After several months of restoration, José Carlos Pace’s 1972 March 711 has finally arrived at the Museu do Caramulo, where it will join “The Fittipaldi Collection“.
It all begins with the story of Frank Williams, a young driver with reasonable success in touring cars and Formula 3 who was, above all, a true self-made man. He forged his path by trading racing cars and components, while also working as a mechanic.
In 1966, he set up his small team and purchased a Brabham to be driven by Piers Courage. Good results began to appear and the team gradually became more professional. In 1971, Williams acquired this March 711, chassis #711/3, to be driven by Henri Pescarolo. At the time, the team competed under the name Frank Williams Racing Cars. With limited resources and little sponsorship, the 1971 season proved difficult, the best result being a fourth place at Silverstone.
The following year, the team became Team Williams Motul and, thanks to the support of the lubricant brand and the new sponsor Politoys, it was possible to acquire a new March 721 for Pescarolo, while the previous season’s 711 would be driven by José Carlos Pace, in what was his rookie season in Formula One.
Pace had won a British Formula 3 series in 1970 and moved up to Formula 2 with Frank Williams’s team the following year, a season in which he failed to score a single point.
Although no longer a new design in 1972, the March 711 was still sufficiently competitive for a Formula One newcomer. The single-seater was designed by engineers Robin Herd—who, in addition to working on the development of the Concorde, enjoyed a distinguished career with McLaren and Brabham—and Geoff Ferris, who would later work for Lotus F1, Brabham and Penske. Conceived from the outset to take on the Lotus 72 and the V12 engines of Matra, BRM and Ferrari, the March made the most of the ubiquitous Ford DFV, thanks to the quality of its engineering.
The chassis featured a monocoque construction, with inboard front suspension. The radiators were positioned in the sidepods, in an arrangement very similar to that of the Lotus 72, on whose development Ferris had worked alongside Maurice Philippe.
The most striking feature of the March 711 was its high-mounted front wing, an idea conceived by Frank Costin. This solution proved effective in qualifying or whenever the car was running alone, but caused instability when following closely behind another competitor.
The March 711 was used by three different teams and driven by several drivers, including Ronnie Peterson, Andrea de Adamich, Àlex Soler-Roig, Nanni Galli, Mike Beuttler, Niki Lauda and Gene Mason.
Carlos Pace’s best result with the March was a fifth place, earning him his first three World Championship points. Two disappointing seasons with Surtees would follow.
However, Pace would go on to deliver a remarkable season in 1975, at the wheel of the Brabham BT44 for the Martini Racing Team, including victory at Interlagos, forming a historic Brazilian one-two with his childhood friend Emerson Fittipaldi, who finished second in the McLaren. It is due to the affection Emerson holds for the memory of his friend and rival that the March became part of this collection.
According to Emerson Fittipaldi, “This March has enormous sentimental value for me. The first kart I ever raced was lent to me by Moco [José Carlos Pace], for whom I also worked as a mechanic. After winning the World Championship in 1972, I called Frank Williams and expressed my wish to buy Moco’s Williams March. That is what we did — my brother Wilson and I acquired the car, and it has been part of our collection ever since. It is, without question, a car of great personal significance.”
The March 711, chassis #711/3, now joins the other single-seaters that make up “The Fittipaldi Collection”, following a meticulous programme of recovery and restoration carried out with the sustained and ongoing support of AMSport, CINFU (Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria de Fundição), and VANTITEC, a company specialising in metal and polymer 3D printing and CNC machining.
“The Fittipaldi Collection” can be visited on a permanent basis at the Museu do Caramulo, from Tuesday to Sunday, during regular opening hours.
