of the terrible conditions.

The BARCs Thruxton meeting was already established as the first important race of the Europeanseason, and would remain so for the remainder of Formula 2s history. There were thirty cars present, tobe spread over two heats and a final, and there was a sprinkling of Grand Prix stars to supplementPetersons regular outing in the works March. Graham Hill had a Brabham BT36, run by Tates garage

in Leeds with a single mechanic, Schenken had another outing in a Rondel Brabham, alongside HenriPescarolo, and Surtees, whod fallen victim to wet electrics at Oulton Park, was back to partner MikeHailwood. Reutemann, who was one of the pre-race favourites didnt even get to practice, crashing badly

when a stub axle sheared and breaking an ankle. His accident led to the withdrawals of Schenken andPescarolo as a precaution, though the other Brabham runners did not follow suit.

Kazato had been going very well in practice for the second heat, getting down to 114.0 and fourthfastest behind Peterson 110.8, Franois Cevert in John Coombss March 722 [chassis 4] and Hailwood,

with 112.4. However,it then got away from him in a big way and he ended up rolling heavily, wreckingthe car beyond immediate repair. Peterson duly won his heat from Cevert and Jean-Pierre Jaussaud - whowas to have a very decent season with his Brabham BT38, and Peterson and Cevert finished a lap clearof everyone else in the final, with Lauda, whod won the first heat, in third place.

A fortnight later the March had been rebuilt for practice at the first continental round at the ultra-fastHockenheim. Qualifying was marred when New Zealander Bert Hawthorne - 1971 North AmericanFormula B champion -was killed in his Tui after clipping the rear wheel of Bernd Terbecks BrabhamBT36 and going under the armco barrier. There were more than thirty cars out for practice, and Kazatowas again amongst the leading midfield runners. Lauda got pole in the works March with 208.0, from

Pescarolo, 208.2, Jochen Mass in Petersons works chassis, with 208.7 and Hailwood in 208.8. Withthe withdrawal of Terbeck, Kazato wound up tenth on the grid in 213.7, sharing the fifth row withRichard Scott in 213.5.

Ahead lay British club driver John Wingfield, putting in an excellent showing with his Brabham BT36and Bob Wolleks Rondel Brabham BT38; behind were Tino Brambilla, who failed to start after enginefailure in his March 712M, and Tom Bels, whod replaced his old BDD engined BT28 with a newBrabham BT38 and Tim Steele engines.

The flat out straights through the forests were guaranteed to test the reliability of the new BDA engines.Tuners were struggling to come to terms with the motors, especially in getting another 400cc from theblock to get to the capacity limit and there were already problems. After practice Brambilla, Purley andRoland Binder had all scratched with broken engines. In the first twenty lap heat all but two of the

retirements were down to engine troubles: Hailwoods flywheel came loose on the first lap, Liane Duartelost the 1800cc motor in his Pygme next time round, then team mate Patrick dal Bo detonated the one1960cc Pygme engine on lap three. At the same time the head gasket let go in Kazatos Broadspeed,

ending his meeting. By the end only thirteen of the starters were still running. Jaussaud, whod qualifiedonly twelfth, came through to win both heats thanks to some canny driving and retirements, with both

works Marches quitting on lap eleven of the first heat, and Pescarolo losing his engine on lap six. Afterfour races of the season Kazato hadnt finished a race and completed barely sixty racing miles, which hascost two engines and a tub.


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That disappointing record was to change in the Eifelmountains on the Nrburgring. The Eifelrennen werenon championship races, but a reasonable entry wasassembled, with Derek Bell taking a guest drive in theRondel team and Vic Elford a one-off outing in the

works Chevron B20 normally raced by Peter Gethin,

who was at the Spanish Grand Prix. Bell duly took polein 756.8 from Mass, the only March works driverpresent, with 801.5 and Scott, 807.3. Kazato woundup sixth fastest with 816.7, behind the second rowrunners, Elford (809.4) and dal Bo (815.9). The

Japanese shared row three with Morgan and Purley,while behind were Fred Stalder, who had bought aPygme and equipped it with a bored out FVA engine,and Silvio Moser shaking down a new Brabham BT38.Ten laps on the Ring equated to the longest single raceof the season by far, with a race time of an hour andtwenty minutes.

Dal Bo jumped the start, without penalty, to chase Bellon the first lap until a distributor lead came off, forcing

him to repair it by the roadside. Further back PeterWestbury tried to overtake Bob Wolleck and spun whenhe locked his brakes, taking out Duarte and Morgan. Amisfire meant that Bell eventually conceded his lead toMass, who was still learning about single seater racingand took an impressive first win. Scott was third morethan a minute behind, then came Moser, another minuteaway, then Kazato, almost a minute down in fifth, withLunger nearly a minute away from him.

The tight but fast Pau circuit, a week later, was incomplete contrast to the Nrburgring. Sadly, Kazatodidnt get very far with the place. A bad crash inqualifying for the second heat, setting only 120.0,meant that he didnt start the race. Peter Gethin, who qualified second fastest for that heat behind Cevert,

went on to win both heat and final, beating Patrick Depaillers John Coombs March by less than a secondto earn a famous victory for Chevron.

Kazato didnt get on too well with the little Crystal Palace circuit either, when the teams turned up there ona national holiday at the end of May. Only sixteen cars could be accommodated on the grids for the twoheats, and Kazato could do no better than fifteenth fastest for heat two, ahead only of Dick Barker, stillrunning a BDD in his Brabham BT28. 51.8 put Kazato alongside Bels, who set 51.6 and behind JosDolhem, setting 50.4 in one of the Shell-Arnold team Marches, Pescarolo, with 50.6 after a troubled time,and Wollek also setting 50.6. Mike Hailwood went on to win the heat from the second row of the grid,beating Scheckter by four seconds. Kazato was still down at the back when the engine broke on lap sixteen.Scheckter got his revenge in the final, beating Hailwood by two seconds, with heat one winner Reutemann,recovered from his ankle injury, in third place.

Hockenheim got its second race in mid-June and after two days of dry practice it absolutely bucketed downfor the race, with the race distances being cut by a quarter as a result. The impressive Lauda took pole,ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi in the new Lotus 69 that hed debuted at P au, Peterson and Jaussaud. Thistime Kazato was not nearly so competitive: he qualified only twenty-first, with 208.5, sharing row elevenon the grid with Adam Potocki, who failed to start after crashing his Brabham BT38 into Scheckter. Infront were Scheckter, who also failed to start after the collision with Potocki, and Moser, who set 207.8;behind were fellow Japanese Tetsu Ikuzawa, whod been enduring a tough season with his works GRD,and newcomer Giancarlo Gagliardi with a Brabham BT38.

Heat one was won by Fittipaldi, two seconds clear of Gethins Chevron, and Dave Morgan. Lauda fell backwith ignition problems in the rain, and was penalised a minute for missing the chicane, trailing in thirteenth.Kazato was placed behind, the first unlapped runner, ahead of John Watson in the Tui, Wollek, Moser andGagliardi. The slow pace in the rain, with Fittipaldis fastest lap nearly 20 off his practice best, meant thatthe engines held up remarkably well and there were only five retirements. Kazato lined up for the secondheat alongside Lauda and behind Carlos Ruesch in the Surtees and Dolhem. Lauda quit with drownedelectrics on the first lap and next time round Ikuzawa and Gagliardi collided. At five laps Kazatos flywheelbroke and that was the end of another disappointing race. Fittipaldi took an easy victory after Gethin losthis starter on the grid, with Jaussaud second and taking maximum points in the European championship.

Kazato prepares to set out from the paddock at theNrburgring. He will finish in a good fifth place on the

demanding circuit - his best drive of the season.


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The Rouen circuit brought out the best in brave drivers, so even though it was unfamiliar Kazato wentbetter in practice than he had for a couple of races. Six of the entrants werent even going to qualify for thetwo heats, let alone the final, but Kazato never looked in any danger. He put in 151.9 to be twelfth on thegrid for heat one, alongside Rueschs works Surtees. Graham Hill, now using a BT38 and Mike Beuttlerssemi-works March 722 were on the row ahead, while behind were Gagliardi and Westbury. EmersonFittipaldi, turning out mainly for the prestige races that didnt clash with his Grand Prix commitments, tookpole in 148.1 from Reutemann with 1.48.3. Over in the runners for heat two Pescarolo took pole for

Rondel in 148.5, a time equalled by Hailwood, with Cevert just behind in 148.6. Only twenty runnerswere to make the final, the first six from each heat plus the next eight fastest race laps - giving quick driverswho retired a second chance.

Reutemann led at the start of the first heat but Scheckter, from the second row, muscled past both him andFittipaldi. However, overheating brakes meant that Fittipaldi took the lead on lap 16, and a pit stop to cleangrass out the radiators meant the South African finished sixth behind Mass and Morgan, who crossed theline separated by 0.5. Beltoise, having a one-off drive for Rondel finished third just behind team-leaderReutemann. Kazato finished tenth, nearly five seconds behind Westbury, and ahead of only Gagliardi,whod been in the pits. His best lap time wasnt good enough to get him into the race. In heat two Hailwoodtook an easy victory from Cevert and Jaussaud. Fittipaldi won the final by eight seconds from Hailwood,

who improved his championship chances with maximum points.

The Monza Lotteria was a big-money race on an Italian national holiday, and though not a Europeanchampionship round it attracted a good entry. Even in the era of wings a race at Monza was still a

slipstreaming challenge in which practice times didnt necessarily count for a great deal. Richard Scott,running a stubby homemade nose with no fins, took pole in 131.27 from Peter Westbury with 132.36.Kazato lined up eighth, setting 133.83 and sitting alongside Claudio Francisci on the grid, with his ElcomBrabham BT38. On the row in front were Purley and Lunger, behind were Belgian Claude Bourgoignie inhis self-run GRD 372 and Andrea de Adamich using a Novamotor prepared BDA in his Surtees. Kazatoswitched between tyre suppliers during practice, going back to the old Firestone B24 compound when thetread started to ripple on the outer edge of his Goodyears. Vittorio Brambilla, whod qualified fourth, ledinitially, from Westbury until his engine went, but Hill, whod been doing this sort of thing round Monzafor over a decade, worked his way to the front of the bunch, trading the lead with Silvio Moser and Jean-Pierre Jarier in a Shell-Arnold March. Hill made sure that he had enough of an edge going into the Parabolicaand held on by 0.5 from Moser, Jarier, Francisci, de Adamich, Scott, Adrian Wilkins in his Coombs runMarch 722, and Lunger. Kazato got cut adrift from this group and came home alone, well clear ofBourgoignie and Purley whod had a huge moment. The second heat saw Hill, Moser and Jarier tradingplaces but Kazatos race came to an endwith another huge accident. Claude Bourgoignie lost control whena tyre delaminated on the straight between the start line and Curva Grande, and turned sharply to the right.

Kazato had nowhere to go and both cars went into the bank at unabated speed. It could have been a verybad accident, but beyond being badly shaken both drivers were unhurt and able to walk back to the pits.Hill won by a second from Moser, with Jarier a fraction behind, and these three took the top three placesoverall.

In the first heat of the Monza Lotteria, Kazato heads into the

Parabolica ahead of the Brabham BT38s of Silvio Moser (3),

the retiring Peter Westbury (7), and Claudio Francisci (10).

Adrian Wilkins (25) follows closely in his March 722


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It was to the Bloore teams credit (and that of the March spares shop) that Kazato arrived in good shape

for the European round at the sterreichring. The heat was intense, and this, combined with the high speedcircuit took a heavy toll on engines. Lauda went through five, with the final blow up being an earlier casualtystripped down and rebuilt in the paddock. Kazatos iron-blocked Broadspeed was less fragile than some ofthe faster motors, which were pushing the limits of the basic unit. Perhaps still a little tentative after the

huge Monza shunt he nursed it to 146.33. Twenty sixth wasnt strictly a good enough time to qualify, butboth Beuttler (144.32) and Dal Bo (145.82) scratched afterthey ran out of engines, so Kazato woundup on the back row of the grid alongside Roger Williamson, whod set 145.81. At the front Fittipaldi had

pole in the Moonraker Yachts Lotus in 142.57, from Hailwood, the impressive de Adamich, and

Reutemann. Fittipaldi went on to win, passing Hailwood when the fuel pressure dropped momentarily onthe Surtees, with Reutemann third and Morgan fourth. Kazato drove a quiet, sensible race near the back ofthe field, finishing thirteenth behind David Purley, both being two laps down.

Although the Imola grid could take twenty four cars, with thirty four arrivals there were going to be a lotof disappointed entrants after practice. For once the Bloore team experimented with engines: in additionto the regular Broadspeed units, now completely outclassed for power by other tuners and not much morereliable, there was a 1930cc BDA from Racing Services. Kazato stuck with Broadspeed for the first two

practice sessions, on Friday, and then went with the bigger motor to set 133.81 which got him into therace comfortably, seventeenth fastest and sharing row nine on the grid with Wilson Fittipaldis Brabham

BT38. Jaussaud, challenging for the European title along with Reutemann and Hailwood, took pole in132.05, with Hailwood, Gethin and CarlosRuesch in the number three Surtees in pursuit. The non-qualifiers were largely who youd expect them to be, except that neither Lunger nor Richard Scott made the

cut.

At Imola, Kazato Returns 722-8 to the pits

having just used a 1930cc Racing Services

engine for the first time, and got to the grid


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The race was to be decided on the aggregate of two twenty-eight lap heats. Kazato put a Broadspeed backin for this, presumably on the grounds of reliability. If so, it was a misguided decision: he was running welljust outside the top ten when with four laps to go of the first heat the overheating engine cried enough.The team didnt haveenough time, or the inclination, to put a replacement in for the second heat.

Then came a couple of the long mid-summer hauls across Europe for which the Formula 2 championshipbecame notorious; if one had wanted to schedule the most uneconomic programme for the season onereally couldnt have done much better. From Imola the team went via its British base onto a ferry and over

to Scandinavia, for the race at Mantorp Park near Stockholm. Peterson came back to the March factoryteam for a race on home soil, and most of the championship regulars made the trek. For Kazato, however,it was to prove frustrating: having set a time good enough to make the grid, towards the end of the finalsession he went off heavily in the fast right-hander after the pits. The left front wheel was torn off and thetub wrinkled all the way back to the cockpit. This was the third monocoque wrecked by Kazato in what

was proving to be a very expensive season, and there was no way of putting the damage right before therace. The retirement of poleman Peter Gethin in the second heat paved the way for Hailwood to win onaggregate from Jean-Pierre Jabouille in the Coombs March normally run by Cevert, with Jaussaud in third.

From Sweden then it was back to Italy, and all the way down to Sicily. Kazato was one of the few withoutan interest in the championship to make the trip. As at Mantorp the team ran only Racing Services engines,and with a rebuilt car Kazato got down to ninth fastest with 127.4, sharing row five with Wilson Fittipaldi.

Behind were Patrick Depailler, using the Coombs teams unique Alpine A367, and Beuttlers March 722,onthe row in front were Jos Dolhem after a good showing in one of Mr. Arnolds March 722s, setting 126.7and Ruesch. Pole went to Hailwood in 125.7, from teammate CarlosPace, drafted in to strengthen Surtees

championship push (with Ruesch and de Adamich the team had four cars to look after).

In the first heat at Imola, Kazato will be let down by anoverheating Broadspeed motor and retire after 24 laps


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Page 12 MARCH 722-8

Enna was another fast, slipstreaming circuit, punctuated by a couple of chicanes. Visibility in the first ofthese was hampered in heat one by a grass fire, but no one saw fit to stop the race! The early laps saw agroup of six cars break away, led by Hailwood, Jabouille and Pace. Further back Kazato was in a race-longscrap with Mike Beuttler. This ended on lap nineteen when an electrical fault cut out the Englishmans

engine and he spun off. Kazato did the last twelve laps with bad vibrations after flat spotting his front tyres

in avoiding the incident. However, he came home tenth, two laps down, behind Pace - who had a very sickengine by the end - and ahead of Reutemann, similarly afflicted by engine maladies. Heat two looked asthough Hailwood would dramatically increase his championship lead, but then the distributor drive shaftfailed on lap ten. This left Pescarolo in the lead for Rondel, but he got held up on the last lap in lapping

Adam Potocki and allowed Depailler to nip through to win the heat. Fortunately Pescarolo had enough inhand to win on aggregate, from survivors Depailler, Ruesch, Fittipaldi and Kazato, who drove another goodrace, finishing fifth and on the lead lap, though nearly thirty seconds down on Reutemann, whose team hadchanged engines in ninety minutes between the heats! Along with the Eifellrennen this was to be Kazatosbest result of the year.

From one flat out blind to another, the teams moved on to the Salzburgring, narrower than Enna, andarmco lined. Carlos Pace took pole in 112.15, just ahead of Hailwood, 112.17 and newcomer James

Hunt in Alexander Heskeths year old March, with 112.19. Using the Racing Services engines, Kazato wassome way back on the grid, fifteenth fastest with 113.25. Alongside was Ronnie Peterson whod had

myriad problems in practice; ahead were Wolleks Rondel Brabham, with 113.00, Wilson Fittipaldi, with113.10 and Jabouille in Coombs Alpine, with 113.19. On the row behind were Gethins Chevron B20,

Dolhems Shell-Arnold March and Rueschs Surtees.

The first heat saw a high-speed train of cars slipstreaming each other, with Peterson steadily working hisway up the chain. Hunts engine failed with five laps to go, and at the same time Beuttler, at the back of the

field, had a puncture and spun. The Austrian marshals couldnt properly clear the car off the track beforethe leaders came round again, and with no room for manoeuvre Peterson clipped his team-mates car andtook a wheel off. This rather broke up the tail end of the chain, so that whilst Dave Morgan slipped through

to win from Hailwood, Pace, Graham Hill and Carlos Reutemann in short order, everyone else was a bitspaced out. Kazato came home in thirteenth on the end of the line, the last unlapped runner. Heat two sawa coming together between Reutemann and Morgan that put the Argentine out. With a bent front fin onthe Brabhams nose Morgan couldnt hold back Pace or Hailwood, and the latter went on to win the heat

and take overall victory. Kazato was once again the last unlapped runner in tenth, finishing in a bunch withLauda and Wollek, whod blown a head gasket in heat one, just in front of him. His times put him eighthon aggregate, but because Hill and Gethin ahead of him were both FIA graded drivers, and thus ineligible,he picked up another championship point for his efforts.

This was to be Kazatos last outing with the car, however. He missed the final round of the British JohnPlayer series at Oulton Park and when he reappeared at Albi in late September it was as a team-mate tofellow Japanese Tetsu Ikuzawa in the GRS team. Although the Formula One Register Black Book shows

Kazato as using the March at Albi, Motoring News reported that he was driving the GRD 372 used earlierin the season by Reine Wisell, Tom Walkinshaw and Andy Sutcliffe.


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Race History

John Player Formula 2 Race, European F2 Championship, (round 1)

Heat One

HeatTwoAggregate

Mallory Park, 12 March 1972

Hiroshi Kazato

Retired

DNSNC

John Player Formula 2 Race, British F2 Championship, (round 2)

Oulton Park, 31 March 1972

Hiroshi Kazato Retired

XXVII BARC 200, European F2 Championship, (round 2)

HeatTwo

Hiroshi Kazato

DNS

Final

Thruxton, 3April 1972

DNQ

VI Deutschland Trophe, European F2 Championship, (round 3)

Heat One

Hiroshi Kazato

Retired

HeatTwo

Aggregate

Hockenheim, 16 April 1972

DNS

NC

XXXV Internationales Eifelrennen

Nrburgring, 30 April 1972

Hiroshi Kazato 5

XXXII Grand Prix de Pau, European F2 Championship, (round 4)

HeatTwo

Hiroshi Kazato

DNS

Final

Pau, 5-6 May 1972

DNQ

Greater London Trophy, European F2 Championship, (round 5)

HeatTwo

Hiroshi Kazato

Retired

Final

Crystal Palace, 29 May 1972

DNQ


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Page 14 MARCH 722-8

VII Rhein Pokalrennen, European F2 Championship (round 6)

Heat One

HeatTwo

Aggregate

Hockenheim, 11 June 1972

Hiroshi Kazato

14

Retired

NC

XX Grand Prix de Rouen, European F2 Championship (round 7)

Heat One

Hiroshi Kazato

10

Final

Rouen-les-Essarts, 25 June 1972

DNQ

XIV Gran Premio della Lotteria di Monza

Heat One

Hiroshi Kazato

9HeatTwo

Aggregate

Monza, 29 June, 1972

Retired

NC

II Jochen Rindt Gedchtnisrennen, European F2 Championship (round 8)

sterreichring, 9July 1972

Hiroshi Kazato 13

XI Gran Premio Citt di Imola, European F2 Championship (round 9)Heat One

Hiroshi KazatoRetired

HeatTwo

Aggregate

Imola, 23 July 1972

DNS

NC

X Gran Premio del Mediterraneo, European F2 Championship (round 11)

Heat One

Hiroshi Kazato

10

HeatTwo 5

Aggregate

Pergusa, 20 August 1972

5

II Festspielpreis der Stadt Salzburg, European F2 Championship (round 12)

Heat One

Hiroshi Kazato

13

HeatTwo 10

Aggregate

Salzburgring, 3 September 1972

8


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Page 15 MARCH 722-8

Ownership

1: Peter Bloore Racing. Chassis number givenMotoring News 16 March 1972 p.9 for car of

Hiroshi Kazato at Mallory Park, 12 March 1972, 6 April 1972, p. 6 for Kazatos car at Mallory

Park, 20 April 1972, p. 6 for Kazatos car at Hockenheim; 4 May 1972, p. 10 for Kazatos car at

Nrburgring; 11 May 1972, p. 10 for Kazatos car at Pau.

2: J. T. Gridley, 19 October 1972- Sept 1973? Sale shown in March factory records sales summary.

3: Unknown British club hill climber, 1973-1984

4: Ted Walker, 1984

5: Nigel Smith, 1984 - 1986

6: Gerry Wainwright, 1986 -1990

7: Simon Hadfield & Jim Bennett, (Colorado) 1990-1991

8: Jim Bennett, 1991-20059: Scott Meehan, 2005 - 2012

10: Andrew Gifford, 2012 -

All that survives of the 1972 March factory records is thissummary sheet of sales of cars mostly made after the end of theseason.This shows 722-8 as sold to J.T. Gridley on 19 October 1972.

The veracity of the sheet is confirmed by the known, independentlyobserved histories of four of the other cars listed on the sheet:

713S-1, 713M-8, 722-11 and 722-5. All had their chassis numbersobserved with their second owners in 1973, but that data has neverbeen published.


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Chris Townsend143 Eaton Manor

Eaton Gardens HoveEast SussexBN3 3QD

Phone: +44 1273 231257mobile: +44 7855 216846

email: [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

orc dossier - march 722-8 final

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