Another teaser trailer drops Roger Donaldson’s biopic of Bruce McLaren. The new footage gives an insight into McLaren’s dominance on the Can-Am stage in the late 1960s / early 1970s
There are two quotes in the latest teaser for the McLaren biopic you’ll want to keep an ear out for. The first is from 1978 Formula 1 World Champion, 1984 IndyCar Champion, 1967 Daytona 500 winner, and all-round motoring badass Mario Andretti:
“The McLaren was the class of the field. I was so envious, wishing I could just drive one of these things myself”
When Mario Andretti is hankering after your car, you know you’ve created something special. That should give you an idea just how big of a powerhouse McLaren truly was during the Canadian-American Challenge Cup heydays. Between 1967 and 1971, the McLaren M6 and latterly the M8 dominated the championship standings. At least two McLaren cars headed the standings each season, with Bruce McLaren Motor Racing taking five drivers’ and teams’ titles on the bounce. The Kiwi himself would take the season top spot in 1967 and 1969, but would be gone just days before he could begin his title defense the following year.
The other notable quote comes from American Lothar Motschenbacher, a German-born American Can-Am regular who would ultimately finish a distant runner-up during that 1970 season. Having made his debut in the series’ inaugural 1966 season – following a year driving a Shelby Cobra in the now defunct United States Road Racing Championship – Motschenbacher struggled to truly come to grips with the Lola T70 he was racing. When he saw the McLaren M8 and its potential, however…
“I sold my Cobra, I sold my house, and I bought a McLaren”
If ever one sentence emphasized the impact Bruce McLaren made on the world of motorsport, that’s got to be up there.
- Interested in the first ever McLaren Can-Am car? We spend time with it in Dubai HERE
