March 822
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The March 822 was an open-wheel, developed and built by British racing car manufacturer March Engineering in 1982, which was designed in accordance with Formula 2 regulations. In 1982 and 1983 numerous drivers took part in the Formula 2 European Championship and the Japanese Formula 2 Championship. In 1982, Corrado Fabi became European Formula 2 Champion on a March 822, and Satoru Nakajima won the Japanese championship in the same year. A derived version, called the 82A, was used in the Formula Atlantic series.[1][2]
The March 822 was developed in the fall of 1981. The responsible designer was Ralph Bellamy. The March 822 was not a new construction, but further development of the March 812 of the previous year. The 822 had a new monocoque that was narrower than that of the 821. The rear suspension was redesigned and aerodynamics had been improved. In the European championship rounds, the cars were usually powered by BMW engines from different tuners; in only one instance did an 822 appear with a four-cylinder Hart engine. In Japan, there were also copies with Honda and Toyota Engines. This drove the rear wheels through a Hewland F.T.200 5-speed manual transmission.[3]
March-Merzario 282
A modification of the March 822 was the March-Merzario 282, which appeared in Italy in 1982. The Italian team Merzario had designed their own Formula 2 cars up until 1981, which were unsuccessful. For the 1982 season, Arturo Merzario's racing team went over to revising the March 822 chassis taken over from the factory and improving them according to their own ideas. They were then given their own model designation. Details on the scope of the revision are not known. The cars appeared only this year and exclusively in Team Merzario. Jo Gartner and Richard Dallest each achieved a championship point with them.
