Can-Am Series 1969

After a well earned Christmas and summer holiday break at home in NZ, I returned to the UK and McLaren Racing around March 1969 ready to do battle again. This year I would again be responsible for Denny’s race car preparation as well as being actively involved in the car’s build up in the factory with fellow New Zealander Jimmy Stone to assist me. The build up proceeded with typical McLaren methodical efficiency and from memory, without too many dramas. A significent part of the car build up program involves “plumbing” the oil, fuel and water to and from the engine.  Additional hours were spent constructing bend by bend, weld by weld, the spagetti looking jumble of stainless steel header pipes and collectors that would make up the exhaust system.  Bruce was in his engineering element overseeing the production of these cars, having the unique ability to ensure everybody who was involved, felt proud that their contribution, no matter how small, was vital to the overall team success.  The finished M8B cars were primarily a better engineered, more refined version of the previous season’s chassis, with the most significant and distinctive feature being the chassis mounted high rear airfoil.

The 1969 series was billed as being the million dollar sports car race series with 11 races starting at Mosport in June and finishing in Texas over three months later.  Generally speaking (  apart from when the script went wrong ) the opposition seemed unable to mount any sustained serious challenge to the McLaren package of technically superior cars with stronger more reliable engines.

Bruce and Denny really enjoyed driving these cars and the overall Can-Am environment was a welcome escape from their Formula 1 races in Europe.  The series was both very rewarding yet physically very demanding, due in part to the enormous amount of traveling involved to and from races with all the equipment, personnel and transport necessary to support our 3 car team, which was additional to the normal race car preparation.  Much has been written statistically about the  runaway success and total domination of the McLaren Can-Am series cars and in particular the “Bruce and Denny Show” during the 1969 series.  At the end of the eleven race series, the championship win was Bruce’s with six wins and Denny second overall with five wins -  therefore a clean sweep for McLaren cars winning eleven out of eleven races.

To have been part of this motor racing history during this series was truly unforgettable with many special memories of Bruce, Denny and all our support crew and the fantastic people who made Can-Am very special to us all.  As a fitting climax to this series and as a testimony of recognition to the engineering excellence of the cars and team during this series, Britain’s most prestigious transport award, the Henry Segrave Memorial Trophy was awarded to McLaren Racing.  Four medallions were officially presented - to Bruce and to Denny and to Tyler Alexander and myself (Cary Taylor) as Chief Engineers on the winning cars. 

Read on the next page about the Can-Am Series in 1970...