The March CG891 was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing car designed by
Adrian Newey
Adrian Martin Newey, (born 26 December 1958) is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.
Newey has worked in both Formula One and American Championship car racing, IndyCar raci ...
and raced by
March Racing Team in the season, driven by
Ivan Capelli
Ivan Franco Capelli (born 24 May 1963) is an Italian former Formula One driver. He participated in 98 Grands Prix, debuting on 6 October 1985. He achieved three podiums, and scored a total of 31 championship points. From 1998 until 2017 he was a ...
and
Maurício Gugelmin
Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He took part in both Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in for the March team. Gugelmin achi ...
. The car's best result was seventh place, achieved three times by Gugelmin. It also took the fastest lap at the
1989 French Grand Prix
The 1989 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on 9 July 1989. It was the seventh race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship.
The 80-lap race was won from pole position by local driver Alain Prost, driving a McL ...
.
Design and development
Designed by
Adrian Newey
Adrian Martin Newey, (born 26 December 1958) is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.
Newey has worked in both Formula One and American Championship car racing, IndyCar raci ...
, the March CG891 used the aerodynamic concept he had originally conceived for the previous year's car, the
March 881
The March 881 was a Formula One racing car designed by Adrian Newey (his first ever F1 car) and raced by March Racing Team in the season by Italian Ivan Capelli and the debuting Maurício Gugelmin from Brazil. The car's best result was a seco ...
, but was much more refined. The monocoque, of carbon fibre composite, was particularly slimline. An inboard gear cluster was used to accommodate the presence of a full-width diffuser panel at the rear of the chassis. The car's suspension used a push-rod double wishbone configuration, both front and rear. The wheelbase was , its front track was and its rear track .
The car was powered by a
Judd EV 3.5 litre
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.
The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
in an exclusive arrangement with
John Judd
John Judd (born 9 April 1942) is a Formula One engineer from England. He is the boss of Engine Developments Ltd., manufacturers of Judd engines. He is also known for his partnership with triple F1 World Champion Sir Jack Brabham.
Formula 1 wo ...
's Engine Developments company. The engine was rated as having 625
bhp
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
with a maximum
rpm
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
of 11,500. A Magneti Marelli ignition was used in lieu of a conventional distributor, since the Judd EV had a narrower vee angle of 78°. Fuel and oil was provided by
BP, and the car ran on
Goodyear tyres.
The CG891 carried sponsorship from
Leyton House
Leyton House Racing was a Formula One List of Formula One constructors, constructor that raced in the 1990 Formula One season, 1990 and 1991 Formula One season, 1991 seasons.
It was, in essence, a rebranding of the March Engineering, March team ...
(the title sponsor for the team), BP,
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
,
Autoglass
Belron is a vehicle glass repair and replacement group operating worldwide across 34 countries and employing over 25,000 people. Headquartered in Egham, Surrey, United Kingdom, Belron's brands include Autoglass and Autoglass bodyrepair in the Uni ...
, Daivia, Cobra, Osama, AMK and Fiamm. A total of five CG891 chassis were constructed during the 1989 season. The CG in the car's designation stood for Cesare Gariboldi, a Leyton House March team manager who was killed in a road accident in the winter of 1988/1989.
Racing history
The March CG891 was introduced at the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
, the March 881 having served duty for the
March Racing Team in the first two races of the year. Gugelmin qualified in 14th while Capelli was 22nd on the grid. He had to revert to the 881 for part of qualifying as his CG891 developed electrical problems. Both drivers failed to finish although Capelli was still classified in 11th. This was the Italian's first of only two classified finishes all year, the other coming in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, where he placed 12th. Gugelmin's best finish was seventh, achieved three times; in Belgium,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
At the
French Grand Prix
The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...
, after a start-line accident forced Gugelmin to use the spare car for the race, he went on to achieve the fastest lap of the race although unclassified at the finish, nine laps behind the winner. The French race had been particularly promising for the team; Capelli had run as high as second at one stage but retired with engine problems.
Many of the March CG891's reliability problems was due to the casing used for the inboard gear cluster; this proved to have some flex and resulted in some gearbox failures in the first part of the season until the walls of the casing were made thicker. Some other failures were due to the electrical paraphernalia of the Judd EV, with only the odd piston and valvegear issues. Although neither Gugelmin or Capelli scored a points finish with the CG891, the team finished the 1989 Constructors' Championship in 12th, having achieved four points. This was due to Gugelmin's third place with the 881 at the opening race of the year, the
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
.
Complete Formula One results
(
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Results in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* All four points for 1989 were scored with the
881
Notes
References
*
*
{{March Engineering
March Formula One cars