80 New Zealand Classic Car | themotorhood.com
Close finishes
Talking over lunch recently, Bill Gavin highlighted
what was always taken for granted when discussing
Bruce McLaren: “such a careful driver”.
I was thinking about that as I thumbed through a
recently acquired copy of Motor Racing Year that covers
the 1969 international season. It was a strange season
in a lot of ways. Grid numbers were light, Ferrari
typically ran a single car, and four-wheel drive made
a fleeting visit to the Grand Prix (GP) paddock. With
a change of fuel-cell regulations due to be enforced in
1970, most teams ran upgraded versions of their 1968
cars: the year wings that were introduced. Terms like
‘downforce’ were still in the early stages of discovery.
At the 1969 Spanish GP, the tall wings on both
Team Lotus cars broke and, in a flash, were banned
from the following race around the streets of Monaco.
An exception to the ‘upgraded ’68 car’ option came
from an organization for which motor racing was an
‘add on’ activity to its core business: the manufacture
of missiles, arms, and aerospace technology.
‘Mécanique Aviation Traction’ was eventually
abbreviated to ‘Matra’, and, very soon after being
established in the early 1960s, it emphasized that it
was not about compromise. Wins in Formula 3 (F3)
led to Formula 2 (F2). More success followed, and, by
late 1967, it was obvious that Matra was ready for the
ultimate step. To give itself the best chance of glory, it
joined forces with Englishman Ken Tyrrell, who had
run Matras successfully in F2. Tyrrell had an ace up
his sleeve in the form of Jackie Stewart on his F2 team,
and the Scot had pretty decent connections at Ford,
which just happened to have badged the magnificent
Cosworth V8 that had been doing most of the winning
in the back of Jim Clark’s Lotus in 1967.Heavy artillery
Matra’s no-compromise approach led to it building a
car, the MS80, that would be redundant at the end of- The Tyrrell-run, Stewart-driven Matra of 1968
MOTOR SPORT FLASHBACK
Words: Michael ClarkTHE LATE ‘60S AND EARLY
‘70S OFFERED HEADY
HIGHLIGHTS TO MOTOR
SPORT FANS; SIR STIRLING
CLOCKS UP 90 YEARS —
STILL WINNING