1973 March-BMW 732 Formula Two

March-BMW 732 racing at Dijon in Historic F2 in 2016 driven by Nick Osborn.

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March Engineering, Bicester.  For the 1973 season, BMW gave March exclusive use of their new 2 litre Formula Two engine.  March produced a straightforward aluminium monocoque chassis.  Both Harvey Postelthwaite and Robin Herd were involved in the design and development of the car.    The works team had STP sponsorship and the driving talents of Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Jean-Pierre Jarier and Hans-Joachim Stuck.  There were lots of private 732s as well as March had to buy a minimum of fifty entries from BMW and thus needed the sales.  At the first race of the season at Mallory Park, Beltoise took pole position but Jarier took the win.  Jarier went on to dominate the Championship with seven outright victories.   Privateers such as Vittorio Brambilla and Jacques Coulon also had success with the car and took a win each.  The car was very successful as it had good braking and good acceleration out of the corners due to the BMW engine.

1953 Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2

Stephanie Wilton, Cooper Bristol T23 Mk2, Course de Cote d'Etretat-Bénouville 2016

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For more photos of the 2016 Etretat speed hill climb, click on the link above.

Cooper, Surbiton, England.  This was the car that Cooper produced for the 2 litre Formula Two of the early fifties that became the Grand Prix Formula in 1952 and 1953. The Mk2 had a tubular space frame and front engine rear wheel drive like most cars of the time but unlike the F3 Cooper that preceded it.  The T23 was an upgrade of the T20  which had a box frame chassis.  Mike Hawthorn used the F2 Cooper Bristol car to great effect in 1952 and earned his 1953 works Ferrari drive as a result.   The Bristol 6 cylinder engine produced about 135bhp and was developed from the pre-war BMW 328 engine.  Top speed of the car was about 140mph which was not enough to beat the contemporary Ferraris and Maseratis very often.  Best GP result for the Mk1 was third place in the 1952 British GP of 1952 driven by Mike Hawthorn.  He also won the Lavant Cup at Goodwood and International Trophy at Silverstone.  in 1953 Ken Wharton won at Charterhall and Bob Gerard won at Castle Combe and Snetterton but these were minor races.