Bob McLean (September 24, 1933, in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
– March 26, 1966) was a successful
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
. McLean's driving career culminated in 1965 with the Canadian Driving Championship title. McLean died in 1966 at the
Sebring International Raceway
Sebring International Raceway is a road course auto racing facility in the southeastern United States, located near Sebring, Florida.
Sebring Raceway is one of the oldest continuously operating race tracks in the U.S., its first race being run i ...
during an endurance race while driving a
Ford GT40
The Ford GT40 is a high-performance endurance racing car commissioned by the Ford Motor Company. It grew out of the "Ford GT" (for Grand Touring) project, an effort to compete in European long-distance sports car races, against Ferrari, which wo ...
.
Early years
Bob McLean started his driving career in 1957 with an
MGA MGA can refer to:
Transport
*MGA, IATA code for Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (Managua International Airport) in Managua, Nicaragua
*Monongahela Railway, a former coal-hauling short line railroad in the United States
*The MG MGA, a pop ...
, racing frequently at his home track, the very new
Westwood Racing Circuit
Westwood Motorsport Park (or Westwood Racing Circuit) was a 8-turn motorsport race track located in Coquitlam, British Columbia on the southern slopes of Eagle Mountain (known locally as ''Eagle Ridge'').
History
The track was built and operat ...
in
Coquitlam
Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...
, located close to his hometown of
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. By all measures, McLean was well liked and respected on the road racing circuits. Bob first met Stirling Moss at Sebring in 1959 when Jack Brabham won the world championship.
In March 1961 McLean attended Rob Walker's
Motor Racing Stables at
Finmere Aerodrome circuit in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He did the first three stages on his first trip and made a second trip to England where he completed the last three stages. At the completion of the seventeen-day training course, McLean turned the fastest ever student lap time. Students must progress from class six through to class one by meeting a steadily decreasing lap time requirement at each level.
When he first started racing, his mechanic was Colin Wilson, a fellow Australian, who also worked at the "Royalite" gas station that Bob ran at 24th and Oak St. in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. When Colin returned to Australia, Brian Dunlop was Bob's mechanic and remained so until Bob was killed. Bob also worked part-time at a tire store, which was a sponsor of his.
In 1962 moved to his
BMC A-series-engined number "101"
Cooper
Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to:
* Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels
Arts and entertainment
* Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads
* Cooper (video game character), in ...
Formula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...
. Through 1962–63 McLean managed nineteen wins out of twenty-two starts, racing the Cooper at venues from Westwood to
Monterey, California
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bo ...
. In 1964 McLean moved to a 1.6 litre twin-cam powered
Lotus 23B, with which he competed in the under two-litre class.
In 1965, McLean set out with his Lotus to conquer the
Canadian Driving Championships, a venture which would see him travel extensively. By air and by ground he travelled to every national event that year, covering nearly 100,000 kilometres. After a season of dominant performances, he was successful at winning the Championship, a remarkable accomplishment considering the eastern Canadian "establishment" drivers and their bigger and faster cars. It was in April of this same year that he met Stirling Moss during Moss's trip to Vancouver.
Final year
Early in 1966, Bob McLean earned a spot with the
Comstock Racing Team, a Canadian endurance-racing team. Sharing the driving with fellow Canadian driver
Jean Oulette, they piloted one of the team's two Ford GT40s in the 16th Annual Sebring 12 Hour Grand Prix of Endurance for the Alitalia Cup race at Sebring International Raceway in Sebring, Florida, United States of America. This was a showdown battle between
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
. Shortly after McLean took over driving duties in the fourth hour of the race, his Ford GT40 crashed into a utility power pole and exploded into flames, killing McLean.
Bob McLean left behind his wife Kathie and their two young children. McLean's death was a huge blow to the motorsport community. The funeral procession to his final resting place in Burnaby included a line of cars that reportedly stretched out some two miles, a testament to the fact that he was well admired. McLean was inducted into the
Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame
The Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame (CMHF) is a hall of fame run by the Canadian Motorsport Heritage Foundation as a not-for-profit charitable institution that "honours and recognizes the achievements of individuals and institutions that have ma ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1993. Despite references to the contrary, Bob McLean has never been inducted into the
BC Sports Hall of Fame
The BC Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in BC Place Stadium, at Gate A, the main entrance to the stadium, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It collects, preserves, studies and interprets materials that relate to British Columbia's spo ...
. In more recent years, McLean was featured in a Peter Lipskis documentary entitled ''King of Westwood''.
References
* Johnston, Tom (2006) ''Sports Car Road Racing in Western Canada'', Granville Island Publishing,
*Bob McLean, Canada
Retrieved November 12, 2006.
*''Bob McLean, Pioneer – Sports Car and Road Racing – Inducted 2003'', Greater Vancouver Motorsport Pioneers Society, 2006. Excerpts from Canada Track & Traffic January 1966 and May 1966, edited by Tom Johnston, 2004
*Bob McLean, Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame inductee, 1993.
*Langton-Adams, John E., Canadian Track & Traffic, September, 1961
*Bone, Peter, "Racing School Report", Canada Track & Traffic, Volume 3, Number 7, March, 1962: 32
External links
*Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fam
*Sports Car Club of B
*Vintage Racing Club of British Columbi
*Jim Russell Racing Driver School
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Bob
Racing drivers from British Columbia
1933 births
1966 deaths
Racing drivers who died while racing
Sports deaths in Florida