March was established in 1969 and took its name from its four founders’ initials (Max Mosley, Alan Rees, Graham Coaker et Robin Herd). Over the 1970s, March Engineering became one of the biggest client chassis suppliers in single-seater racing (Formula 3, Formula 2 and three victories in F1).

March’s first outing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans dates back to 1975. The 75S chassis was powered by a Ford inline-four engine and fielded in the two-litre class. It finished the race 30th, driven by Richard Knight, Mike Knight and Christian Mons.

March’s endurance campaign was scaled up in the 1980s when the British manufacturer built itself a firm reputation in the United States with five straight wins at the Indianapolis 500 (1983-1987). In 1982, March designed a prototype to race in the IMSA endurance championship. Two of those cars, fitted with V8 Chevrolet engines, were entered in the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year but neither of them finished the race.

The next year, Al Holbert, future three-time Le Mans winner (1983, then 1986 and 1987) and head of Porsche North America’s motorsports division, decided to equip a March 83G chassis with the turbocharged flat-six engine from the Porsche 956 – a combination that saw him take the IMSA title in 1983.

That same setup helped March achieves its best results at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 1985, German driver Christian Danner, Italian Almo Coppelli and South African Graham Duxbury finished 22nd. Then, in 1986, Brit Richard Cleare, Frenchman Lionel Robert and American Jack Newsum were 14th over the finish line.

Thirty years later, the March prototypes returned to the Group C grid at Circuit de la Sarthe at this year’s Le Mans Classic.

Photo: The first March Group C car to be classed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driven by Danner-Duxbury-Coppelli in 1985, was one of the star attractions at this year’s Le Mans Classic.