Photos: The Dean Lester Collection - Part 1

[Steve Holmes]

This is Oscar Koveleski in his McLaren M8B in 1971. This is quite a special car, because its one of the 1969 factory McLaren M8Bs that won every one of the 1969 Can-Am races. In 1969, they were fitted with the high rear hub mounted aerofoils, but these were banned for 1970.

Koveleski raced this car for at least two seasons; 1970 and 1971. In 1970 it was painted orange and had a low fixed flap at the rear of the bodywork, much like the 1968 McLaren M8A factory cars. For 1971, it used a wing, albeit, afixed to the chassis.

For 1969, the factory McLaren team had three M8Bs, two of which were brand new cars, while the third was Denny Hulme's 1968 M8A championship winning car, updated to '69 M8B spec. It was used as a spare for 1969, although Dan Gurney drove it in one race, and Chris Amon another, when their own cars were broken. That car went to Lothar Motchenbacher in 1970, and eventually made its way down to New Zealand.