McLaren celebrates 50 years of passion

A native of New Zealand, Bruce Leslie Mclaren was born on August 30, 1937. In his younger days he was beset with health problems. At age 9 he contracted Perthes Disease, an ailment that gave him a shorter leg than the other. But most people never noticed his limp; he even had special driving boots designed with an additional heel to provide balance.

His early career in New Zealand motorsports was quite remarkable, and with Sir Jack Brabham noticing his huge potential to move up the ranks, Bruce was able to get a slot for a year round driving experience in Europe. Bruce raced for a few years in various series and formulas, up until the time he joined the Cooper Factory team in 1959, alongside Sir Jack.

McLaren won his first GP at age 22 years and 80 days. Back then he was the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix. During the 1960 F1 season, he came in second behind Sir Jack Brabham in the standings.

As McLaren became more serious in his racing, he established Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Limited on September 2, 1963. The entire operations was based in New Malden, Surrey in the UK. Those were trying times for the young Kiwi. The lack of resources hampered his team’s expansion but in June 6, 1968, at the Belgian Grand Prix, Bruce McLaren won the first race for the team bearing his name. Unfortunately, it also proved to be his last win on board a McLaren.

Bruce McLaren met his creator on June 2, 1970, while testing at the Goodwood circuit.

The McLaren name still lives on to this day, and, largely due to the efforts of the McLaren Group Chairman Ron Dennis, it has maintained its status as one of the best teams in the paddock and Britain’s most successful F1 team. Some of the prominent drivers who won the Championship for the Woking team are: Ayrton Senna (World Drivers Champion – 1990-91), Alain Prost (WDC- 1985, 1986, 1989), Emerson Fittipaldi (WDC – 1972), Mika Hakkinen (WDC – 1998, 1999), Lewis Hamilton (WDC-2008). Then there’s James Hunt (WDC – 1976), and Niki Lauda (WDC -1984), whose 1976 battle is now immortalized in the Ron Howard film “RUSH”.

Jenson Button and Sergio Perez are the current drivers tasked to keep the winning tradition alive, and nothing less than winning another championship would suffice for McLaren fans that have embodied the team ethos: “We exist to WIN”. If Bruce was alive today, he too would require nothing less from the team that bears his name: Team McLaren!