On 2 June, it was exactly 40 years ago that Bruce McLaren drove to death on the Goodwood circuit… New Zealander, who was born on 30 in August 1937 in Auckland, was very interested in cars at a young age. Together with his father, he restored an Austin 7 with which he made his entrance into motorsport.
Via Jack Brabham, he ended up in the Cooper Formula 2 team, which soon resulted in a place in the Grand Prix team of John Cooper. Not satisfied with such a Cooper, he constructed his own Formula 1 car. The chassis proved excellent, but he lacked a reliable, fast power source. After contact with Cosworth Engineering the perfect McLaren Formula 1 car was created. In 1968 the first Grand Prix - that of Belgium - was won. Bruce McLaren wanted to continue and also concentrated on Can-Am racing, a race class that was soon dominated by McLaren and his teammate Dennis Hulme. McLaren became champion in 1967 and 1969, while Hulme became that in 1968 and 1970. During a (free) training, fate 2 hit 1970 on Goodwood in June. The car spun off the track and bumped into the surrounding furniture at very high speed. Bruce McLaren had no chance and died almost on the spot. This was a major shock for motorsport athletes back then. Even four decades later, those wounds have not yet healed ...