Bruce McLaren

Bruce McLaren: Life and Legacy of Excellence

He was not a large man, but a bigger heart and victory grin would be hard to imagine. Bruce McLaren was an innovator, a motivator of colleagues, and a tiger behind the wheel. He won a race in his first Grand Prix season, won Sebring and Le Mans with Ford, and was twice winner of the fabled Can-Am sports-racing championship.

Bruce looked even younger than his 20 years when he arrived as New Zealand's first 'Driver to Europe', backing up Jack Brabham. Racing for the Cooper team for eight seasons from 1958, he collected three GP wins and 20 podium finishes, exploiting his engineering training to bring new insights to the job of driver. Then in 1966, eager to put his knowledge to work, he left to found his own team.

Though Bruce struggled in his first two seasons driving McLaren Formula 1 cars, his orange racers came good in 1968. He exploded dramatically on to the Can-Am scene in 1967, winning at Laguna Seca and Riverside to take the trophy. Fellow kiwi Denny Hulme was the champion in 1968 and Bruce won the following year. He was killed at Goodwood while testing his 1970 car.

Bruce McLaren was the secret weapon of many teams whose cars ran better because of his ministrations as a tester of great insight. Ford in particular had reason to be grateful to him for more than his own victories. Thanks to the Bruce McLaren Trust, this book can reveal the secret of his success in the 'dead-heat' finish of the Fords at Le Mans in 1966.

Bruce's can-do character made McLaren the first team to compete successfully in Formula 1, the Can-Am and Indy racing. Robin Herd's foreword helps explain why. It's a heritage to which the modern McLaren International can point proudly. Embedded in its origins is the unforgettable personality of a fine man who settled only for the best.