March 792 - Love it or hate it?

Seeing as the March 792 caused so many views to be expressed in the F2 Pictures thread I thought it deserved to have a poll and its own thread. I dont know much about the 792 so could some of you superbrains please post some results and stories. Also anyone with more pictures that havent been on the other thread, please can you post them.

I think the car is really nice looking it looks mean like it knows what position it wants to finish. I saw loads of models of it at the Historic Motorsport Show but I didnt have enough money to get one.

Forgive my ignorance, but a pic would help. Are we talking "tea-trays" here, by any chance? If so, I'm in the "I love it" category.....

No thats the 721 isnt it. Have a look at the F2 pictures thread

Compared to the previous year 782 it was surely less successful but, in the end, Surer got the championship....

The shape was also a departure from the 782, as well as the packaging, due to the fact that it was the first "complete" ground effect car from March (no full width nose, to make the venturis work).

I remember reading that they had troubles with torsional stiffness and with the sidepod "skirts".
It was just an interesting car, and like other from the same period, and different categories, was not the copy of something successful.....

My GOD man, Its a historic F2 car. Even an ugly one is a wonderful car and 90% of the racing comunity would pass up a date with a supermodel if the had the chance to do a few laps in a 792 (or any other F2 for that matter). Whats not to love?.

Seeing as my posting on the F2 pictures thread may have prompted this... the 792 has my vote!

If you listened to a March employee it was a disaster. The car had fundamental problems. It porpopoised at speed it would go into a series of wave motions
March later claimed if someone with a decent budget had campigned a 782 they would have probably have won the championship. That year March had no oposition Chevron were in decline and everyone bought a March.
If this poll is about the look of the car then it was a dog compared with the 782 which was a stunner and broke the mold.

I also voted for the 792(i couldn't vote against with so many pictures of it posted in the other thread). Anyway, Rad Dougall, i think won the opening race with a 782 in 1979, and he was quick with that thing before shifting for a Ralt. On the other hand, Rosberg set his famous time at the Nurburg (7'06'' something) with a 792. That year ,Keke was only Daly's replacement guy. poor Daly was obsessed at F1 with that ugly Ensign (that one was really ugly...).
The 792 is also one of the only F2 existing in die-cast (does it prove anything ? I don't know)

It was a hot looking car in its day,but that was nearly 25 years ago.......one wonders why they didn't put the radiators in the side pods and put a pointy nose on it like the RT4 had?.

Voted against it I'm afraid, it was/is a real shocker in the looks area, especially compared to its predecessor the 782, and also its main opposition in 79. I thought both the Osella and the RT2 that year were much better lookers.

I know it won the series, but at that time March probably had the best team, certainly the best BMW motors, and Surer was very experienced by then in F2. Rosberg was good when he appeared in an ICI car, but we know how good he was so I'd say his results were more due to him than the car. Daly won a race, but again he proved pretty good so ditto.

I always think with F2 of the 70s/early 80s, the really good cars proved quick the year after they were new. For exanple the March 742 won a race in 75, the Martini 16 was good in 76, 782 goes without saying, (still OK in 1980), the Tolemans won in 81. The 792 by contrast was hardly ever seen after 79, let alone being quick.

Surely the key point is what Herd said in the March book - that is it was an awful car, and a well-run 782 would ahve beaten it in 79.

The 782 is far uglier than the 792

Geez, Mackmot, I thought it was me...I thought the 782 was uglier than the 792.

Must be us Yorkshire folk...we're right and everyone else, er, isn't.

Gents, you may be surprised but I'm a Leeds lad...so how can we all be right ? The shape of the 792 is OK I suppose, its just that nose, truly awful, like the Ensign N179, Wlf WR5-6. The 782 nose is a thing of curved beauty by contrast.

The pic. was too big!!:censored:

Exactly it looks like a spaceship from a 60s comic

Now a retype of the reply...

Personally I think the 792 is ugly. The 782 was an attractive car that developed into the 792 mistake. I had the chance to talk with Marc Surer last summer and we discussed the 792. He said it was a terrible car to drive and they struggled with it all season long. He does still have his 792. His comment was that the 782 was a very nice car.

On the previous post shows the Jarier 782 I restored for a customer a few years ago. The 792 does not have any of the appeal of this car. The 782 with a stiffened engine bay is a fantastic car to drive, very forgiving. No contest.

However I would take a BT23 or 30 over any of the 70's style F2 cars every time. Just my .016 EUROS. David

Can we re-start this one, just to confirm my views on the 792. I'd urge lovers of it to look at what Surer said about it... surely nothing else needs to be said.

Best one I saw was the John Travis Libre car of 1982-83-84. Beautifully turned out, backed by Riva & Mariani whoever they were, but still as ugly as ever.

Btw did Travis base his BRD Thundersports car on this 792, bodywork looked like a 75S, but maybe the tub was the F2 car. Any thoughts anyone ??

Well my opinion was based in it's looks, rather than it's quality for driving it - I can't argue this point, since I haven't had the "pleasure" of doing so.

So LOOKS wise , I..still...like...it!