With his F3000 car now bearing Leyton House colours, Capelli won the Austrian GP support race on his way to the 1986 International Formula 3000 Championship title.

Akagi agreed and Gariboldi went to Robin Herd of March Engineering to get a car built for Capelli and have it painted in the Leyton House cyan.

At the first race, the 1987 Brazilian Grand Prix, March had a team of just 17 people, including Akagi, his girlfriend, his translator and Capelli's father.

The car was a real success, scoring 22 points in 1988, including a second place at the 1988 Portuguese Grand Prix.

The aerodynamics and ultra-slim monocoque of the 881 were copied by most of the grid in 1989 and the car launched Newey as a superstar designer.

[2] Cesare Gariboldi died in January following a road accident, thus the team named the chassis with a prefix CG in memory of him.

The French race had been particularly promising for the team; Capelli had run as high as second at one stage but retired with engine problems.

There, Capelli and Gugelmin qualified seventh and tenth respectively, before running first and second for much of the race, largely due to the team's decision not to pit for tyres.

Gugelmin eventually retired with an engine failure, but Capelli continued to lead from Alain Prost in the Ferrari until three laps from home, when a misfire forced him to let the Frenchman past; second place was still a popular result.

The improved showings continued over the next few races: Capelli ran third in Britain before his fuel pipe broke, then finished just outside the points in seventh in Germany.

Phillips made his return at the Hungarian GP, but at the end of the year accepted an offer to join the new Jordan F1 team for 1991.

[2] Team manager Harry Mandel also resigned, while Newey was replaced as technical director by Gustav Brunner.

A steady drive in Hungary brought Capelli and the team a point for sixth; the Italian driver then ran in the top six again in Portugal before spinning off.

The team was sold to a consortium including Marrable, Brunner, lawyer John Byfield and Dutch motorsport businessman Henny Vollenberg.

Wendlinger stayed on, joined by Paul Belmondo; the Austrian driver finished fourth in Canada.

However, money remained tight and Belmondo was eventually replaced by Emanuele Naspetti, while Wendlinger made way for Jan Lammers, a friend of Vollenberg, returning to F1 after a ten-year absence.