Can Am

I just picked up a new race car. A 1972 Mclaren M8F. I drove it for the first time this weekend at the Watkins Glen Zippo Grand Prix. It was the 40 year Can Am reunion event. The car was awesome & I took home the Can Am cup and a pole position award. I LOVE that car!!!

http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060911/SPORTS/609110333/1002/Sports
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Thanks guys,

William H,
The first car I looked at was a Lola, it is really light but there is not much of a crush box and your feet are ahead of the centerline of the front wheels. Looked pretty scary to me as well. That is where the term "Lola limp" comes from. Mclarens on the other hand are very sturdily cnstructed and your feet are behind the front centerline. Either way, a crash at 190 would not be pretty.

William,
The chassis is M8F #8. It was originally campaigned by Cuddy with middle of tha pack results. It was subsequently purchased and run by Romak. He later put twin turbos on it. At one point he pulled off track with a mechanical problem, the car caught the grass on fire and it burned to the ground. In the 80's it was purchased by Chuck Lamb and restored, John Collins re did the tub with the original bulkheads. Chuck had Geroge Follmer drive the car for him in vintage races from the late 90's to 2003. They did a lot of development on the car and had many wins. George Follmer was clocked at 230 mph at Elkhart Lake with the car! It has 900 hp and weighs 1,600 lbs. I bought the car from Chuck this summer.

 

Absolutely going to the BRIC (now KIC) in 2007!

 

I was initially planning to repaint the car the original Mclaren factory orange over the winter but am now having doubts as the car has a history as the black "Mclaren from Hell" driven by George Follmer. Lots of people came up to me over the weekend saying they remember this car. What do you guys think?

Here's one in the factory livery.
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Ferraripete, here you go.
Here's a lap of Watkins Glen in the M8F. It has a Hewland LG600 box that is set up as a 4 speed. Normally LG600's were 5 speeds. The thing has so much power everywhere it doesn't need 5 speeds. I only used 2-4 on the track once underway

Front straight:
Exit turn 11 in 3rd & catch 4th (top) before Start finish. When you're wide open in top gear, it's like a VCR on Fast forward! There is a monstrous push on your back, the turns come up on you really quickly, and the sound is like constant thunder. I was Braking at the 300 marker. Down to 3rd & 2nd in order. The gearbox is a little stiff and requires a deliberate forceful hand. I was using the clutch to downshift but not on up shifts.

Turn 1:
The car turns in nicely when the front wheels are loaded and easily makes it down to the apex. I slowly squeeze on the throttle, once I feel the rear tires take a set I open it faster making sure not to use full throttle until it's pointed straight. Once opened up the thing rockets out of 1 with some wheelspin like it was shot from a cannon! I grab 3rd then short shift to 4th before the right hander beginning the uphill "Esses".

The "Esses":
This was my first weekend in the car and I was making myself work my way up very slowly so I never got to full throttle through the esses. I was up to about 3/4 throttle through the middle, squeezing onto full as I crested the hill into the right hander. The car makes a tremendous amount of rear downforce but is somewhat limited in its front downforce (no wing or splitter) so it tends to understeer in high speed turns. This made it feel a little spooky in the esses as if it might not make the left hand turn in the middle of the hill if I used full throttle. I took out a notch of rear wing and it felt more stable. I think with a few more sessions I would probably get it flat there. The right hander at the top of the esses at full throttle is a rush! The car feels very stable and drifts just a little. The fast forward effect comes into play big time here. I was hitting 6,500 in 4th (top) on the back straight. I havent calculated the speed yet but I wouldnt be suprised if it's about 190. The closing speeds on other cars can be rediculous. You need to be very careful when in mixed groups, although the sound probably helps others know you're comming.

The Bus stop:
Brake at the 600 marker (I found I brake the Mclaren usually at the first brake marker while I brake my Formula Atlantic and Champ car typically at the last one), down to 3rd and into the bus stop for a quick right - left - right transition. The car transitions nicely when off power. I had been doing this initially in second but was shifting back to 3rd exiting the bus stop. I later found it smoother and faster to just keep it in 3rd the whole way. The thing makes so much torque that's no problem at all. The car feels great through here and I realize there is probably more speed to be had, I can probably still enter faster.

The Carousel:
Long sweeping banked right turn, probably 130 degrees. In my Atlantic and Champ car I take this flat out and hug the inside all the way around. they make so much downforce it's like they are on rails. The Mclaren tends to understeer toward the exit and I can't use full throttle so I modified my line to a more traditional outside, inside, outside line to carve a bigger radius. The car kind of pushes toward the outside of the track on exit but then the track goes uphill a little and that loads the car. At that point it tightens up and can take full throttle so I open it up and slingshot towards the "Boot", still in 3rd gear.

The Boot:
Hard on the brakes and down to 2nd. The car turns in nicely here with the front wheels loaded and also tracks out nicely. Once again I slowly squeeze on the throttle until I feel the rear tires take a set and the car is straightened out, then I open it up and rocket towards the toe of the boot with a little wheelspin and grab 3rd. Hard on the brakes and back down to 2nd for the toe of the boot. Turn in late, and back on the throttle. The rear slides a little here in a nice controllable fashion here with about 3/4 throttle in 2nd. The Power is linear and progressive and it's easy to modulate. Once the wheels are straight I squeeze full throttle and get some more wheel spin up the hill and grab 3rd. That last 1/4 of throttle really gets the thing screaming. Brake hard at the 300 marker for the right hand "heel" of the boot, down to 2nd, and back to the rear set, full throttle, cannonball launch sequence and you're screaming toward to the left hand turn 9. I carry Second all the way, hitting about 7,000 rpm.

Turn 9:
The apex to 9 is slightly off camber so I take it very carefully through there in 2nd. once past the apex I'm again squeezing the throttle back on and tracking out. I grab 3rd and carry that into the left hand 10.

Turn 10:
10 is a deceptively fast left hander with a banked apex and I carry a lot of speed here. Just a very light breeze on the brakes (Flat out in my Atlantic) and back on the gas. I think in a couple more sessions it would just be a partial lift, but probably never flat out in this car.

Turn 11:
This is the last turn before entering the front straight and is a fast right hander. Light braking and back on it in 3rd. There is a lot of track on the exit so I focus on entering fast and getting the power down early. If you need it there is a wide smooth curb on exit to use as well.

Overall impression:
The car needs to be driven from the rear wheels. You need to be very sensitive to how they are loaded and can take power. The throttle is very progressive and linear though, so it's reasonably easy to modulate the power. You just need to be sure it's pointed straight when you open it all the way!This is counter to what I read the drivers in the day thought of the big engines. They often thought they were too abrupt and uncontrollable. I think they would have loved this engine though. The car is big and rewards a smooth consistent line, it doesnt like to be tossed around. It turns in nicely and has good mechanical grip. At high speeds it tends to push a little so you need to take a late line in fast corners.

To sum it up, brake early, take a late line, and squeeze on the power. I've never really driven anything that would offer as much, or as little power as you want at the whim of your right foot. The thing is a blast, and not nearly as scary as I had expected.