Bob McLean
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bob (or Bobby) McLean (born September 24, 1933 in Australia – died March 26, 1966) was a successful Canadian racing driver. McLean's driving career culminated in 1965 with the Canadian Driving Championship title. McLean died in 1966 at the Sebring Raceway during an endurance race while driving a Ford GT40.
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[edit] Early years
Bob McLean started his driving career in 1957 with an MGA, racing frequently at his home track, the very new Westwood Racing Circuit in Coquitlam, located close to his hometown of Vancouver, BC. By all measures, McLean was well liked and respected in the road racing circuits.
In March of 1961 McLean attended Rob Walker's [Motor Racing Stables] at Finmere Aerodrome circuit in England. It was at this time that he first met the famous Stirling Moss. At the completion of the seventeen-day training course, McLean not only turned the fastest ever student lap time, but also managed to complete his six final qualification stages in only one day, something never before accomplished. Students must progress from class six through to class one by meeting a steadily decreasing lap time requirement at each level.
A full-time mechanic during the week, McLean chose to be his own racing mechanic, a choice which also saved him financial expenses. He 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 Formula Junior. Through 1962 - 1963 McLean managed nineteen wins out of twenty-two starts, racing the Cooper at venues from Westwood to Monterey, California. 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 100000 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.
[edit] The 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, Florida. This was a showdown battle between Ford and Ferrari. Shortly after McLean took over driving duties in the fourth hour of the race while heading into the track's hairpin turn, a wheel came off the GT40 sending it rolling into a ulility power pole and exploding into flames, killing McLean.
Bob McLean left behind his wife Kathy 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 sports 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 in Toronto in 1993. Despite references to the contrary, Bob McLean has never been inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. In more recent years, McLean was featured in a Peter Lipskis documentary entitled King of Westwood.
[edit] References
- Johnston, Tom (2006) Sports Car Road Racing in Western Canada, Granville Island Publishing, ISBN 1-894694-19-8
- Bob McLean, Canada, [1], 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
