In RACER Magazine: The British are Coming!

For more than a quarter century, British-based racecar constructors dominated CART. First March, then Lola, and finally Reynard, revolutionized the way teams went racing.

John Cooper and Colin Chapman changed the face of Indy car racing in the 1960s with the rear-engine revolution, but the second British invasion of American open-wheel racing was a full-blown takeover for the better part of three decades that totally changed the template for success.

British-based constructors March, Lola and Reynard took turns dominating Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) from 1983 to 2002, while also flexing their collective muscle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from '81 until "The Split" in '96.

During that stretch, they combined to win 341 races, including eight Indianapolis 500s, and racked up a staggering 20 championships between them.

Other than the prowess of Penske Cars, a few shots of adrenaline from Dan Gurney's Eagle, and Swift's late '90s foray, there was no competing with these three manufacturers that mass-produced winning packages available to anyone.

"Back in the early '80s when I started in Indy cars, the only real option for a new team coming in was to buy an old Penske or Wildcat," recalls Bobby Rahal, who would end up driving all three of the Brit-built chassis, winning championships with two of them – March in 1986 and Lola in '87 and '92 (pictured). "But then March came in and allowed you to buy a car that could immediately compete with Roger (Penske) or (Pat) Patrick, and that really evened out the playing field."

Founded in 1969, with lawyer and former driver Max Mosley as the commercial boss and ex-McLaren man Robin Herd as the designer, March Engineering's ambitious game plan was to build and sell customer cars for everything from Formula Ford to Formula 1.

But even though Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell-run 701 won the 1970 Spanish Grand Prix in just the second F1 World Championship start for the fledgling constructor, sustained success was hard to come by. March found F1 to be a daunting financial challenge and enjoyed a much better profile and sales in Formula 2 before George Bignotti came calling in 1980.

"I looked out of my office and saw George and couldn't believe it; he was one of my idols," says Herd. "He was looking for a car for Tom Sneva, so we jumped at that offer and got busy on our first Indy car, the March 81C."

At the 1981 Indy 500, Sneva set the quickest time in qualifying (but it was on the third day, so he didn't win the pole) and charged from 20th to first, leading 25 laps before losing a clutch. Still, it was obvious the 81C (pictured) had potential and "The Gas Man" wound up winning in Milwaukee and Phoenix later that same season.

"I think the shape of the bottom of the car was better than everyone else's and it had more downforce than the rest," says Sneva of the 81C. "I wasn't sure why, but it went fast and it was fast right away.

"George was convinced it was going to be a good piece and it was head and shoulders above everyone else. That should have been an easy Indy win in '81."

Herd was overwhelmed, literally and figuratively. "I didn't expect to win so quickly and it all went mad after that; our phone was ringing constantly," he recalls.

From three starters at Indy in 1981, to 17 in '82, then 18 in '83 and Victory Lane with Sneva, it was a whirlwind as the March kit car became the rage. But nothing would top 1984.

"We built 47 cars for '84 and had 29 of the 33 starters at Indianapolis," recalls Herd. "And Roger Penske bought one, which surprised us, but made us very happy – and then Rick (Mears) only went and won the race in it.

"At the end of every race we would give our teams a setup sheet for the next race and people put their trust in it. That was a new concept in Indy cars."

While March captured Indy five years in a row (Sneva, Mears, Danny Sullivan, Rahal and Al Unser), it snared its initial CART title in '85 with "Big Al," followed by another with Rahal, aided by a young engineer named Adrian Newey.

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