New Zealanders At The Top

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31753, 9 August 1968, Page 9

New Zealanders At The Top

(London correspondent)

YTHE time has long since gone when the motor racing driver could be characterised as a daredevil, laughing at the risk of sudden death as, scarf flying in the wind, he roared off down the track.

Nowadays, motor racing is a highly professional business, the drivers utterly disciplined, their machines the last word in precision engineering. New Zealanders are in the very top rank of this new breed of racing drivers. At the British Grand Prix last month, three New Zealand drivers—Bruce McLaren, Dennis Hulme and Chris Amon—were, as usual, right in the forefront, competing with the world’s best. All three are still in the race for the world championship, a title which Hulme already holds.

How Is it that, inside a decade, New Zealand drivers have come so far in this fiercely competitive business? N.Z. SOCIETY The answer, Bruce McLaren believes, is in the nature of the New Zealand post-war society, a community where improvisation is a way of life.

“New Zealand mechanics get very good basic training in the garages," he says. “They are extremely versatile; they have to know how to make every sort of repair. Whereas in England the average garage mechanic just replaces parts, the New Zealander may have to make them.

“You might say that our years of import controls and shortages have actually had a lot to do with producing this breed of racing drivers and mechanics.

“In New Zealand, too, the mechanics mix more with

other people in the business. They understand the job from start to finish. They know the problems from all angles. The English mechanics tend to be more specialised; a man might spend all his life on just, say, cylinder heads, and have little idea about the rest of the car.

“And I have found that New Zealanders in this business have a very strong sense of responsibility. They know that success depends on the highest standards. They don’t just say, ‘she’ll be right.’ ”

Bruce himself backs his faith in New Zealanders in a practical way. Seven of his staff of 28 at his racing car factory in Buckinghamshire are New Zealanders.

THE BEST “We don’t take them just because they are New Zealanders,” he says. “We just take the best.”

At the age of 30, Bruce has built up a racing plant recog-

nised as one of the best In the world and certainly one of the most successful. About 120 cans built at his factory are now racing throughout the world, about half of them sports cars. “In actual fact I have not made very much money,” he says. “I live comfortably but I would say that I have less than most other people in this field. I put most of it back into the business.”

Racing driving has taken Bruce to most parts of the world. He estimates that in 10 years he has travelled nearly two million miles by air. HECTIC

He agrees it is a hectic life. “But one gets used to the strain. The biggest strain is getting the cars built on time. Purely racing and driving is the easy bit.” He is conscious of the risks. “I would say this year has been particularly bad. There has been about one crash a month. I think everyone is being a little more careful. They are realising they can get hurt, whereas a year ago nobody had been hurt for a long time.” As yet he has no thought of retiring from driving. “I would like to drive for another three or four years and then to concentrate on the design side.” Whatever the future holds for Bruce, he has made his mark. He is recognised not only as one of the most able and successful people in the business but also as one of the most unassuming and pleasant.