Hi guys,
As I've said before the Can-Am was my first love. The very first racing cars I ever saw come past me in anger were the two factory McLaren M8F's of Denny Hulme and Peter Revson at Mid Ohio in 1971.
My father, uncle, brother & I had arrived at the circuit on Saturday morning, just as morning warmup for Group 7 was getting underway. Pulled over next to the the turn 1 bridge and heard thunder rolling at us from the other side. In a flash two ornage blurs were on us and just as quickly rocketed up the hill torward the Keyhole in a blare of sound. I was nine at the time, and my life changed forever in a split second. The Can-Am was just a wild series, basically the rules were...there were no rules! People think the Ferrari 512 and Porsche 917 LM cars were fantastic, but every year at Watkins Glen, when the Six Hours was on Saturday and the Can-Am on Sunday, JWR lads would install fresh engines in the Gulf 917's on Saturday night and race them in the Can-Am on Sunday, and the Group 7 Can-Am cars would leave the 917's like they were tied to a tree. Wasn't until Porsche created the 917/10 Turbo Spyder that they could compete with the McLaren's. Pete's website is lovely and I have several photos from his archives.
Fax