2006 Marcos “Marcorelly” GT

HTP

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And when your car gets written off in a crash at Spa-Francorchamps, you roll up your sleeves and set out to build an even better one. That’s exactly what Cor Euser did to create the Marcos Mantis “Marcorelly” GT.

 

Euser’s name is one that needs little introduction to anyone familiar with Dutch motorsport history. After success in junior single seaters, he came close to Formula 1, made a blink- and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in CART, raced in DTM and eventually settled into a lengthy career in sports car racing. In 1995, he landed a drive as a factory driver for British manufacturer Marcos. Five years later, Euser and longtime GT racing sponsor Eurotech acquired the rights to manufacture Marcos racing cars and moved the business to the Netherlands.

 

In addition to the mighty Mantara, which competed in the likes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Rolex 24 at Daytona, Marcos also built the smaller yet no less impressive Mantis. It was in 2006 when a Portuguese guest driver crashed Euser’s Mantis at Spa-Francorchamps.

Instead of throwing in the towel, Euser and his team got to work rebuilding and upgrading the car. The result was a car that the man himself described as a ‘mini-LM600,’ visually similar to the Mantis that came before it but lower and wider. In cooperation with Ad Verkuijlen and VA Engineering, the car received a new, stiffer chassis. A flat bottom allowed for improved aerodynamics, while a repositioning of the exhaust allowed for a lower center of gravity. The engine remained unchanged: a 5.0-liter Ford Modular Quadcam V8.

 

This new Mantis, which took Euser and his team three months of flat-out work to build, is best known by its nickname of “Marcorelly.” This is derived from the first names of the team Marcel Geltink, Cor Euser and Elly Euser.

The Marcorelly raced in the Spanish GTB Championship with Euser himself joined by the likes of Fred van Putten and Pedro Castronevez. It also saw frequent action in the Dutch Supercar Challenge. Notably, during the headliner Rizla Racing Days event in 2006, Euser completed a spectacular last-to-first drive to take victory at TT Circuit Assen under the watchful eye of nearly 50.000 spectators.

 

Marcorelly continued to see action in contemporary championships until 2015 and has since transitioned into a more than capable historic racer. At Spa-Francorchamps, the car is capable of achieving a lap time of 2’.23” and a straight-line speed of over 300 kmh.

 

More recently the car was accepted as a participant in the Masters Endurance Legends and in our opinion, it will be a very good yet affordable contender.

 

Powertrain

●      Ford “Modular” Quadcam 5L V8 built by KMS 500HP.

●      Only 15 hours of 75 hours running time

●      Carbon Cold Air Box

●      Motec Motor Management

●      6 Speed Sequential Hollinger gearbox

●      Tilton clutch

●      Drechsler Diff

 

General

●      Flat bottom

●      100L Safety tank

●      Front brakes: PFC 380mm

●      Rear brakes: Brembo 360mm

●      Porsche 996 front suspension

●      1100 kgs