McLaren M15

Last updated
McLaren M15
McLaren M15 front-right Donington Grand Prix Collection.jpg
Category IndyCar
Constructor McLaren Racing
Designer(s) Gordon Coppuck
PredecessorNone
Successor McLaren M16
Technical specifications
Chassis Aluminium monocoque
Length156 in (396.2 cm)
Width40.2 in (102.1 cm)
Height36 in (91.4 cm)
Axle track 57.8 in (146.8 cm) (Front)
58 in (147.3 cm) (Rear)
Wheelbase 99 in (251.5 cm)
Engine Offenhauser 2,650 cc (161.7 cu in) straight-4 turbocharged Mid-engined, longitudinally mounted
Transmission Hewland 4-speed manual
Weight1,490 lb (675.9 kg)
Tyres Goodyear
Competition history
Notable entrants McLaren
Notable drivers Denny Hulme

The McLaren M15 was an open-wheel race car designed and built by the McLaren team for a single season of competition in 1970, and was their first attempt at making an Indy car. It was unsuccessful, and failed to qualify for the 1970 Indianapolis 500. It was later replaced by the more successful McLaren M16, which went on to win three Indy 500s; in 1972, 1974 and 1976. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One chassis constructor, the second-oldest active team and the second-most successful Formula One team after Ferrari, having won 184 races, 12 Drivers' Championships, and eight Constructors' Championships. McLaren also has a history in American open wheel racing as both an entrant and a chassis constructor, and has won the Canadian-American Challenge Cup (Can-Am) sports car racing championship. McLaren is also one of only three constructors to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport, a feat that McLaren achieved by winning the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis 500</span> Annual automobile race held in Speedway, Indiana, U.S.

The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis. The event is traditionally held over Memorial Day weekend, usually the last weekend of May. It is contested as part of the IndyCar Series, the top level of American open-wheel car racing, a formula colloquially known as "Indy car racing". The track itself is nicknamed the "Brickyard", as the racing surface was first paved in brick in the fall of 1909. One yard of brick remains exposed at the start/finish line. The event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix, with which it typically shares a date.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernando Alonso</span> Spanish racing driver (born 1981)

Fernando Alonso Díaz is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Aston Martin in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Minardi. With Toyota, Alonso won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice, in 2018 and 2019, and the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2018–19. He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona with Wayne Taylor Racing in 2019. As of 2024, Alonso is the only driver to win both the F1 World Drivers' Championship and the World Endurance Championship, even if the World Sportscar Championship is included in WEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerson Fittipaldi</span> Brazilian racing driver (born 1946)

Emerson Fittipaldi is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Revson</span> American racing driver (1939–1974)

Peter Jeffrey Revlon Revson was an American race car driver and heir to the Revlon cosmetics fortune. He was the Can-Am Champion for the 1971 season, and finished fifth overall in the World Drivers' Championship for both the 1972 and 1973 Formula One seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Circuit Mont-Tremblant</span> Race track in Quebec, Canada

Circuit Mont-Tremblant is a 4.218 km (2.621 mi) race circuit located approximately 130 km (81 mi) north of Montreal, Quebec, in the city of Mont-Tremblant, Canada. It is the second-oldest existing race track in Canada, and was originally known as Circuit Mont-Tremblant-St-Jovite until it was renamed in the 1970s. Set in the shadow of the Mont-Tremblant ski hill, the twisting fifteen-corner track uses the natural topography and elevation of the land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American open-wheel car racing</span> Category of professional-level automobile racing in North America

American open-wheel car racing, generally known as Indy car racing, or more formally Indianapolis car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2024, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar. Competitive events for professional-level, open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies, tracing its roots as far back as 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been officially recognized in 1905, 1916, and each year since 1920. As such, for many years, the category of racing was known as Championship car racing. That name has fallen from use, and the term Indy car racing has become the preferred moniker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Penske</span> American auto racing team

Team Penske is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organization has also competed in various other types of professional racing such as Formula One, Can-Am, Trans Am, and Australia's Supercars Championship. Altogether, Team Penske has earned over 500 victories and over 40 championships in all of auto racing. Team Penske is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske. The team president is Tim Cindric.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Indianapolis 500</span> 55th running of the Indianapolis 500

The 55th 500 Mile International Sweepstakes was a motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 29, 1971. Al Unser Sr. won for the second consecutive year, dominating most of the race. Unser became the fourth driver to win the Indy 500 in back-to-back years, and it was his second of a record-tying four Indy victories.

The 1979 SCCA/CART Indy Car Series was the inaugural Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) American open wheel racing championship series. The season consisted of 14 races. Rick Mears was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Bill Alsup. The 1979 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but counted towards the CART points championship. Rick Mears won the Indy 500, his first of four victories in the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple Crown of Motorsport</span> Motorsport achievement

The Triple Crown of Motorsport is an unofficial motorsport achievement, often regarded as winning three of the most prestigious motor races in the world in one's career. Those races being:

The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The team operates the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 Dallara-Chevrolet entries for Pato O'Ward, Théo Pourchaire, and Alexander Rossi respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zak Brown</span> American racing driver and businessman

Zakary Challen Brown is an American businessman and former professional racing driver, currently residing in England. He is the chief executive officer of McLaren Racing. Born and raised in California, Brown raced professionally around the world for ten years before developing his skills in motorsport's business and commercial worlds.

Juncos Hollinger Racing, formerly Juncos Racing, is an Argentine-American racing team competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT and USF Pro 2000 Championship series in the Road to Indy ladder for IndyCar. Owned by Ricardo Juncos, who formed the team in 1997, the team was initially based in Argentina before limited racing opportunities in that country led to the team moving to the United States. The team is currently based in Indianapolis, Indiana. Following Williams F1 shareholder Brad Hollinger's entry to the team as partner in 2021, the team was renamed to Juncos Hollinger Racing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Álex Palou</span> Spanish racing driver (born 1997)

Álejandro Palou Montalbo is a Spanish racing driver who drives for Chip Ganassi Racing in the IndyCar Series, where he won the 2021 and 2023 championships, and winner in the $1 Million Challenge. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in American open-wheel racing history and also the first Spaniard to win in the GP3 Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pato O'Ward</span> Mexican racing driver (born 1999)

Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. He is signed to the McLaren Driver Development Programme and McLaren's reserve driver for the 2024 Formula One season.

The IndyCar iRacing Challenge was a series of esports events held as a temporary replacement of the suspended 2020 IndyCar Series due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series was run on the platform of iRacing. The virtual races were broadcast on various IndyCar social media channels. Additionally, all races, but the first one, were broadcast live on NBCSN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLaren M16</span> Racing car model

The McLaren M16 was a race car designed and built by McLaren between 1971 and 1976 for American open wheel racing. It is the most successful car of the 1970s at the Indianapolis 500 with three wins in 1972, 1974 and 1976 and the last one to win with the Offenhauser engine.

The Ford Indy V8 engine is a naturally-aspirated, DOHC, V-8, Indy car racing engine, initially specially designed by Ford for use by Team Lotus, to compete in the Indianapolis 500; from 1963 to 1967. This is the engine that gave Jim Clark the victory in 1965 with his Lotus 38 chassis, Graham Hill victory in 1966 with his Lola T90 chassis, and A. J. Foyt the win at Indianapolis in 1967, in his Coyote 67 chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 IndyCar Series</span> American open-wheel racing championship season

The 2023 NTT IndyCar Series was the 112th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 28th season under IndyCar Series sanction. The showcase event was the 107th Indianapolis 500, which was won by Josef Newgarden.

References

  1. Brown, Allen (20 July 2019). "McLaren M15A car-by-car histories". OldRacingCars.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  2. "McLaren Racing - McLaren's IndyCars". www.mclaren.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  3. "1970 McLaren M15 Offenhauser - Images, Specifications and Information". Ultimatecarpage.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  4. "Indy 500 Cars – Bruce McLaren" . Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  5. "McLaren History and Heritage". McLaren Press Room. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  6. World, Auto Sport. "Find out all the information about the race car McLaren M15. As well as its drivers and results". Auto Sport World. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  7. Tomaso. "McLaren at Indy" . Retrieved 2022-05-28.