<< Prev Page 2 of 2 For the new Can-Am season McLaren regular Denny Hulme was to be joined by fellow Formula 1 World Champion Jacky Stewart. Together they extensively tested the M20 in England, shattering the M8F's lap records by quite a margin. Illness prevented Stewart from taking part in the first race and his place was taken by McLaren's USAC driver Peter Revson. Hulme and Revson struggled with handling problems in the opening round at Mosport and were pipped for pole by Mark Donohue in the Penske entered, turbocharged Porsche 917/10. Mechanical problems for Donohue during the race forced him to make a pit-stop, handing the lead to Hulme. With his flat-12 engine sorted, the Porsche driver went back out and rapidly closed the gap with Hulme. Fortunately for Team McLaren, Donohue ran out of laps and Hulme recorded a debut win for the M20. There was little reason for jubilation as the worst fears about the Porsche's potential had proven to be true.
Revisions to cure the handling problems were made to the two M20s ahead of the next round at Road Atlanta. Donohue had crashed heavily in early testing and was too injured to drive. George Follmer proved more than a worthy replacement and he won the race that was close to disastrous for Team McLaren. Hulme did take pole but he suffered a massive accident in the race when his M20 flipped at high speeds. At the same spot Revson had already retired a few laps earlier with a blown engine. The team dealt with the setback remarkably well and built up a new car for Hulme in little over a week. Revson and Hulme, still with a buzzing head from his accident a fortnight earlier, placed the two M20s on the front row. Old times returned as the two McLarens crossed the line in first and second. Hulme took the race and the two works drivers were joined on the podium by Francois Cevert who drove one of the 1971 vintage McLaren M8Fs.
The Porsche's loss of form was only temporary. As the hugely powerful car was gradually dialled in, Team McLaren was more and more on the back foot. Follmer won the next two races as Hulme and Revson discovered the limits of the engine. Pushed too hard to keep up with the superior Porsche, the V8s had lost their reliability. Only Cevert managed to win another race for McLaren when Follmer ran out of fuel on the final lap. In the ninth and final race of the season, the Porsches underlined their superiority with a 45 second win over Revson. It would be the final outing for Team McLaren as they decided not to return in 1973. There simply were no resources to build a machine capable of taking on the hugely complicated and very fast Porsches. It was the end of an era that had brought five championships for the Papaya Orange machines.
All three M20s were sold to private customers at the end of the season. They were raced with a variety of engines in the European Interseries as well as Can-Am for several more seasons. They could offer little resistance against the 'Turbo Panzer'. Fittingly the final Can-Am race, at Road America in 1974, was won by a McLaren. Scooter Patrick grabbed the victory in the ex-Revson M20 ahead of one of the 1970 M8D works cars driven by John Cordts. Ironically with just three wins, McLaren's fastest Can-Am cars has gone into history as one of the company's least successful. The three cars built have survived and are today part of prominent collections. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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For the new Can-Am season McLaren regular Denny Hulme was to be joined by fellow Formula 1 World Champion Jacky Stewart. Together they extensively tested the M20 in England, shattering the M8F's lap records by quite a margin. Illness prevented Stewart from taking part in the first race and his place was taken by McLaren's USAC driver Peter Revson. Hulme and Revson struggled with handling problems in the opening round at Mosport and were pipped for pole by Mark Donohue in the Penske entered, turbocharged Porsche 917/10. Mechanical problems for Donohue during the race forced him to make a pit-stop, handing the lead to Hulme. With his flat-12 engine sorted, the Porsche driver went back out and rapidly closed the gap with Hulme. Fortunately for Team McLaren, Donohue ran out of laps and Hulme recorded a debut win for the M20. There was little reason for jubilation as the worst fears about the Porsche's potential had proven to be true.