McLaren Page #2

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is to get in as many races this year

as possible, and do well.

I'm looking forward to Nrburgring

very much.

It's a very tough course,

and if I can finish there,

I'll be very happy.

COLIN:
It was a combined Formula 1 and 2

race. Bruce in Formula 2.

(ENGINES WHINE)

MICHAEL CLARK:
The Nrburgring was the

most dangerous circuit on the calendar.

They called it The Green Hell.

Torturous, very, very dangerous...

COLIN:
There were several sections

where, if you were brave enough,

you'd go over the top of a hump

and you were flying.

So many different corners,

so many different type of corners,

you know, up a hill, down a hill,

off camber, with camber,

jump twice, four wheels in the air.

It was a challenge to any driver.

It doesn't matter

how much you knew Nrburgring,

every lap there was a new challenge.

Bruce was sort of unknown at that time.

A new kid.

And he was actually leading

the Formula 2 section.

As the race progressed,

he got into some of the Formula 1 cars,

and passed them too.

He finished fifth overall.

Won the Formula 2 section of it.

As he drove up, back to the pit,

he had a grin on his face

that was obviously like a mile wide.

He was just absolutely elated.

I helped him out of the car and,

you know, I think there were tears

in both our eyes.

That was really the thing

that turned the tide.

It got international recognition.

He became on the contenders' list.

# Happy birthday to you

COLIN:
Bruce turned 21 during that year.

He was still in England,

but there was a great 21st

birthday party at his parents' house.

# Twenty-one today, twenty-one today

RUTH MCLAREN:
Well, hello, son.

I hope you've had a wonderful day,

and as Phil said,

we just hope you don't think

we're all under the influence of liquor.

COLIN:
We both got homesick, but the

driving force behind the whole thing

was the enthusiasm

we had for what we were doing.

- MUM:
Over to Dad.

- DAD:
Hello, Bruce.

Once again,

very many happy returns of the day.

I mean, people would

love to have done what we did.

PHIL:
The Auckland Car Club

used to hold regular club nights.

Pop would take the tape recordings.

BRUCE OVER TAPE:
At Goodwood,

the biggest sort-out

between the professional drivers

and the chaps just starting

is the fast corners.

On these fast corners,

you go round them the first few times,

you think,

"Ooh dear, that was near the limit,"

but in actual fact it's not. It's only

time and confidence that enables you

to get round the fast corners quick.

The rain was starting to pour,

and the whole banking

was absolutely treacherous.

We were taking this banking

at about 140 mile an hour.

Under the extreme G loading, you have

to hang on to the wheel fairly tight

to stop your hands being pulled down

on to the floor of the car.

I think it frightens everybody.

PHIL:
1959 was Bruce's first full season

in Formula 1.

Towards the end of the year

Coopers were major contenders

for the World Championship.

BRUCE:
It certainly looks as though

the last Grand Prix of the season,

at Sebring, could be the deciding race.

PHIL:
Jack had a very narrow lead

over Stirling Moss.

COMMENTATOR:

Brabham has got the race in his hands.

Supported by teammate McLaren,

nobody can touch him now.

The race and the World Championship

are his, but now the order has changed.

It's McLaren, number nine,

who takes the checkered flag.

PHIL:
Bruce won.

COMMENTATOR:
And team manager

John Cooper welcomes his winner home.

My best friend had now won

his first Grand Prix.

(CROWD CHEERS)

Bruce was now the youngest driver ever,

at just over 22 years of age,

to win a Grand Prix.

And Jack had won the World Championship.

What are they going to say in Australia

when they hear this? Or New Zealand?

I don't know about Australia, but I

think they'll be pleased in New Zealand.

(ALL LAUGH)

COLIN:
It was a new world for Bruce

because now he's recognized.

I remember Bruce saying,

"I think we're becoming famous."

It was an understatement when you consider

what went on for the rest of the year.

Bruce won the opening round of the 1960

World Championship in Argentina.

And on the plane ride back to England,

Jack, Bruce and John Cooper

came up with a car

that went on to sweep all before it.

Cooper cars have swept the board

and won the constructors' prize.

PHIL:
And Bruce,

in his second year with Cooper,

finished second to Jack

in the World Championship.

CHRIS AMON:
Bruce McLaren

was the first New Zealander

to really get into Formula 1

and establish the fact that a Kiwi

could go and do it, and actually make

that breakthrough on the world stage.

He was an important figure to all Kiwis.

JAN McLAREN:
Bruce came back home

every year for the race season.

One of Bruce's heartfelt ambitions was

to win the Grand Prix in his hometown.

ANNOUNCER:

For many years motor racing has been

a popular sport in New Zealand,

attracting drivers

with a taste for thrills,

and mechanics with a taste for tinkering.

There are car clubs all over the country,

and though prize money is not large,

there's nothing small about

the amount spent on vehicles.

For the big money,

and the big names in motor racing,

we fly north to Auckland,

our largest city.

Here in January each year is run the

New Zealand International Grand Prix.

MICHAEL CLARK:
In the summertime,

there was a lot of things to attract

Northern Hemisphere drivers

down to New Zealand.

There was not much happening

in the northern winter in those days.

New Zealand was a perfect place

to come and take up some sunshine,

waterskiing, girls.

ANNOUNCER:
Enjoying the summer weather

with friends are Grand Prix drivers,

some of whom have come halfway round

the world for the big race.

An expert water-skier,

Arnold Glass is trying to explain

the sport to the English drivers.

At least one of the Englishmen

has other interests in mind,

and Arnold's only pupil

is New Zealander Bruce McLaren.

After his wobbly efforts,

Bruce decides to stick to car racing.

He says it's safer.

COLIN:
In New Zealand,

Bruce met a girl from Timaru.

JAN McLAREN:
I certainly remember

when Bruce first met Patty,

and she'd become Miss Caroline Bay.

PATTY:
We met at a dance, from memory.

And then I tootled home

with my girlfriend,

and Bruce said he wanted to meet me again.

And he was only there

for a couple of days,

and then off he tootled,

and kept in touch.

I was 18.

So I always said

we had a courtship by letter.

Before we got engaged,

we'd seen each other about six times.

I always liked people with brown eyes

and dark hair.

He could have been a few inches taller.

Often we would be invited to Bruce's

for dinner,

sometime in the company of people

that weren't motor racing people.

And the whole conversation would finish

off with pencils and pieces of paper.

Bruce at heart was an engineer.

He would make models out of balsa wood

and stick and strings,

and do torsion tests on the kitchen table.

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