The March 817 was a British

sports prototype A sports prototype, sometimes referred to simply as a prototype, is a type of Auto racing, race car that is used in high-level categories of sports car racing. They are purpose-built auto-sports race cars, as opposed to production-car based or s ...

racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including ...

, built by

March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better success in other categories ...

in 1981 for the

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987. The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variet ...

series. As with all other full-size Can-Am cars of the time, it used a mid-mounted 5-litre,

naturally-aspirated A naturally aspirated engine, also known as a normally aspirated engine, and abbreviated to N/A or NA, is an internal combustion engine in which air intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not have forced induction through a turboc ...

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. Origins The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...

. Two cars are known to have been built. Paul Newman Racing won the Team's championship of the Can-Am series in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

with the March 817, whilst their main driver,

Teo Fabi Teodorico "Teo" Fabi (born 9 March 1955) is an Italian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . In sportscar racing, Fabi won the World Sportscar Championship in 1991 World Sportscar Championship, 1991 with Jaguar Cars, Jagu ...

took second in the driver's standings.

Racing history

Both March 817s were bought by Paul Newman Racing, with

Al Unser Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Ri ...

and

initially being selected to drive them. The car made its first appearance in the first round of the 1981 Can-Am season, held at

Mosport Park Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formerly Mosport Park and Mosport International Raceway) is a multi-Race track, track motorsport venue located north of Bowmanville in Clarington, Ontario, Canada, approximately 75 kilometers (47 miles) east of To ...

; Unser retired due to brake failure after 12 laps, but Fabi won the race. Unser wasn't present at Mid Ohio, but Fabi won again in a close race. Unser returned at Watkins Glen, but the weekend proved to be unsuccessful; damage to the rear end of his car forced Unser out after 16 laps, and Fabi retired with a blown engine five laps later.

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

saw Unser finish third, for his first podium of the season; however, Fabi crashed in practice and was unable to compete in the race.

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

was another unsuccessful event; Unser blew his engine after 25 laps, and Fabi span out after 48 laps. Unser left the team before the

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, and Fabi brought his March 817 home in fourth place. The series then returned to Mosport Park, and

Bobby Rahal Robert Woodward Rahal ( ; born January 10, 1953) is an American racing driver and motorsports executive. As a driver, he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. As co-owner of R ...

joined the team; the pair took a one-two finish, with Fabi finishing just five-hundredths of a second ahead of Rahal. Riverside saw Paul Newman Racing suffer another pair of retirements; Rahal suffered suspension failure after 19 laps, and Fabi's car lost a wheel two laps later. The penultimate round of the Can-Am season was held at

Laguna Seca Raceway Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and motorcycle racing, built in 1957 ...

, where Fabi won the race, and Rahal finished in ninth place.

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

held the final round of the season, where Fabi finished second, and Rahal finished fourth. Despite taking two more wins than

Geoff Brabham __NOTOC__ Geoffrey John Brabham (born 20 March 1952) is an Australian racing driver. Brabham spent the majority of his racing career in the United States. Racing career CART He raced successfully in CART early in his career, finishing 8th in ...

, Fabi was only able to finish second to him in the driver's standings; whilst Rahal finished eighth, and Unser in 13th. Paul Newman Racing did, however, manage to win the Team's championship. The car was not used again, and was replaced by the March 827 for 1982.

References

{{March Engineering Sports prototypes Can-Am cars March vehicles