1971 - MONOPLACE FORMULE FRANCE MARTINI MK 6

Authentic single-seater
A history of success in competition
In running order
Since the introduction of the prestigious World Drivers' Championship (the original name given by the FIA to today's Formula 1 World Championship) in 1950, numerous other national or international championships have emerged at a lower level. Thus in 1968, the French motorsports federation (the FFSA) launched Formula France.
The regulations published in December 1967 stipulated notably a French chassis, as well as the engine and gearbox from the Renault 8 Gordini 1300. The modifications allowed were limited: skimming the cylinder head, balancing the crankshaft and flywheel, and fitting new air intake trumpets. On the other hand, the moving parts (pistons, conrods etc.) and the intake manifold had to remain strictly standard. The 4-cylinder 1255 cc engine developed 103 bhp at 6750 rpm and was fitted with two twin-barrel Weber 40 carburettors. In 1971, Formula France changed its name to become Formula Renault, with the biggest alteration being the arrival of the 1600 cc engine from the Renault 12 Gordini for the 1972 season.
The chassis presented here was developed by the small French company Martini, named after its founder Tico Martini, a former racing driver and manufacturer of karts in Great Britain. He specialised in the construction of single-seaters for Formula 3 and
Formula France, then Formula Renault and finally Formula 2. In the mid-1970s, Martini was the leading French manufacturer of racing cars. Many up-and-coming young drivers in French motorsport earned their spurs driving Martini cars, drivers such as Jacques Laffite and Jean-Pierre Jarier, who both went on to race in Formula 1.
Built in 1971, this Martini MK6 single-seater is still fitted with the Gordini 1300 engine, in accordance with its original specification. After a racing career at the start of the 1970s, chassis number 010 reappeared in 1984 after spending several years in a private garage in Plancoët in Brittany. Its new owner at the time discovered it fitted with a 1565 cc engine from the R12 Gordini, which was probably installed in 1972 to meet the regulations for the new Formula Renault championship. With a friend who ran a car bodyshop, he decided to equip chassis number 10 with a new cockpit from an MK11, a nosecone from an MK20 and a homemade spoiler, shaped with the help of a broom handle! He competed with it in several regional events until 1987, before selling it to a karting association in northern France. In 1990, by now the property of the Monaco racing team, the Martini MK6 was restored to its original specification to take part in the Historic Formula France Championship (for the IMFO Trophy), which it won on two occasions in 1991 and 1992, driven by Henri Bizet.
Now owned by a motorsport enthusiast, chassis number 010 remains in its 1992 configuration and is in good mechanical condition. Its Historical Technical Passport from 1992 and FFSA Technical Passport are still with the car. Several photos from the 1991 and 1992 seasons bear witness to its historic motorsport career, while some period shots suggest that Jacques Laffite may have driven it in 1971...