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Maco cars were the
brainchild of Ernst Maring who was a quite successful F2 and F3 driver
in his own right. Maco began by producing Super Vee cars and then with
the change in F3 regulations in 1971 Maring decided to enter this class
of racing. For the next few years Maco produced a succession of often
attractive, competitive cars. They mostly raced in the German Championship
with the occasional foray to races like Monaco and Maring seemed to
have a knack for landing sponsorship deals that meant they were well
financed. They never quite made that final breakthrough and eventually
as other marques came up Maco departed the scene.
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Appearing
right at the end of the 1971 season, the Maco 371 was raced at the Nurburgring
in October by Ernst Maring himself. |
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Two 372s
were built for 1972 and raced by Maring and Felix Martin, results were disappointing
when up against the more usual March/GRD/Brabhams etc. of the the other
runners, reliability was also a problem and there were a number of retirements. |
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Once again
several cars (at least 4) were constructed for use in the German F3 rounds,
they had several reasonable results including a win at Niederstetten. |
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The
Maco 374 apparently resembled a GRD and was powered initially by a Nova-Ford
twin-cam unit. Ernst Maring himself was the main driver and managed
a few promising outings. |
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Giorgio
Francia in a 375 at the Nurburgring.
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At the beginning
of the season the more individually styled 375 was powered by a Nova-Ford
twin-cam unit but the switch to Toyota power was soon made although
occasionally a BMW engine was used. Maring himself was the most successful
Maco driver with with 2nd places at the Nurburgring, Ulm and three
times at Hockenheim. |
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The
Maco 376 driven by Peter Wisskirchen.
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The 376 was a
tidied up version of the 375 and results weren't so easy to come by
as manufacturers like Ralt and March began to dominate. Best finishes
were a second place each at the Nurburgring for Maring and Korten
although a few other top 6 places were achieved. |
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Michael
Korten showing the attractive lines of
the 376B in 1977.
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The 1977 car
was a cosmetically enhanced version of the 376, lower engine cover,
ducted radiators etc. Results were reasonable with Niggemeier and
Korten going well in the German championship with Korten getting a
2nd and 3rd as well as a 4th in the European Championship round at
the Nurburgring. For this year the change was made to the improving
BMW engine. |
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Although
a new car was produced for 1978 results for the 378 weren't good, Korten
managed a 5th in heat in a Euro round at Zolder. For this year Maco
seemed to have reverted to Toyota power. |
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For 1979
Ernst Maring returned to the driving seat in the Toyota powered 379 and
managed 4th place in the German Championship. Best result of the season
was probably the 6th place finish in the final round of the European
Championship at Kassel-Calden in October. |
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Ernst Maring
took part in the last few 1980 races in the new 381 winning a non-championship
race at Hockenheim amongst a very average field. Into 1981 the car was very
much a midfield runner, the only highlight being a seventh at Siegerland
in a German Championship event. The 381 would seem to be Maco's swansong
in F3 racing. |
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Drivers |
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1971 |
371
Ernst Maring.
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1972 |
372
Ernst Maring, Felix Martin.
371
Paul Fischer.
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1973 |
373
Bernd Heuer, Ernst Maring, Felix Martin, Erhard Miltz. |
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1974 |
374
Bernd Heuer, Ernst Maring, Erhard Miltz. |
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1975 |
374
Bernd
Heuer, Thomas von Löwis, Erhard Miltz
375
Giorgio Francia, Dieter Kern, Jürgen Krüger, Sommer von
Löwis, Manfred Möhr, Ernst Maring, H. Schechenge, Marc
Surer.
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1976 |
376
Jochen Dauer, Dieter Kern, Manfred Leppke, Kennerth Persson, Peter
Wisskirchen.
375
Bernd Heuer,
Roland Saier.
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1977 |
376B
Dieter Kern, Michael Korten.
376
Rudi Niggemeier.
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1978 |
378
Michael Korten.
376
Frank Jelenski.
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1979 |
379
Ernst Maring. |
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1980 |
381
Ernst Maring.
378
Thomas Holert.
377
Karl-Heinz Soll.
375
Peter Rössler.
?
Klaus Hansert, Willi Hüsgen.
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1981
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381
Helmut Bross, Lothar Büchler, Miguel Muniz-Rizo, Marcus Simeon,
Dieter Strietzel, Jan Thoelke.
?
Klaus Hansert, Willi Hüsgen, Georg Lorenz.
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1982 |
381
Jürgen Kurze.
?
Willi Hüsgen.
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1983 |
?
Willi Hüsgen. |
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1984 |
?
Klaus Lepp. |
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1984 |
381
Peter Rössler.
?
Klaus Lepp.
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1984 |
?
Klaus Lepp. |
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