Denny Hulme's McLaren M23 - up close

[BritishV8]

The U.S. isn't among of the best places to see vintage Formula One cars in person, but occasionally a very kind soul will bring their car for a visit. Phil Mauger shipped his spectacular McLaren M23 over for back-to-back race weekends at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen this past September - Denny's 1973 car! - and I didn't miss my chance to photograph it. I thought you folks might enjoy seeing how the photos turned out: Denny Hulme's 1973 McLaren M23 Formula One Racecar (~70 close-ups!)

(samples)







(images copyright 2012, Curtis Jacobson for BritishRacecar.com)

Please let me know if you spot any mistakes or omissions in my write-up. I'm just beginning to learn about these cars.

[kiwi285]

Were there any other F1 cars there that you managed to photograph for those of us who weren't able to make the meeting.

[BritishV8]

Were there any other F1 cars there that you managed to photograph for those of us who weren't able to make the meeting.

I took a lot of photos of Revson's M19C-2, but sadly it never left the garages and also its body panels never came off... so I'll probably need to catch it at a second race meeting to complete the job properly. I think there might have been a red Formula One car in the Watkins Glen garage too, but I don't usually photograph red cars. You have to draw a line somewhere. I DO have a Tyrrell article coming up shortly, but it will take a fair amount of research to do it justice. (First I need to raise some funds and buy some reference books.) Meanwhile, one of the next cars in my queue is a certain Brabham B29 that was updated to Tasman specs and did rather well in an Australian Grand Prix against the 5-liter cars! I would welcome any tips about that car.

[Steve Holmes]

Wow, your photos are amazing! You've covered every detail. I see your Username is British V8. What type of car are you referring to?

[BritishV8]

Thanks!

I started using that name (BritishV8) after inheriting responsibility for a website by that name... mostly for people who plug American V8 engines into MGs and Triumphs. I built and have been driving this one since about '91:

[kiwi285]

Any chance of a couple of photos of the M19 - it is a bit of a rare beast with not a lot of photos around.

[BritishV8]

Let's see... (I've attached a sample, below.)

Since this particular M19 is currently for sale, you'd think it'd be easy to get photos of. Not one person has tossed change into my tip jar since the M23 article was published - and it's been downloaded from my server a couple thousand times already - so I'm getting grumpy about sharing.

[faminz]

I just uploaded a video of Denny driving the old M23 in 1987 at Pukekohe for a couple of demo laps.. Justa wee snippet I had on a DVD of the '87 NZGP. Have look at it here: http://youtu.be/r4aF9u2Nkw0

[ERC]

Thanks Curtis. For those who haven't had a look at his website, it really is excellent.

My long term project car will eventually appear on there...

[Andrew Metford]

I just uploaded a video of Denny driving the old M23 in 1987 at Pukekohe for a couple of demo laps.. Justa wee snippet I had on a DVD of the '87 NZGP. Have look at it here: http://youtu.be/r4aF9u2Nkw0

That's a good bit of footage there. Thank you for posting it.

Haven't seen a crowd like that at the NZGP for many a long year, and sadly probably never will again either.

[RacerT]

I really applaud Phil Mauger for race preparing the car without loosing its patina and campaigning the M23 all around the world. I know the Swedes were ecstatic with its return to their circuit where Denny scored its first victory. Phil has often raced with the F5000's. Always a good racer and taking care of the car at the same time. His run at the Leadfoot was astonishingly quick and put him in the top ten shootout. It must have been a difficult decision for Greeta to sell the car, but I'm sure she will have been pleased with the way Phil has taken the car around the world to celebrate Denny's name and achievements - top bloke!