The Canadian-American Challenge Cup , or Can-Am , was an SCCA / CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987.
67-489: The Ford G7 is a Can-Am sports racing car that was built by Ford in 1968. Initially fitted with a 427 cu in (6,997 cc) Ford V8 engine , and later using 429 cu in (7,030 cc) and 496 cu in (8,128 cc) versions of the engine, the G7 was extremely unreliable and only ever finished one of the 15 races it competed in. In particular, it had serious issues with overheating and engine problems;
134-716: A 102-degree fever. He captured The Southern 500 by passing David Pearson on the last lap. He won by a full lap at Rockingham in October, overcoming a lap deficit when a flat tire sent him into the wall. By season's end, Yarbrough had seven wins to his credit and was named American Driver of The year. After his successful 1969 season, Yarbrough’s performance record trailed off. A victim of the factory withdrawal, Yarbrough had to scramble to locate rides in Grand National events. He won once in 1970 at Charlotte Motor Speedway , and only entered six races in 1971. In 1972, he accepted
201-574: A Shelby Can-Am series was created using a production line of Sports bodied cars designed by Carroll Shelby powered by a 3.3 litre Dodge V6. The series ran for five years before it was dropped by the SCCA. A large number of cars were relocated to South Africa and ran from 2000 onwards. The name was once again revived in 1998, when the United States Road Racing Championship broke away from IMSA. Their top prototype class
268-423: A change in his behavior in early 1980. He began spending most of his time in bed reading racing magazines, rarely leaving his bedroom. On Saturday, February 9, Yarbrough went out for a walk and someone bought him some beers. A policeman friend later brought him to a local hospital where he was released at 2 am. As his mother recalled, "they called me and told me nothing was wrong with him, except that he apparently had
335-581: A closed-course world-speed record of 221 mph (average)(356 km/h) at the Talladega Superspeedway (then called the "Alabama International Motor Speedway"). It was capable of 240 mph (386 km/h) on the straights. Jim Hall 's Chaparrals were very innovative, following his success in the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). The 2 series Chaparrals (built and engineered with
402-448: A court, on recommendation from a psychiatric board, ruled him incompetent to handle his own affairs and he moved in with his mother, Minnie Yarbrough. Yarbrough had an alcohol problem and would sometimes collect empty bottles on the side of the road for the bottle deposits which he would use to buy beer. The alcohol abuse further irritated his brain damage. It was reported that by 1980, his drinking had reduced. Yarbrough's mother noticed
469-540: A drinking problem. I told them, 'Please keep him there. You don't know LeeRoy. I know my son. He needs help, and it's not the drinking.' But they released him." On Wednesday, February 13, LeeRoy spent most of the day in bed, with his mother bringing him food. Terry Sweat, Minnie's grandson, had left the house to buy her cigarettes. While doing the dishes after dinner, LeeRoy entered the kitchen and remarked about his mouth, saying "'Mama, look how you've cut my mouth!' I said, Son, I haven't done anything to your mouth. Your mouth
536-506: A high degree of covert support from Chevrolet 's research and development division) were leaders in the application of aerodynamics to race cars culminating with the introduction of the 2E in 1966, the first of the high wing race cars. The 2E was a defining design, and the 2G was a development of that basic design. The FIA banned movable aerodynamic devices and Chaparral responded with the 2H 1969. The 2H broke new ground, seeking to reduce drag but did not achieve much success. The 2J that followed
603-424: A new 496 cu in (8,128 cc) V8 had been installed. Despite reverting to the 429 engine, Donnybrooke saw another engine failure, and another failure to start; this time, Vic Elford had been driving. Cannon was back in the cockpit for Laguna Seca Raceway , in the newly updated G7B; the updates made little difference to the car's reliability, and the car overheated after 50 laps, forcing him to retire. At
670-428: A number of other drivers, but the works Porsche effort with a turbocharged flat-12 engines and a high development budget meant that they could not keep up with the 917. Although private McLarens continued in the series, the works team withdrew to concentrate on Formula One (and USAC, for several years). Team McLaren went on to become a several time F1 champion and is still a part of that series. The Porsche 908 spyder
737-501: A penchant for carrying excess speed into the third turn and diving under any car that was ahead of him. He would then slide through the turn and run the straightway 1" from the concrete wall. The style was evident in many of his last lap wins throughout his career. Yarbrough started his racing career in NASCAR's lower tier Sportsman division . After winning 11 races, Yarbrough moved up to the more powerful Modifieds and won 83 features in
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#1732788101389804-507: A police officer. Yarbrough was committed to the Florida State Hospital at Chattahoochee by Judge Hudson Oliff of Jacksonville on March 7, 1980. Judge Oliff ruled that Mr. Yarbrough was not guilty of attempted murder because he was unable to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the incident. Yarbrough had no memory of the assault and was unaware of why he was imprisoned. For almost a month, his mother would not tell him
871-577: A race series for Group 7 sports racers with two races in Canada ( Can ) and four races in the United States of America ( Am ). The series was initially sponsored by Johnson Wax . The series was governed by rules called out under the FIA Group 7 category with unrestricted engine capacity and few other technical restrictions. The Group 7 category was essentially a Formula Libre for sports cars;
938-496: A ride in a Ford owned by independent campaigner Bill Seifert . He registered nine top 10 finishes in 18 starts. Yarbrough showed up for Daytona's 1973 Speedweeks, but failed to earn a starting berth for the Daytona 500. He virtually dropped out of sight after that, never again showing up at a NASCAR event. On April 22, 1970, Yarbrough suffered head injuries while doing tire tests for Goodyear at Texas World Speedway . Yarbrough blew
1005-518: A three-year span. Yarbrough won two short-track races in the 1964 NASCAR Grand National season, the first year he competed in more than 14 races. Two years later, Yarbrough scored his first superspeedway win at Charlotte . Driving an unsponsored and lightly regarded Dodge Charger owned by Jon Thorne, Yarbrough dominated the race, leading for 450 of the 500 miles (800 km) in the October 16 National 500. Factory-backed rides followed. His Junior Johnson -owned Ford team started out poorly early in
1072-429: A tire between turns three and four and impacted the wall at over 160 mph. Yarbrough's head hit a roll bar inside the cockpit with such force that it cracked his helmet. He was released from the hospital that evening, and at the time, was not believed to have been a serious head injury. He was picked up at the airport by Cale Yarborough , but later had no memory of the crash, hospital, or meeting with Yarborough. "I
1139-660: A while in the 1960s, Group 7 racing was popular in the United Kingdom as well as a class in hillclimb racing in Europe. Group 7 cars were designed more for short-distance sprints than for endurance racing . Some Group 7 cars were also built in Japan by Nissan and Toyota , but these did not compete outside their homeland (though some of the Can-Am competitors occasionally went over to race against them). SCCA sports car racing
1206-583: Is all right.' LeeRoy opened his mouth. I looked at it. It was not cut." He left the kitchen and returned shortly, saying, "Mama, I'm going to do something, and I don't want to do it. I'm going to kill you." Yarbrough would proceed to strangle his mother. Terry Sweat returned and struck Yarbrough with a jelly jar until he released his mother. When police arrived, LeeRoy struck an officer in the face and needed several firefighters to subdue him. Police arrested Yarbrough with charges of first-degree attempted murder for trying to kill his 65-year-old mother, plus assault on
1273-493: Is not related to NASCAR champion Cale Yarborough . Yarbrough grew up on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida , and developed an affinity for speed at an early age. When he was sixteen years-old, Yarbrough put together his first car, a 1934 Ford coupe with a Chrysler engine. When he was 19, Yarbrough found his way to a local dirt track . He won that race at Jacksonville Speedway in the spring of 1957. Racing at Jacksonville Speedway Park on Saturday nights Yarborough developed
1340-414: The 1973 championship . Porsche's dominance was such that engine rules were changed to try to reduce the lack of competition for one marque by enforcing a fuel-consumption rule for 1974. This kind of alteration of rules to promote equality is not unknown in other forms of American motorsport. The category that the car had been created for and competed in was discontinued and in 1975 Donohue drove this car to
1407-431: The inaugural California 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway late. After Al Unser retired with 14 laps remaining, Yarbrough inherited the lead. With a margin of two laps over second place, it appeared that Yarbrough would score an unlikely victory. But with eight laps remaining, Yarbrough suffered a broken piston and blew an engine, coasting to a stop in turn four. Yarbrough drew cheers from the crowd as he pushed his car back to
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#17327881013891474-399: The oil crisis , and dwindling support and interest led to the series being canceled and the last scheduled race of the 1974 season not being run. The Can-Am name still held enough drawing power to lead SCCA to introduce a revised Can-Am series in 1977 based on a closed-wheel version of the rules of the recently canceled Formula A/5000 series. This grew steadily in status, particularly during
1541-405: The "prognosis originally was not good, the doctors who examined him are saying now that with continuing treatment at Asheville, his chances are moderate to good for significant progress. We’re told there’s a 25-30% chance he can function again in society." The Rod Osterlund Racing team, which fielded cars for defending champion Dale Earnhardt, offered Yarbrough a job with their team once his treatment
1608-427: The 1968 season. LeeRoy rebounded and won at Atlanta and Trenton . In the 1969 Daytona 500 , Yarbrough was trailing Charlie Glotzbach by 11 seconds with ten laps remaining. On the final lap, Yarbrough ducked to the low side to make the pass, but a lapped car was in that lane. Yarbrough dived to the low side in turn 3 to clear the lapped car, nearly clipping the apron. He took the lead from Glotzbach and dashed under
1675-544: The British McLarens and Lolas. The car made extensive use of titanium in its chassis and suspension, and Bryant experimented with aerodynamics and with early use of carbon-fibre to reduce weight. Although the car was quick it did not achieve consistent success; problems with the team's funding saw Bryant move on to Don Nichols' UOP -sponsored Shadow team. The Shadow marque had made its debut with an astonishing car with tiny wheels and radiators mounted on top of
1742-406: The Can-Am drivers and teams continued to race there. F5000's reign lasted for only two years, with a second generation of Can-Am following. This was a fundamentally different series based initially on converted F5000 cars with closed-wheel bodies. There was also a two-liter class based on Formula Two chassis. The second iteration of Can-Am faded away as IMSA and CART racing became more popular in
1809-565: The European Interserie series from 1970 on, but this was much lower-key than the Can-Am. On-track, the series was initially dominated by Lola , followed by a period in which it became known as the " Bruce and Denny show", the works McLaren team dominated for five consecutive seasons (1967-1971) until the Porsche 917 was perfected and became almost unbeatable in 1972 and 1973. After Porsche 's withdrawal, Shadow dominated
1876-564: The G7A actually completed a race; Cannon finished second, 12.1 seconds behind the winner. Despite the poor 1969 season, and missing the first two rounds of the 1970 Can-Am season , Agapiou Brothers Racing returned to the series in the Watkins Glen round of the series; the car had a new 429 cu in (7,030 cc) Ford V8 fitted, and was driven once more by John Cannon. However, history repeated itself, as he retired once more; this time,
1943-699: The US), Don Beresford, Alec Greaves, Vince Higgins, and Roger Bailey (UK), Tony Attard (Australia), Cary Taylor, Jimmy Stone, Chris Charles, Colin Beanland, Alan McCall, and Alistair Caldwell (NZ). The M6 series used a full aluminum monocoque design with no uncommon features but, for the times, there was an uncommon attention to detail in preparation by the team members. The M6 series of cars were powered by Chevy "mouse-motor" small-block V8s built by Al Bartz Engines in Van Nuys, California. They were models of reliability. This
2010-508: The USAC/CART wars of the late 70s and early 80s, and attracted some top road-racing teams and drivers and a range of vehicles including specials based on rebodied single seaters (particularly Lola F5000s) and also bespoke cars from constructors like March as well as smaller manufacturers. To broaden the appeal of the series a 2L class was introduced for the last several years—cars often being derived from F2/Formula Atlantic. The series peaked in
2077-542: The car overheated after 46 laps. David Hobbs was brought into the team for the next round, held at Edmonton; a water leak after just one lap forced him to retire. An attempt to enter Cannon at Mid-Ohio came to nothing, and this was followed by Cannon retiring from the Road America race after 19 laps; once again, the car had overheated. Lee Roy Yarbrough took the wheel of the G7A at Road Atlanta , but he too suffered an engine failure, this time after 22 laps; even though
Ford G7 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2144-564: The championship. For 1972 the 917/10K with a turbocharged 900 horsepower five-litre flat-12 was introduced. Prepared by Roger Penske and driven by Mark Donohue and George Follmer these cars won six of the nine races. In 1972 Porsche introduced an even more powerful car, the 917/30KL. Nicknamed the "Turbopanzer" this car was seen as a monster. With 1,100 or 1,580 horsepower (820/1161 kW in race or qualifying trim) available from its 5.4 litre flat-12 and weighing 1,800 lb (816 kg) with better downforce this car won six of eight races in
2211-440: The checkered flag a car length in front to win the Daytona 500. Next, he won Darlington's Rebel 400 in the final four laps, then won Charlotte's World 600, lapping the entire field at least twice. He also won the summer 400-miler at Daytona, prevailing in a late-race battle with Buddy Baker, making him the third driver in NASCAR history to sweep both Daytona races. Yarbrough won the summer race at Atlanta International Raceway despite
2278-456: The drivers who launched their careers in the revived Can-Am series. Can-Am was the birthplace and proving ground for what, at the time, was cutting-edge technology. Can-Am cars were among the first race cars to use sport wings, effective turbocharging , ground-effect aerodynamics, and aerospace materials like titanium. This led to the eventual downfall of the original series when costs got prohibitive. However during its height, Can-Am cars were at
2345-409: The early 1980s but remained active until 1987. Can-Am remains a well-remembered form of racing due to its popularity in the 1960s and early 1970s, the limited number of regulations allowing extremely fast and innovative cars and the lineup of talented drivers. Can-Am cars remain popular in historic racing today. Notable drivers in the original Can-Am series included virtually every acclaimed driver of
2412-587: The early 80s but as the CART Indycar series and IMSA 's GTP championship grew in stature it faded. In 1987 the series changed as Indycars started to become a source of cars. The SCCA took away the Can-Am name but the series continued as the Can-Am Teams Thunder Cars Championship. After a single year the teams took the sports bodies off and evolved into American Indycar Series . In 1991, after 18 months of development,
2479-464: The end, Jack Brabham drove the G7A, and he lasted 46 laps before he lost a wheel and retired. The team then took a two-race break, before entering the final round of the season, held in Texas ; Cannon had returned to the team, but engine problems yet again prevented him from starting the race. Despite the unsuccessful season, the team entered Cannon in the 200 miles of Fuji , and, for the first time ever,
2546-433: The engine proved incredibly fragile and unresponsive in the test; the special blocks were porous, and allowed water to seep into the oil. In 1969, Agapiou Brothers Racing purchased the G7A, and attempted to run Peter Revson in the Can-Am season opener, held at Mosport Park ; however, in a sign of things to come, the engine failed and he wasn't even able to start the race. It was a similar story at Mont-Tremblant ; Revson
2613-477: The entire year with its best finish a fourth at Watkins Glen . While McLaren and Porsche dominated the series for most of its existence, other vehicles also appeared. Well-established European manufacturers like Lotus , CRD , in the form of their Merlyn Mk8 Chevrolet, Ferrari and BRM , appeared at various times with limited success, while March tried to get a share of the lucrative market in 1970–71, but could not establish themselves. Ford also flitted across
2680-496: The first Can-Am championship in 1966. Lola continued to experiment with new designs versus McLaren which refined the design each year. The 1971 Lola T260 had some success with Jackie Stewart taking two victories. In 1972 a radical new design, the Lola T310, made its appearance. The T310 was the longest and widest Can-Am car of the era versus the short stubby T260. The T310 was delivered late and suffered handling problems
2747-523: The forefront of racing technology and were frequently as fast as or even faster around laps of certain circuits than the contemporary Formula One cars. Noted constructors in the Can-Am series include McLaren, Chaparral , Lola, BRM , Shadow and Porsche. McLaren cars were specially designed race cars. The Can-Am cars were developments of the sports cars which were introduced in 1964 for the North American sports car races. The team works car for 1964
Ford G7 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2814-512: The last season before Can-Am faded away to be replaced by Formula 5000 . Racing was rarely close—one marque was usually dominant—but the noise and spectacle of the cars made the series highly popular. The energy crisis and the increased cost of competing in Can-Am meant that the series folded after the relatively lackluster 1974 season; the single-seater Formula 5000 series became the leading road-racing series in North America and many of
2881-404: The late 1960s and early 1970s. Jim Hall , Mark Donohue , Mario Andretti , Parnelli Jones , George Follmer , Dan Gurney , Phil Hill , Denny Hulme , Jacky Ickx , Bruce McLaren , Jackie Oliver , Peter Revson , John Surtees , and Charlie Kemp all drove Can-Am cars competitively and were successful, winning races and championship titles. Al Holbert , Alan Jones and Al Unser Jr. are among
2948-557: The latter of which often prevented the car from even starting a race. In 1968, Ford rebuilt a Mk IV Spyder chassis for Can-Am racing, and produced the G7A. Although the new car used the Mk IV's suspension and brakes, the new bodywork included a rear wing inspired by Jim Hall 's Chaparral Can-Am cars. The car used a 2-speed automatic gearbox , and a torque converter from the Mercury and Ford funny cars . Coupled to this transmission
3015-546: The next round, held at Mid-Ohio , so George Follmer replaced him in the Agapiou Brothers' team; however, the engine failed again and prevented Follmer from starting the race. Follmer tried again at Road America , but couldn't manage more than two laps before the transmission packed up and he retired. The team missed round eight altogether, before initially entering Follmer in the eighth round, held in Michigan ; in
3082-415: The pits. Yarbrough then finished 3rd at Trenton Speedway in 1971. After competing in three Indianapolis 500s in 1967, '69 and '70, Yarbrough was driving a Dan Gurney Eagle in practice on May 9 for the 1971 Indianapolis 500 when he spun and crashed hard in turn one, suffering head injuries. Cale Yarborough was at the track hospital when LeeRoy was brought in. "He was burned on the hands and neck, and he
3149-657: The real reason he was in jail. Finally in early March, he received a newspaper that explained his charges. He called his mother in disbelief, saying, "Mama, is it true what the paper said? Mama, I wouldn't hurt you for nothing in this world." In March 1981, Junior Johnson and auto racing chaplain Bill Baird had LeeRoy transferred to a mental hospital in Asheville, North Carolina and a fund was set up to pay for his expenses. Johnson said, "We haven't given up on getting LeeRoy treatment that will help him." Baird said that although
3216-407: The rear wing designed by Trevor Harris; this was unsuccessful, and more conventional cars designed by Bryant replaced them; Bryant was sidelined when Shadow moved into Formula One but after his departure, turbocharged Shadows came to dominate as Porsche and McLaren faded from the scene. The last year for the original Can-Am championship was 1974. Spiraling costs, a recession in North America following
3283-463: The regulations were minimal and permitted unlimited engine sizes (and allowed turbocharging and supercharging ), virtually unrestricted aerodynamics, and were as close as any major international racing series ever got to have an "anything goes" policy. As long as the car had two seats, bodywork enclosing the wheels, and met basic safety standards, it was allowed. Group 7 had arisen as a category for non-homologated sports car "specials" in Europe and, for
3350-559: The same level of downforce as the huge wings of previous vehicles, without the drag. Although far too mechanically complex to survive in racing environments, the theory was sound, and would appear in Formula One a few years later in the BT46B "Fan Car" of 1978. The Lola T70, T160-165, T220, T260, and T310 were campaigned by the factory and various customers, and were primarily Chevy powered. The Lola T70 driven by John Surtees won
3417-562: The scene with a number of unsuccessful cars based on the GT40 and its successors. American specialist marques like McKee, Genie and Caldwell competed, alongside exotica like the astonishing four-engined Macs-It special. British-born mechanic and engineer Peter Bryant designed the Ti22 (occasionally known as the Autocoast after one of the team's major backers) as an American-built challenger to
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#17327881013893484-457: The season finale, held at Riverside , Cannon drove again, but crashed out after 14 laps. This would prove to be the last time a G7 was used in a race. Can-Am The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variety of unique car body designs and powerful engine installations. Notable among these were Jim Hall 's Chaparrals and entries with over 1,000 horsepower . Can-Am started out as
3551-528: The top-ten and earned $ 193,211 ($ 1,407,350.77 when inflation is taken into account). During his entire career from 1960–1972, he competed in 198 races, scoring fourteen wins, 65 finishes in the top-five, 92 finishes in the top-ten, and ten pole positions. Yarbrough also competed in open-wheel racing, making 5 starts in the USAC Championship cars, including 3 Indianapolis 500s , with a best finish of 3rd at Trenton Speedway in 1970. His racing number
3618-770: Was 98. When asked about his passion, Yarbrough described racing as "what I call my life." Yarbrough was admitted to a mental institution on March 7, 1980, after trying to kill his mother by strangulation. All attempts to rehabilitate him (both in Florida or in North Carolina) failed and LeeRoy eventually died in 1984 after a fall. In 1990, he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association 's Hall of Fame at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina . LeeRoy Yarbrough
3685-403: Was a 427 cu in (6,997 cc) Ford V8 engine , capable of producing around 650 hp (485 kW; 659 PS). However, despite the power output, the car was amongst the heaviest on the grid, weighing in at 1,900 lb (862 kg), and it showed little promise in its first test session; lapping 14 seconds off the lap record in a Las Vegas test. Not only was it off the pace, but
3752-718: Was becoming more popular with European constructors and drivers, and the United States Road Racing Championship for large-capacity sports racers eventually gave rise to the Group 7 Can-Am series. There was good prize and appearance money and plenty of trade backing; the series was lucrative for its competitors but resulted, by its end, in truly outrageous cars with well over 1,000 horsepower (750 kW) (the Porsche team claimed 1,500 hp (1,100 kW) for its 917/30 in qualifying trim ), wings, active downforce generation, very light weight and unheard of speeds. Similar Group 7 cars ran in
3819-430: Was completed. Junior Johnson was also prepared to give Yarbrough a job. Unfortunately, staff at the facility determined Yarbrough's brain damage was too severe for treatment and he returned to a Florida facility. While in the hospital on December 6, 1984, Yarbrough had a violent seizure and fell over striking his head. He fell unconscious immediately. He was rushed to Jacksonville's University Hospital where he died
3886-422: Was considered very "multinational" for the times and consisted of team owner and leader Bruce McLaren, fellow New Zealander Chris Amon and another "kiwi", the 1967 Formula One world champion, Denny Hulme, team manager Teddy Mayer, mechanics Tyler Alexander, Gary Knutson, Lee Muir, George Bolthoff, Frank Zimmerman, Tom Anderson, Alan Anderson, David Dunlap, Leo Beattie, Donny Ray Everett, and Haig Alltounian (all from
3953-518: Was even a one-two-three finish at the Michigan International Speedway on September 28, 1969: McLaren first, Hulme second, and Gurney third. Nine months later, Bruce McLaren lost his life, on June 2, 1970, at Goodwood when the rear bodywork of his prototype M8D detached during testing resulting in a completely uncontrollable car and a fatal high-speed crash. Team McLaren continued to succeed in Can-Am after Bruce's death with
4020-535: Was followed in 1968 by the M8A, a new design based around the Chevy big-block V8 "rat motor" as a stressed member of the chassis. McLaren went "in house" with their engine shop in 1969. The M8B, M8C, M8D and M20C were developments of that aluminum monocoque chassis. McLaren so dominated the 1967-1971 seasons that Can-Am was often called the "Bruce and Denny show" after the drivers who very often finished first and second. There
4087-500: Was named Can-Am, but the series would fold before the end of 1999 before being replaced by the Grand American Road Racing Championship . The Can-Am name would not be retained in the new series. Lee Roy Yarbrough Lonnie " LeeRoy " Yarbrough (September 17, 1938 – December 7, 1984) was an American stock car racer . His best season was 1969 when he won seven races, tallied 21 finishes in
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#17327881013894154-411: Was perhaps the ultimate example of what Group 7 rules could allow in a racing car. It was a twin-engined car, with the by-then usual big-block Chevrolet engine providing the driving force, and a tiny snowmobile engine powering a pair of fans at the back of the car. These fans, combined with the movable Lexan "skirts" around the bottom of the car created a vacuum underneath the car, effectively providing
4221-709: Was the M1. For 1965 the M1A prototype was the team car and bases for the Elva customer M1A cars. In late 1965 the M1b(mk2) was the factory car in 1966 with Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon as drivers. In 1967, specifically for the Can-Am series, the McLaren team introduced a new model, the M6A . The McLaren M6A also introduced what was to become the trademark orange color for the team. The McLaren team
4288-400: Was unable to start the race. As a result, Revson left the team, and later joined Robbins-Jefferies Racing Team . The G7 was not used in the third round of the Can-Am series, but reappeared again for the next round, held at Edmonton ; John Cannon was selected to drive it, but the fuel injectors malfunctioned after just five laps, and forced him to retire. Cannon drove for Young-American in
4355-409: Was unconscious for about an hour, but I feel okay today," Yarbrough said a day later. "As tightly as I was strapped in the seat, it's hard for me to believe my body moved that much. The straps made my shoulders black and blue and I'm pretty sore." Days later, Yarbrough qualified eighth at Martinsville but the race was postponed because of rain. Yarbrough showed well in a few Indy Car starts, leading
4422-457: Was used in Can-Am, but was underpowered (350 hp) and mainly used by underfunded teams. It did win the 1970 Road Atlanta race, when the more powerful cars fell out. The 917PA, a spyder version of the 917K Le Mans car, was raced, but its normally aspirated flat-12 was underpowered (530 hp). In 1971 the 917/10 was introduced. This was not turbocharged, but was lighter and had cleaner body work, and Jo Siffert managed to finish fourth in
4489-482: Was woozy from another lick on the head. He was the palest live man I've ever seen." Yarbrough spent the next few months, June through November, in and out of the hospital with many different ailments and memory problems. He was rumoured to have contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever from a tick bite, and also drank alcohol heavily. He most likely suffered brain trauma from the crashes in Texas and Indianapolis. In 1977,
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