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Bruce McLaren
McLarenBruce.jpg
Bruce McLaren in 1966
Born Bruce Leslie McLaren
(1937-08-30)30 August 1937
Auckland, New Zealand
Died 2 June 1970(1970-06-02) (aged 32)
Goodwood Circuit, Sussex, England, UK
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality New Zealand New Zealand
Active years 19581970
Teams Cooper, McLaren, Eagle
Entries 104 (100 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 4
Podiums 27
Career points 188.5 (196.5)
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 3
First entry 1958 German Grand Prix
First win 1959 United States Grand Prix
Last win 1968 Belgian Grand Prix
Last entry 1970 Monaco Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years 1959, 1961–1967
Teams Cooper Car Company
Briggs Cunningham
Aston Martin
Ford Motor Company
Shelby-American Inc.
Best finish 1st (1966)
Class wins 1 (1966)

Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor.

His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, winning a total of 8 World Constructors' Championships and 12 World Drivers' Championships. McLaren cars dominated CanAm sports car racing with 56 wins, a considerable number of them with him behind the wheel, between 1967 and 1972 (and five constructors' championships), and have won three Indianapolis 500 races, as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring.

Early life

Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Bruce McLaren attended Meadowbank Primary School. As a nine-year-old, he was diagnosed with Perthes disease in his hip that left his left leg shorter than the right.

His parents, Les and Ruth McLaren, owned a service station and workshop in Remuera Rd, Remuera, Auckland; Les McLaren had been a motorcycle racing enthusiast, but gave that up due to an injury before Bruce's birth, and began racing cars at the club level instead. Bruce spent all of his free hours hanging around the workshop and developed his passion during his formative years.

Career

Les McLaren restored an Austin 7 Ulster, which 14-year-old Bruce used in 1952 when he entered his first competition, a hillclimb. Two years later, he took part in his first real race and showed promise. He moved up from the Austin to a Ford 10 special and an Austin-Healey, then a Formula Two (F2) Cooper-Climax sports racing car. He immediately began to modify, improve and master it, so much so that he was runner-up in the 1957–58 New Zealand championship series.

McLaren founded McLaren Automotive in 1963.

Driving career

Grand Prix

Bruce McLaren at 1962 Dutch Grand Prix
McLaren at the 1962 Dutch Grand Prix.
McLarenBruce19690801
McLaren in the 1969 German Grand Prix
McLaren at 1969 Dutch Grand Prix
McLaren (centre left, white balaclava) prepares to take his seat in his McLaren M7C Formula One car, prior to the 1969 Dutch Grand Prix.

His performance in the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1958 was noticed by Australian driver Jack Brabham (who would later invite McLaren to drive for him). Because of his obvious potential, the New Zealand International Grand Prix organisation selected him for its 'Driver to Europe' scheme designed to give a promising Kiwi driver year-round experience with the best in the world. McLaren was the first recipient, to be followed by others later including Denny Hulme. McLaren went to Cooper and stayed seven years. He raced in F2 and was entered in the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in which F2 and F1 cars competed together. He astounded the motor racing fraternity by being the first F2, and fifth overall, in a field of the best drivers in the world.

McLaren joined the Cooper factory F1 team alongside Jack Brabham in 1959 and won the 1959 United States Grand Prix at age 22 years 104 days, becoming the youngest ever GP winner (not including the Indianapolis 500) up to that time. This record would stand for more than four decades until Fernando Alonso's victory at the 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix. He followed that with a win in the Argentine Grand Prix, the first race of the 1960 Formula One season, and he would finish runner-up that season to Brabham.

McLaren won the 1962 Monaco Grand Prix, eventually finishing a fine third in the championship that year. The next year, he founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd, which remains in the Formula One championship simply as McLaren. McLaren continued to race and win in Coopers (including the New Zealand GP in 1964).

McLaren left Cooper at the end of 1965, and announced his own GP racing team, with co-driver and fellow Kiwi Chris Amon. Amon left in 1967 to drive for Ferrari. In 1968, McLaren was joined by another fellow Kiwi Denny Hulme, who had become world champion in 1967 with Brabham. McLaren took his fourth career win racing his own McLaren car at Spa in 1968, achieving the team's first Grand Prix win. Hulme won twice in the McLaren-Ford.

The 1969 championship was also a success, with McLaren finishing third in the standings despite taking no wins. In tribute to his homeland, McLaren's cars featured the "speedy Kiwi" logo.

Can-Am series

McLaren's design flair and ingenuity were graphically demonstrated in powerful sports car racing. Just as the Can-Am began to become very popular with fans in Canada and the U.S., the new McLaren cars finished second twice, and third twice, in six races.

In 1967, they won five of six races and in 1968, four of six. The following year, McLarens proved unbeatable, winning all 11 races. In two races, they finished 1–2–3.

24 Hours of Le Mans

In 1965, McLaren and co-driver Ken Miles raced a Ford GT40 in the 24 Hour Race at Le Mans. The car was leading after 45 laps but retired due to gearbox failure. In 1966, McLaren and co-driver Chris Amon won the race in a Ford GT40, in a Ford 1-2-3 finish. The Ken Miles-Denny Hulme entry crossed the line first but travelled less distance due to the Le Mans style start.

Career as a constructor

McLaren was a competitive driver, but his legacy, the McLaren Racing Team, stems from his abilities as an analyst, engineer, and manager. In the early days of McLaren sports cars, McLaren was testing and as he drove out of the pits, he noticed the fuel filler access door was flapping up and down as he drove. The current aerodynamic thinking was that it should have been pressed more firmly in place as the speed of the car increased. Instead, it bounced more vigorously as the speed increased. Instantly, his frustration at the sloppy work changed and he had an insight. Stopping in the pits, he grabbed a pair of shears, and started cutting the bodywork away behind the radiator. Climbing back in the car, he immediately began turning lap times faster than before.

From that session came the "nostrils" that have been a key McLaren design feature, including in the McLaren P1 road car.

McLaren noticed that his team's cars were less innovative than the Chaparrals of rival driver/designer Jim Hall, but their superior reliability was rewarded by race and championship victories. That culture continued after his death and when Ron Dennis bought the team was reinforced by the lessons learned in his early career as a race mechanic.

Death

Bruce McLaren died aged 32 when his Can-Am car crashed on the Lavant Straight just before Woodcote corner at Goodwood Circuit in England on 2 June 1970. He had been testing his new McLaren M8D when the rear bodywork came adrift at speed. The loss of aerodynamic downforce destabilised the car, which spun, left the track, and hit a bunker used as a flag station.

Motorsport author Eoin Young said that Bruce McLaren had "virtually penned his own epitaph" in his 1964 book From the Cockpit.

McLaren was survived by his sisters Pat and Jan, wife Patty and daughter Amanda. He was buried at Waikumete Cemetery in Glen Eden.

Legacy

  • The team Bruce McLaren founded in 1963 would continue on after his death and win 8 Constructors' Championships and 12 Drivers' Championships in Formula One.
  • Bruce McLaren Intermediate School in West Auckland was named after him shortly after his death. It was originally going to be called Henderson South Intermediate. The school is on Bruce McLaren Road, in the suburb of McLaren Park.
  • In 2015 the Taupo Motorsport Park in New Zealand was renamed Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park.
  • In 2000, Motorsport NZ and the Prodrive Trust created the Bruce McLaren Scholarship to help up-and-coming New Zealand racing drivers.
  • Inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
  • Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991.
  • Inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 1991.
  • Inducted into the New Zealand Motorsports Wall of Fame in 1994.
  • Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1995.
  • The Bruce McLaren Trust, based in Auckland, New Zealand, perpetuates his memory and runs a small museum, formerly located in the flat where Bruce grew up (above a petrol station in Remuera), now located at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
  • On 20 January 2007, at New Zealand's round of the A1 Grand Prix series, it was announced that a movie was to be made about Bruce McLaren.
  • On 21 February 2017 it was announced that Roger Donaldson would be making a movie called McLaren.
  • The University of Auckland Formula SAE team use Bruce's racing number 47 as their car number in memory of Bruce.
  • Inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame in 2022.

Film

The story of Bruce McLaren was told in the 2017 documentary film McLaren by Roger Donaldson.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 WDC Pts.
1958 Cooper Car Company Cooper T45 F2 Climax Straight-4 ARG MON NED 500 BEL FRA GBR GER
5*
POR ITA MOR
13
NC 0*
1959 Cooper Car Company Cooper T45 Climax Straight-4 MON
5
500 NED 6th 16.5
Cooper T51 FRA
5
GBR
3
GER
Ret
POR
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
1
1960 Cooper Car Company Cooper T51 Climax Straight-4 ARG
1
2nd 34 (37)
Cooper T53 MON
2
500 NED
Ret
BEL
2
FRA
3
GBR
4
POR
2
ITA USA
3
1961 Cooper Car Company Cooper T55 Climax Straight-4 MON
6
NED
12
BEL
Ret
FRA
5
GBR
8
GER
6
ITA
3
USA
4
8th 11
1962 Cooper Car Company Cooper T60 Climax V8 NED
Ret
MON
1
BEL
Ret
FRA
4
GBR
3
GER
5
ITA
3
USA
3
RSA
2
3rd 27 (32)
1963 Cooper Car Company Cooper T66 Climax V8 MON
3
BEL
2
NED
Ret
FRA
12
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
ITA
3
USA
11
MEX
Ret
RSA
4
6th 17
1964 Cooper Car Company Cooper T66 Climax V8 MON
Ret
7th 13
Cooper T73 NED
7
BEL
2
FRA
6
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
AUT
Ret
ITA
2
USA
Ret
MEX
7
1965 Cooper Car Company Cooper T73 Climax V8 RSA
5
9th 10
Cooper T77 MON
5
BEL
3
FRA
Ret
GBR
10
NED
Ret
GER
Ret
ITA
5
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
1966 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M2B Ford V8 MON
Ret
USA
5
MEX
Ret
16th 3
Serenissima V8 BEL
DNS
FRA GBR
6
NED
DNS
GER ITA
1967 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M4B BRM V8 RSA MON
4
NED
Ret
BEL 14th 3
Anglo American Racers Eagle T1G Weslake V12 FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M5A BRM V12 CAN
7
ITA
Ret
USA
Ret
MEX
Ret
1968 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7A Cosworth V8 RSA ESP
Ret
MON
Ret
BEL
1
NED
Ret
FRA
8
GBR
7
GER
13
ITA
Ret
CAN
2
USA
6
MEX
2
5th 22
1969 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7B Cosworth V8 RSA
5
3rd 26
McLaren M7C ESP
2
MON
5
NED
Ret
FRA
4
GBR
3
GER
3
ITA
4
CAN
5
USA
DNS
MEX
DNS
1970 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Cosworth V8 RSA
Ret
ESP
2
MON
Ret
BEL NED FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA MEX 14th 6

* McLaren was ineligible to score points in the 1958 German Grand Prix because he was driving a Formula Two car.

Non-championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
1958 Cooper Car Company Cooper T45 Climax Straight-4 BUE GLV SYR AIN
13
INT
9
CAE
1959 Cooper Car Company Cooper T45 Climax Straight-4 BUE GLV
6
AIN
3
INT
Ret
Cooper T51 OUL
Ret
SIL
1960 Cooper Car Company Cooper T51 Climax Straight-4 BUE
Ret
GLV
4
Cooper T53 INT
14
SIL
3
LOM OUL
4
1961 Cooper Car Company Cooper T53 Climax V8 LOM GLV PAU BRX
2
VIE SOL
4
KAN DAN MOD FLG OUL
3
LEW VAL RAN NAT RSA
Cooper T55 AIN
2
SYR
WD
NAP LON SIL
Ret
1962 Cooper Car Company Cooper T55 Climax V8 CAP BRX LOM LAV
1
GLV
2
PAU AIN
2
INT
5
NAP MAL CLP
3
Cooper T60 RMS
1
SOL KAN MED DAN OUL
Ret
MEX
Ret
RAN NAT
1963 Cooper Car Company Cooper T66 Climax V8 LOM
4
GLV
2
PAU IMO SYR AIN
5
INT
2
ROM SOL KAN MED AUT OUL
6
RAN
1964 Cooper Car Company Cooper T66 Climax V8 DMT
3
NWT
Ret
SYR
Cooper T73 AIN
Ret
INT
15
SOL MED RAN
1965 Cooper Car Company Cooper T77 Climax V8 ROC
5
SYR SMT
4
INT
6
MED RAN
1967 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M4B BRM V8 ROC
Ret
SPR
5
INT
5
SYR OUL ESP
1968 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7A Ford-Cosworth V8 ROC
1
INT
2
OUL
1969 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M7B Ford-Cosworth V8 ROC
Ret
McLaren M7C INT
6
MAD OUL
1970 Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M14A Ford-Cosworth V8 ROC
Ret
INT
4
OUL

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
pos.
1959 United Kingdom Cooper Car Company United Kingdom Jim Russell Cooper Monaco S 2.0 79 DNF DNF
1961 United States Briggs Cunningham United States Walt Hansgen Maserati Tipo 63 S 3.0 31 DNF DNF
1962 United States Briggs Cunningham United States Walt Hansgen Maserati Tipo 151 E +3.0 177 DNF DNF
1963 United Kingdom David Brown Racing Dept. United Kingdom Innes Ireland Aston Martin DP214 GT +3.0 59 DNF DNF
1964 United States Ford Motor Company United States Phil Hill Ford GT40 P 5.0 192 DNF DNF
1965 United States Shelby American Inc. United Kingdom Ken Miles Ford GT40X P +5.0 89 DNF DNF
1966 United States Shelby American Inc. New Zealand Chris Amon Ford Mk.II P +5.0 360 1st 1st
1967 United States Shelby American Inc. United States Mark Donohue Ford Mk.IV P +5.0 359 4th 4th
1969 United Kingdom John Woolfe Racing United Kingdom John Woolfe McLaren M6B S 5.0 - DNA DNA
Source:

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Pos. Pts Class
1961 Peter Berry Racing Ltd Jaguar Mk II 3.8 D SNE GOO
5
AIN
3
SIL
3
CRY SIL
Ret
BRH
4
OUL
3
SNE
3
13th 16 4th
1965 Nippon Racing Isuzu Bellett C BRH OUL SNE GOO
DNS
SIL CRY BRH OUL NC 0 NC
Source:

Complete Tasman Series results

Year Chassis 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points
1964 Cooper T70 LEV
(3)
PUK
1
WIG
1
TER
1
SAN
Ret
WAR
2
LAK
(3)
LON
2
1st 39 (47)
1965 Cooper T79 PUK
Ret
LEV
(5)
WIG
2
TER
2
WAR
Ret
SAN
4
LON
1
2nd 24 (26)
1968 BRM P126 PUK
Ret
LEV
Ret
WIG
5
TER
1
SUR
WAR
SAN LON
6th 11

Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos Pts
1966 United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M1B Chevrolet V8 MTR
2
BRI
3
MOS
Ret
LAG
3
RIV
Ret
LVG
3
3rd 20
1967 United Kingdom Bruce Mclaren Motor Racing McLaren M6A Chevrolet V8 ROA
Ret
BRI
2
MOS
2
LAG
1
RIV
1
LVG
Ret
1st 30
1968 United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M8A Chevrolet V8 ROA
2
BRI
Ret
EDM
2*
LAG
5
RIV
1
LVG
6
2nd 24
1969 United Kingdom Bruce McLaren Motor Racing McLaren M8B Chevrolet V8 MOS
1
MTR
2*
WGL
1
EDM
Ret
MDO
2
ROA
1
BRI
2
MCH
1
LAG
1
RIV
Ret
TWS
1
1st 165
Source:

* Joint fastest lap.

See also

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