Kicking things off, the first several photos are from the Edmonton 1971 Can-Am race. This was Round 8 of the '71 championship. Pictured here is a car I wrote about recently for The Roaring Season, the Lola T260. By Edmonton, the McLaren team had really gotten into their stride, and after Jackie Stewart had taken the fight to them in the early rounds, so they improved as the series wore on, to build a performance buffer over the stubby little Lola, which even Stewart couldn't overcome.

However, Edmonton was wet, and the conditions suited the Lola, and Stewart's driving style, and he soon forged ahead from his third grid spot to lead, and draw comfortably away from Denny Hulme's McLaren, to hold a lead of 45sec by half distance. However, it all came unravelled late in the race when Stewart left the track while lapping Lothar Motschenbacher's customer McLaren, and after which, the Lola appeared not to be handling as well. Gradually Hulme reeled Stewart back in, and when the Lola driver spun once more, The Bear charged ahead. Stewart ultimately finished second.

Here Jackie Stewart prepares himself just before race start. Note the front nose treatment on the Lola with protruding lower point and end-plates, as the team tried various different nose styles in the later races to improve front downforce.

Alongside Stewart on the grid is Motschenbacher's beautiful McLaren M8D.

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