The Bruce McLaren story is hardly one that needs repeating, though the salient points are worth highlighting on such a significant occasion: Grand Prix, Can-Am and Le Mans winner, founder of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing in 1963. Which then served as the foundation for the modern McLaren as we know it, and what a story that's been.
With June 2nd, 2020 marking 50 years to the day since Bruce McLaren's untimely death at Goodwood, testing the M8D Can-Am car, McLaren has held a small private ceremony where a bronze statue has been unveiled. Created by Paul Oz, the same sculptor responsible for McLaren's Ayrton Senna statue, the Bruce McLaren tribute will reside in the McLaren Technical Centre.
McLaren's daughter Amanda revealed the statue, and said of the day: "It is an honour to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Bruce McLaren by unveiling this wonderfully crafted statue to commemorate his life and achievements. When my father died in June 1970 - just 12 years after coming to the UK from New Zealand - he had already done so much to realise his ambitions...
"June 2 is always an emotional date for us and that's particularly true this year. Having 'Dad' looking out over McLaren is incredibly moving and I know that he would have been so very proud of the achievements made in his name."
The ceremony took place around an M8D identical to that which McLaren had his accident at Goodwood, with 50 lighted candles around it. Given the success McLaren enjoyed on the racetracks of North America in the late 1960s, there can be no better place to conclude, either. From 1967-1971, for five consecutive seasons, there was a McLaren at the top of Can-Am; even with the introduction of the Porsche 917/10 in 1972, a McLaren still claimed second place. McLaren left a formidable legacy, both as driver and team manager, in a series that's never really been equalled for impact; that's why his work was so important, and his life so fondly remembered. Long may that continue in the place that his talent built.
1 / 3