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LE MANS 24-HOUR CLASS WINNER

If you visit this website often, you’ll know that, (amongst others), I have a soft spot for the March GTP and Group C cars of the early 1980s. Probably something to do with the fact that I owned and raced an 84G a few years ago. March’s GTP and Group C cars were user-friendly and (relatively!) cheap to run. You can read the history of these cars in my “History of March GT Prototypes” feature in the Archives section of this site.

The March 85G that we are featuring here for sale has a fascinating history. Besides being one of the very few Marches to have been Porsche-engined from inception, it is still with only its second owner! 85G/06 started life with John John Kalagian, an American driver who wanted to race in the IMSA Camel GT Championship, then the hottest sportscar series in the World.

Price: $199,999.

Click on thumbnail for larger image

John had started racing in Europe, but returned to America where he bought an ex-John Paul Lola T600 and, with his friend John Mills, raced though 1983 and ‘84 with that car. For 1985, John bought March 85G-06 and ran his first race with it at Road Atlanta on April 14th. It was an inauspicious start, the car retiring after just twenty seven laps. At Riverside, it was the same story, the transmission failing again. For Laguna Seca, just a week later, fortune smiled on John John Kalagian. He finished sixth overall, the first March home after the favored Porsche 962s and Group 44 Jaguars. John Kalagian then placed eighth at Mid-Ohio, (with Tommy Grunnah), seventh at Watkins Glen and Portland and twelfth at Sears Point. The Porsche 962 really ruled the roost by this time! There was a fifth place at Road America and a seventh at the Daytona Finale and then John John Kalagian sold the car to Richard Cleare, an Englishman on the look-out for a Group C car to race in Europe.

In “Endurance Racing, 1982-1991”, Ian Briggs states: “Richard Cleare had the ex-John Kalagian IMSA/85G, chassis number 06, using a single-turbo Porsche flat-six engine. The car was immaculate, but short of backing. Nevertheless, it did win the IMSA category at Le Mans, placing fourteenth overall.” For 1987, Briggs wrote: “Unable to find a backer for his ex-John Kalagian IMSA March 85G.06 Porsche, Richard Cleare took it to Silverstone for its last International outing and won the GTP class, securing ninth overall, with James Weaver and Andrew Gilbert-Scott sharing the driving.” In: “Time and two seats”, Janos Wimpfen wrote: “ The Peter Twitchen managed team of Richard Cleare had also picked up an ex-IMSA March. They used a single-turbo version of the (Porsche) motor and thus ran in the GTP class.” Since its last outing, Richard Cleare has kept his 85G in immaculate shape, as you can see from the photographs. Regularly started, and warmed up, the engine and transmission are in fine condition, as is the rest of this very fast prototype. Today, 85G.06 is ready, with its mighty turbocharged Porsche power, to take to the tracks in historic/Vintage racing, whether in Europe or the USA.


85G/06. John Kalagian. Porsche 962 engine.

1985:
IMSA. USA:
14/4: Road Atlanta: John Kalagian, #15; 42nd NR.
28/4: Riverside: John Kalagian, #15; 49th NR.
05/5: Laguna Seca: John Kalagian, #15; 6th.
19/5: Charlotte: John Kalagian, #15; 28th NR.
09/6: Mid-Ohio: John Kalagian/T. Grunnah, #15; 8th.
08/7: Watkins Glen: John Kalagian/T. Grunnah, #15; 7th.
28/7: Portland: John Kalagian/W. Ganz, #15; 7th.
04/8: Sears Point: John Kalagian/J. O’Steen, #15; 12th.
25/8: Road America: John Kalagian/S. Shelton, #15; 5th.
29/9: Watkins Glen: John Kalagian, #15; DNS.
1/12: Daytona: John Kalagian/J. Mullen, #15; 7th.


1986:
Sold to Richard Cleare.
05/5: Silverstone 1000Km: Franz Konrad/Richard Cleare, #21; DNF. (oil line).
31/5-1/6: Le Mans 24-Hours: Cleare/Robert/Newsum; 14th. 1st IMSA class.
20/7: Brands Hatch 1000Km: James Weaver/Lionel Robert, #115; Fastest qualifier in practice), DNF, (Acc.)
15/9: Spa 1000Km: David Leslie/Richard Cleare, #21; DNF. (Exhaust).


1987:
Silverstone 1,000 Km: Cleare/Weaver/Gilbert-Scott; 9thOA, 1st in class. (fastest qualifier).




Site Contents © John Starkey 2004