McLaren CEO Zak Brown delivered on his promise of a spectacular 60th birthday celebration of Bruce McLaren Motor Racing at last weekend’s Velocity Invitational. The storied team brought a number of priceless cars to Sonoma Raceway delighting participants and fans. No doubt the weekend was especially cherished among a few current members of the Arrow McLaren IndyCar team.
RACER’s Marshall Pruett captured the scene as current drivers Alexander Rossi and Pato O’Ward, together with Arrow McLaren Sporting Director Tony Kanaan, experienced McLaren history behind the wheel of significant cars from various decades throughout the team’s 60-year life.
Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Alexander Rossi drove James Hunt’s McLaren M26-02 Formula 1 car and spoke briefly about the experience.
Arrow McLaren IndyCar driver Pato O’Ward went back in time and drove Bruce McLaren’s 1969 McLaren M7C Formula 1 car.
Tony Kanaan got to see and drive his favorite car, the 1991 McLaren MP4/6 driven to a world championship by his friend and hero Ayrton Senna, for the first time up close and shared his memories and emotions after viewing/driving the legend’s final F1 title-winner.
Pato O’Ward piloted Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 Formula 1 world championship-winning McLaren MP4/23 and its screaming Mercedes 2.4L V8 and described the experience to RACER’s Marshall Pruett.