Martini MK11 1973

Formula Renault Martini 1973

The penultimate Martini MK11, of which only 25 were produced. This one bears chassis number 024.

The car was sold new in 1973 to Vacheron.

In 1984, Bruno B. acquired this car and won almost all the races in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté League in 1987 and 1988.

In 1995, this car was for sale at an auction house near the Magny-Cours circuit.

The car was exhibited for many years in Adrien Maeght's private museum, the Musée de l'Automobiliste in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes).

Antoine Morel (MD Rallye Sport) bought the car in February 2009 and sold it to me in December 2016.

Automobiles Martini
Automobiles Martini is a French manufacturer of Formula 1 racing cars, founded by Renato 'Tico' Martini in 1965 with his partner Bill Knight. Tico Martini designed and built chassis for Formula Renault, F3, F2 and even F1 at Magny-Cours. The cars are called 'MK', which stands for 'Martini-Knight', after the Knight brothers, who founded the Winfield driving school in Magny-Cours. This school produced a whole generation of young motorsport talent, including René Arnoux, Alain Prost and others. These cars were ideal stepping stones to Formula 1 and F2. They are best known for their successful performances in Formula 3 and Formula Renault in the 1970s and 1980s. Automobiles Martini is also known for making 9 Grand Prix appearances in the 1978 Formula 1 season with a MK23 chassis, in which René Arnoux (later a racing driver for Renault and Ferrari) made his Formula 1 debut. René Arnoux also won the 1973 Formula Renault European Championship. Alain Prost also used a Renault-powered Martini to win the 1978 and 1979 French Formula 3 Championships and became a four-time F1 world champion.

Adrien Maeght
This Formula Renault Martini has been on display for years at the Musée de l'Automobiliste in Mougins (Alpes-Maritimes). The owner of this private museum, Adrien Maeght, is a great art lover, known in particular for the Galerie Maeght and the Fondation Aimé Maeght in Saint-Paul-de-Vence. He was also a collector and motor racing driver. He also enriched his collection. Because Adrien had driven a 4CV Gordini in the 1950s, he has a certain preference for Gordinis. This Formula Renault with a Gordini engine, along with other Gordinis, ended up in his museum. The museum contained around a hundred exclusive cars. He decided to close the museum at the end of 2008 after 3 million visitors. This Formula Renault and other museum highlights were put up for sale in February 2009 at the Nice Riviera auction house.

MD Rallye Sport
Antoine Morel became the car's owner in 2009. In 2003, he founded the MD team and prepared ten motorbikes and quads for the PARIS-DAKAR rally. In 2005, Antoine Morel won the Dakar in the quad category. The team then began building its own racing cars (4x4 buggies). Its buggies have distinguished themselves by winning the Africa Eco Race and the Morocco Desert Challenge in 2019. Antoine Morel's MD Rallye Sport has a strong Dakar and off-road reputation. Formula Renault is also back in good hands with this owner. I bought it from him in December 2016.

The car
Make: Martini Formule Renault
Model: MK 11
Chassis number: 024
Year : 1973
Engine: Renault Alpine Gordini 1596 cm³ (renewed with invoices)
Gearbox: Renault, 5 speed

The engine was completely overhauled and rebuilt from scratch in 2018. The value of the spare parts is in excess of €8,000. The two Weber carburettors and the electronic ignition were correctly adjusted on the professional bench.
140 bhp and 175 Nm with a torque curve. The braking system is in perfect condition; the master cylinders are new and the braking system is correctly adjusted. The brake pads are new, the cooling radiator is new, and so on.
Since then, it has only been driven five times at CRAC Belgium. The car is therefore in running order and was still being driven at the end of June this year.

CRAC Belgium
This club is aimed at car owners, gentlemen drivers and all enthusiasts of historic motor sports who want to share a convivial moment with all the participants. To fulfil its mission, CRAC Belgium organises driving days in Belgium and/or abroad (Mettet, Zolder, Spa-Francorchamps, Croix-en-Ternois, Chambley, etc.). This friendly group lets you take your Formula out for a day's driving on a circuit. You'll have the opportunity to drive your own Formula from among all the Formulas, without it being a competition.

For those who want to race this Martini in competition, you can take part in various championships, such as Historic Monoposto Racing, HVM Racing France Historic & Classic: F3 & FRenault Classic, Open Formula Series, etc.