Bruce McLaren

Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer, and motorsport executive who competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1970. He won four Grands Prix across 13 seasons and was runner-up in the 1960 Formula One World Drivers' Championship with Cooper. He won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans with Chris Amon in a Ford GT40 and won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup in 1967 and 1969.

In 1963, McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing, winning the team's first Formula One race at the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix. He became one of only three drivers, alongside Jack Brabham and Dan Gurney, to win a World Championship race in a car of their own construction. The team he founded has since won ten World Constructors' Championships and remains one of the most successful constructors in the history of the sport. McLaren was killed on 2 June 1970 while testing the McLaren M8D at Goodwood Circuit in Sussex , England. He was 32 years old.

Early life

Bruce Leslie McLaren was born on 30 August 1937 in Auckland, New Zealand, to Les and Ruth McLaren. He attended Meadowbank Primary School before being diagnosed with Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease in his hip as a nine-year-old. The condition required extended periods of treatment, including nearly three years in hospital, and left him with a permanent limp and his left leg shorter than the right. Les McLaren had been a motorcycle racing enthusiast before Bruce's birth and raced cars at the club level.

McLaren's early exposure to mechanical work shaped his understanding of vehicle dynamics. At the age of 14, he persuaded his father to purchase a dismantled 1929 Austin 7 Ulster, which they restored together. He began competitive driving in this car at local hillclimbs and club events in New Zealand, showing technical aptitude and racing ability from an early age.

Howie, born in the Australian state of South Australia had then relocated to New Zealand and married a publican’s daughter while residing there. After returning to South Australia, he fell in love with, and subsequently began a relationship with Frances Moyle, a married woman with three children.

Early racing career After progressing from the Austin 7 to a Ford 10 special and an Austin-Healey, McLaren acquired a Cooper–Climax Formula Two car. His domestic performances in this vehicle led to his selection for New Zealand's "Driver to Europe" programme, administered by the New Zealand International Grand Prix organisation. The scholarship enabled him to move to Europe in 1958 to compete internationally.

Motorsport author Eoin Young wrote that McLaren had "virtually penned his own epitaph" in his 1964 book From the Cockpit, in which McLaren had written in light of teammate Timmy Mayer's death : "To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one's ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone." 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. A Ryman Healthcare village in Howick, Auckland, named as Bruce McLaren Retirement Village in his honour.

In popular culture

New Zealand alternative rock group NRA (Not Really Anything) released a single "Bruce McLaren" on the Flying Nun record label in 1991' The story of Bruce McLaren was told in the 2017 documentary film McLaren by Roger Donaldson. McLaren was portrayed by Benjamin Rigby in the 2019 drama film Ford v Ferrari.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) 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)

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps Cooper Car Company Jim Russell Cooper Monaco S 2.0 79 DNF DNF Briggs Cunningham Walt Hansgen Maserati Tipo 63 S 3.0 31 DNF DNF Briggs Cunningham Walt Hansgen Maserati Tipo 151 E +3.0 177 DNF DNF David Brown Racing Dept. Innes Ireland Aston Martin DP214 GT +3.0 59 DNF DNF Ford Motor Company Phil Hill Ford GT40 P 5.0 192 DNF DNF Shelby American Inc. Ken Miles Ford GT40X P +5.0 89 DNF DNF Shelby American Inc. Chris Amon Ford Mk.II P +5.0 360 1st 1st Shelby American Inc. Mark Donohue Ford Mk.IV P +5.0 359 4th 4th John Woolfe Racing John Woolfe McLaren M6B S 5.0 - DNA DNA

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 Pts Class 1961 Peter Berry Racing Ltd Jaguar Mk II 3.8 SNE GOOovr:5cls:5 AINovr:3cls:3 SILovr:3cls:3 CRY SILRet BRHovr:4cls:4 OULovr:3cls:3 SNEovr:3cls:3 13th 16 4th 1965 Nippon Racing Isuzu Bellett BRH OUL SNE GOODNS SIL CRY BRH OUL NC 0 NC

Complete Tasman Series results

Complete Canadian-American Challenge Cup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Joint fastest lap.