Bruce McLaren


Bruce Leslie McLaren was a New Zealand race-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 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 aging 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 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

His performance in the New Zealand Grand Prix in 1958 was noticed by Australian driver Jack Brabham. 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 up to that time. 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.
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 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 1966, McLaren and co-driver Chris Amon won the prestigious 24 Hour Race at Le Mans 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.
Later he explained,
I was first angry that the filler door hadn't been properly closed but then I began to wonder why it wasn't being pressed down by the airflow. The only answer was that there had to be a source of higher pressure air under it than over it.
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 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. Referring to the death of teammate Timmy Mayer, McLaren had written:
McLaren was survived by his sisters Pat and Jan, wife Patty and daughter Amanda.

Legacy

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

Complete Formula One World Championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine12345678910111213WDCPts.
1958Cooper Car CompanyCooper T45 F2Climax Straight-4ARGMONNED500BELFRAGBRGER
5*		PORITAMOR
13		NC0*
1959Cooper Car CompanyCooper T45 F2Climax Straight-4MON
5		500NED6th16.5
1959Cooper Car CompanyCooper T51Climax Straight-4FRA
5		GBR
3		GER
Ret		POR
Ret		ITA
Ret		USA
1		6th16.5
1960Cooper Car CompanyCooper T51Climax Straight-4ARG
1		2nd34
1960Cooper Car CompanyCooper T53Climax Straight-4MON
2		500NED
Ret		BEL
2		FRA
3		GBR
4		POR
2		ITAUSA
3		2nd34
1961Cooper Car CompanyCooper T55Climax V8MON
6		NED
12		BEL
Ret		FRA
5		GBR
8		GER
6		ITA
3		USA
4		8th11
1962Cooper Car CompanyCooper T60Climax V8NED
Ret		MON
1		BEL
Ret		FRA
4		GBR
3		GER
5		ITA
3		USA
3		RSA
2		3rd27
1963Cooper Car CompanyCooper T66Climax V8MON
3		BEL
2		NED
Ret		FRA
12		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		ITA
3		USA
11		MEX
Ret		RSA
4		6th17
1964Cooper Car CompanyCooper T66Climax V8MON
Ret		7th13
1964Cooper Car CompanyCooper T73Climax V8NED
7		BEL
2		FRA
6		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		AUT
Ret		ITA
2		USA
Ret		MEX
7		7th13
1965Cooper Car CompanyCooper T73Climax V8RSA
5		9th10
1965Cooper Car CompanyCooper T77Climax V8MON
5		BEL
3		FRA
Ret		GBR
10		NED
Ret		GER
Ret		ITA
5		USA
Ret		MEX
Ret		9th10
1966Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M2BFord V8MON
Ret		USA
5		MEX
Ret		16th3
1966Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M2BSerenissima V8BEL
DNS		FRAGBR
6		NED
DNS		GERITA16th3
1967Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M4BBRM V8RSAMON
4		NED
Ret		BEL14th3
1967Anglo American RacersEagle T1GWeslake V12FRA
Ret		GBR
Ret		GER
Ret		14th3
1967Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M5ABRM V12CAN
7		ITA
Ret		USA
Ret		MEX
Ret		14th3
1968Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7ACosworth V8RSAESP
Ret		MON
Ret		BEL
1		NED
Ret		FRA
8		GBR
7		GER
13		ITA
Ret		CAN
2		USA
6		MEX
2		5th22
1969Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7BCosworth V8RSA
5		3rd26
1969Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7CCosworth V8ESP
2		MON
5		NED
Ret		FRA
4		GBR
3		GER
3		ITA
4		CAN
5		USA
DNS		MEX
DNS		3rd26
1970Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M14ACosworth V8RSA
Ret		ESP
2		MON
Ret		BELNEDFRAGBRGERAUTITACANUSAMEX14th6

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

Non-championship results

YearEntrantChassisEngine123456789101112131415161718192021
1958Cooper Car CompanyCooper T45Climax Straight-4BUEGLVSYRAIN
13		INT
9		CAE
1959Cooper Car CompanyCooper T45Climax Straight-4BUEGLV
6		AIN
3		INT
Ret
1959Cooper Car CompanyCooper T51Climax Straight-4OUL
Ret		SIL
1960Cooper Car CompanyCooper T51Climax Straight-4BUE
Ret		GLV
4
1960Cooper Car CompanyCooper T53Climax Straight-4INT
14		SIL
3		LOMOUL
4
1961Cooper Car CompanyCooper T53Climax V8LOMGLVPAUBRX
2		VIESOL
4		KANDANMODFLGOUL
3		LEWVALRANNATRSA
1961Cooper Car CompanyCooper T55Climax V8AIN
2		SYR
WD		NAPLONSIL
Ret
1962Cooper Car CompanyCooper T55Climax V8CAPBRXLOMLAV
1		GLV
2		PAUAIN
2		INT
5		NAPMALCLP
3
1962Cooper Car CompanyCooper T60Climax V8RMS
1		SOLKANMEDDANOUL
Ret		MEX
Ret		RANNAT
1963Cooper Car CompanyCooper T66Climax V8LOM
4		GLV
2		PAUIMOSYRAIN
5		INT
2		ROMSOLKANMEDAUTOUL
6		RAN
1964Cooper Car CompanyCooper T66Climax V8DMT
3		NWT
Ret		SYR
1964Cooper Car CompanyCooper T73Climax V8AIN
Ret		INT
15		SOLMEDRAN
1965Cooper Car CompanyCooper T77Climax V8ROC
5		SYRSMT
4		INT
6		MEDRAN
1967Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M4BBRM V8ROC
Ret		SPR
5		INT
5		SYROULESP
1968Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7AFord-Cosworth V8ROC
1		INT
2		OUL
1969Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7BFord-Cosworth V8ROC
Ret
1969Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M7CFord-Cosworth V8INT
6		MADOUL
1970Bruce McLaren Motor RacingMcLaren M14AFord-Cosworth V8ROC
Ret		INT
4		OUL

Complete Tasman Series results

YearChassis12345678RankPoints
1964Cooper T70LEV
PUK
1		WIG
1		TER
1		SAN
Ret		WAR
2		LAK
LON
2		1st39
1965Cooper T79PUK
Ret		LEV
WIG
2		TER
2		WAR
Ret		SAN
4		LON
1		2nd24
1968BRM P126PUK
Ret		LEV
Ret		WIG
5		TER
1		SUR
WAR
SANLON
6th11