Alan Rees had the distinction of helping to found two Formula 1 teams, and was one of the earliest employees of a third. The Briton, who has died aged 86 after a long illness, was a partner in both March and Arrows, which entered the grand prix arena in 1970 and ’78 respectively. In between times, he was recruited by Shadow to put together its UK operation for an F1 entry in 1973.
Although he had been a successful driver with a couple of Formula 2 wins on his resume, Rees never became as well known as some of his partners, Max Mosley and Jackie Oliver included. Yet his name is enshrined in F1 history in the titles of the teams he helped set up. The March and Arrows monikers were derived from the initials of their creators, in the latter case with a bit of licence.
Rees provided the AR in the middle of March, Mosley the M, Graham Coaker the C and Robin Herd the H. His was one of the Rs in Arrows – or perhaps both of them – in a slightly looser acronym. The other letters came from the names of Franco Ambrosio, Oliver, Dave Wass and Tony Southgate.
There were greater similarities between March and Arrows than the way they acquired their names. Both were created in a rush and burst upon the scene in a flurry of headlines.
March Engineering was established in 1969 as a builder of off-the-shelf racing cars, F1 machinery included, with a lot of hype and not much money. Each partner was said to have put in £2500, though Rees in later years was never slow to tell people that he reckoned he was the only one to have provided the full amount.
As well as building F1, F2, Formula 3, Formula Ford and Can-Am cars for its first full season in ’70, March would run works operations in the higher three single-seater categories with Rees as team manager. Chris Amon would score a couple of F1 podiums with Herd’s Cosworth-engined 701 design driving for the works team in year one, while Jackie Stewart took a victory, at the Spanish Grand Prix, in a March run by Tyrrell while it awaited the arrival of its own car following its split from Matra.
Rees (right) helped set up the March organisation and played a crucial role in Ronnie Peterson’s early career
Photo by: David Phipps
The following season Ronnie Peterson took five podiums with the 711 on the way to second in the championship behind Stewart and the new Tyrrell. The same year the Swede dominated the European F2 Championship with the works March team, winning five of the 11…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Motorsport.com – Formula 1 – Stories…