march 742 U1

[driftwood]

I know this is a mine field but some one may have some info to shed some light onto this subject
march 742 U1
is this the same as 742 #1 ?
U was never officially confirmed by robin herd as to its true meaning but "Usini" is italian for works and seems to be the accepted idea for the U definition
in the the duncan r book U1 is only mentioned for musetti in 75 in a uk f2 race
i assume # 1 & 2 are the works cars for the 74 season
but why are they not noted as U1 U2 cars?

[Chris Townsend]

The March U cars were rarely used by works drivers. They seem to have been early development cars after the P model. I know that F1R puts Ribiero and Flammini in U cars in 1976 but a lot of the time they were sold off cheap after being pounded round in testing.

It may also be that some cars built from spares were given U prefixed numbers by the works, and that 'U' cars could also appear for special races such as Trois Rivieres and Macau.

The U prefixed cars are definitely not the same as those in the normal production run.

chris

[driftwood]

thanks for info
what is the P defintion meaning- project?
772P
i know the 772 car was off the pace in wide tub format for BMW and march made 2 slim tub 772 and added in P for the works cars

[Dan Rear]

On this subject, anyone anything further on the de Dryver 1977 F2 March. Described as a "778", or maybe that was a misprint for "77B". Whatever, it looked pretty similar to the 772Ps that year. IIRC Bill Gubelman was invloved with the team that year, was it a new one built on an old tub of his ??

[Bryan Miller]

driftwood,

March 742-U1 was mentioned in the Chevron B29 thread , along with just about everything else.

How are you involved in this car , as it is probably the ex. Australia , ex New Zealand car that went to the U.K. some years ago.

Bryan.

[driftwood]

yes the 742 car is in uk being restored there are 2 742 cars in the "collection" and 1 of them did come from south of the equator technically the cars could be u1 u2 but that has to be confirmed hence my line of questioning
what do u know of u1 life in NZ/ Oz?

[Dan Rear]

I met Mike Slinn on Saturday, he tells me he has the ex-Laffite 742 BMW, the Martini bodied one. Also that he previously owned the ex-Giancarlo Martini 742, both bought from the Continent. Very nice chap, execllent conversation at a wedding we were invited too. Can't remember everything we discussed, it was a long hot day, and we needed plenty of liquids !!

[driftwood]

MS has sold BP laffite car 4 weeks ago
still has the MC martini car

[driftwood]

Mr Millar any info on the 742 U1 or U2 car when it was down under to offer?

[Bryan Miller]

Driftwood,

All the info is in the Chevron B29 thread , as it has gone off the main page , I will pop it back up again , after you have had a read , ask some questions and will see what I can assist with.

Bryan Miller.

[driftwood]

thanks look forward to it