Leonard battled hard against Nazer throughout the 1976 championship, but the Victor was just a little bit faster at most tracks, and Leonard was having to drive the wheels off his steed to fight for race wins. On several occasions the pair ran into each other, and tensions between the teams increased.

Things came to a head, both for the championship, and the Mustang, when Leonard and Nazer clashed at Pukekohe, late in the season, with the PDL machine leaving the track at high speed, and sustaining heavy damage.

Rather than rebuild the outdated Mustang, the team instead opted to build an all-new tube-frame car.

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Photo by Rick Deihl