Huge thanks to Terry Rush, for putting together the following info, which he emailed to Graham McRae to confirm as correct. Interestingly, Graham owns the road car licence plates GM1, GM2, GM3!

"This car was built from the original GM3

"Built in 1976 as a GM3 Formula 5000, one-off car built with distinctive transparent cockpit cover. He finishd a very respectable
6th in itsfirst race at Riverside, but failed in the final. Unfortunately this was the last ever International race for Formula 5000
open wheeled racers in the USA. Was then turned into a single seater Can-Am in 1977, and was really no quicker.

"1978 re-built into a F5000 for the Australian Rothmans Series, and won the Australian GP, at Sandown, and another victory
at Calder a month later and brought, the Gold star Championship that year. In 1979 continued racing in the Rothmans series.

"1979 the car was returned to New Zealand where Steve Roberts (Wanganui ) created this incredible GM9, and sadly turned
into be a disastrous one-off Can-Am car, was tested at Mosport In Canada, with its first race appearance at Riverside (R10-26 Oct 1980) a further Seven appearances in 1981 (two DNS, three retirements, best finish of seventh).

"What Graham experienced there was what would become a familiar term in ground effects Formula One- it was called porpoising.
As he went faster the nose was sucked to the ground to such an extent that no air went under it at all,. The complete lack of air
would cause a loss of down force and the car would lift and repeat the cycle again. It went from huge grip to no grip on a fast curve. Graham went over some bumps and the car jumped forty five degrees, and pointed him straight onto the grass.

"The car was not a great success in Can-AM however McRae struggled for meagre results for most of the season. The GM9 was to win its first race in Mexico only a few days after McRae sold it. It languised in storage in USA and Mexico before being brought by
Roger Williams and imported back to New Zealand.

"In January 2009, the car was purchased by Terry Rush for the Rush Collection, and to be driven by son Tim, in historic meetings in
New Zealand".