It’s a hot, sunny and humid day when the drivers parked their cars on the starting grid for the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. Fans next to the track are enjoying a cold cola or a cold Beer while discussion random Formula One. On that same starting grid, two drivers are missing Jan Lammers and Jean-Marc Gounon. Lammers did anything he could to bring the cars to the grid, while Gounon bluffed himself into his contract with March F1. With the cars stuck at the Jan Smuts airport and the Ilmor V10 engine still in London it was clear. What happened between the 1992 Japanse Grand Prix and the 1993 South African Grand Prix?
Jan Lammers, on invite by Jan Lammers, met with Henny Vollenberg at March F1’s factory in Bicester in 1992. Only a year before Vollenberg, at that time owner of the Vortex Formula 3000 team and manager from Heinz-Harald Frentzen, knocked on the doors of the March F1 Team. The reason, he wanted to place Frentzen with some smoking Camel money in one of the March seats. It would be the teams’ saviour. Only early in the negotiations Camel decided it had enough from the Formula One and withdrew as sponsor from the Formula One. It seemed the last nail in the coffin for the once flourishing March F1 team. No deal meant no deal and the end of the road.
Gustav Brunner, Ken Marrable and John Byfield decided to thrown in the towel and file March for bankruptcy. There was no big sponsor and the future seemed darker than dark for the Bicester team. However, Vollenberg gained interest in the team and in December 1991, he told the management he was ready to speak with the creditors to see if he could extend the payments so the team had the time to look for new money. Creditors like Ilmor and Goodyear agreed on the proposal. It would be the deal that would eventually bring Jan Lammers to a financial down fall after the teams bankruptcy in 1993.
As Vollenberg had a huge network he believed the team could be saved. He invested some of his own money and to his surprise; the factory was stuffed with unpacked machinery and equipment. While the warehouse was well stocked with components for the March cars. It would be ideal for 1992 as there was no need to invest extra money for the factory and the warehouse. There was some more luck for the team. Paul Belmondo was attracted as driver he would pay 200.000 dollar every Grand Prix. As we now know he had enough money for eleven Grand Prix’s. While Mercedes chipped in another 1,8 million dollar for Karl Wendlinger who would compete in the first fourteen races of the season.
It was Karl Wendlinger who saved the team during the season by scoring three important points during the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix. It meant an extra 200.000 dollar for the team and Bernie agreed on to pay the television income already. March was saved, for the time being we have to say. Belmondo would be replaced by Emanuele Naspetti after the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix. Interesting fact in between did Giovanni Lavaggi test for the March team at Silverstone!
It is the Portuguese Grand Prix when Vollenberg realise that Wendlinger has to be replaced after the Grand Prix weekend. There comes Jan Lammers’s invite by Jan Lammers to have a chat with Vollenberg in Bicester to chat about a contract for the last two races. 400.000 dollar was needed to secure the deal. Where in 2023 it is impossible to gain that money in the Netherlands as a driver Jan Lammers managed to collect the money. After ten years, Jan was back on the grid!
The contract was signed and during the 1992, Marlboro Masters Lammers “tested” on the race track in Zandvoort with the March CG911B. If you dive into archives, you see that Lammers stated to be happy with the car’s handling. He had some good hopes with the team to blow new life in his Formula One career. Just before his comeback on the grid, he completed a tyre test for Goodyear at Estoril with the march. Eventually the team with Lammers and Naspetti arrived at Suzuka.
On the Saturday, while it is raining badly at Suzuka, he does the impossible during the free practice. Drive the sixth quickest lap! A miracle and a huge publicity stunt. However, when the teams were to qualify for the race the track was dry. Lammers did not came further then a twenty-third place on the grid. While his team mate, Emanuele Naspetti qualified as last. In the race, Lammers had to retire in lap 27 after his clutch broke down when he made a pit stop for fresh tyres. Naspetti finished thirteenth that race.
The next Grand Prix was the final race at Adelaide. Lammers qualified twenty-fifth while Naspetti qualified as twenty-third. The team was struggling that weekend to keep the cars up and running. The lack of money was becoming a bigger problem. Besides the struggling Lammers finished the race as twelfth while Naspetti retired in lap 55 due to a failing gearbox. The season was over; it was time to put the visor on 1993, for that hot and humid South African Grand Prix at Kyalami. However, not before March would appear at the start of the Bologna Indoor Trophy. Well it was the planning to do so.
