McLaren shake down at Blyton Park before travelling half way round the world!

Todays leading F1 team McLaren can trace its roots back to the McLaren Elva M1. The Elva-built McLarens were called the MK 1 and powered by a variety of powerplants. 

They had a simple and straightforward design with a frame based on three main tubes incorporating a multi-tubular space frame structured. At all four corners were an independent suspension with widely spaced pickups for the front upper wishbones. The rear had reversed lower wishbones, single upper links and parallel radius rods. Springing was by coil springs and tubular shocks. The gearbox was a Hewland transaxle. The body design was courtesy of Tony Hilder.

This Car M1 20-15 was originally built in 1965 and delivered to the US where it was raced in group 7 USSCR and SCCA race series. Famously winning one of it’s first races at Daytona in the hands of Joe Starkey. The car was later converted to a narrow bodied F5000 single seater FA racer.

The car had a final shake down at Blyton Park on Monday 7^th January prior to be shipped two days later to Melbourne in Australia where it will be raced at Phillip Island on 9/10^th March 2013. Just one week later the McLaren will be competing in the Australian Grand Prix, International Sports Car Challenge support race at Albert Park.

The shakedown was to test a winter rebuild of the 6 litre Chevrolet engine and a newly installed Hewland LG transaxle. Both engine and gearbox were built and the car maintained by Terry Van-Der-Zee of TT motors Racing in Dorset.