17th Apr, 2013 16:05
Imperial War Museum Duxford
1965/66 Mclaren M1B Sports Racer
Estimated at £220,000 - £260,000
Lot details
Registration No: N/A
Chassis No: 30/09
Mot Expiry: N/A
Aside from 3 Works racers, McLaren built 28 M1B cars for customer use. Supplied new to Ken Sheppard, chassis 30/09 was prepared for Keith St John (real name reputedly Keith Smith) to drive in the 1966 Guards Trophy Series. Despite Radio London sponsorship money and proven Ford 289ci V8 power, the sports racer was initially plagued by various oil feed problems; the 11th and 16th places it managed in heats one and two of the RAC TT at Oulton Park on April 6th 1966 being a typically disappointing early result. Performing much better the next year, the McLaren was comfortably leading the Guards Championship by May (via six outright wins, five seconds and a third place finish). Unmoved, Sheppard sold it to hillclimber Bob Rose the following month. Displaying the registration number `500 KRA' - appropriated from a road legal Marcos that Rose had previously campaigned - chassis 30/09 was driven to and from various sprints/hillclimbs. Scoring the occasional class victory during the rest of 1967 and into 1968, the M1B was nonetheless fighting a losing battle against more specialised four-wheel drive machinery. Reacquired by manufacturer Trojan (formerly McLaren Elva) in 1969, the sports racer subsequently passed through the hands of John Jordan, Alan Brodie, Peter Taylor, Geoffrey Breakall, John Beasley, Dave Preece, Mike Harrison, Roger Williams, the Massimer Collection and Graham Goodman before entering the current ownership during September 1999.
Boasting a nigh-on continuous history and greater degree of originality than many of its siblings, chassis 30/09 has been enjoyed at a huge variety of meetings and venues over the past fourteen years including: South Africa ISP, Brussels NATO airbase, Chimay, Ollon-Villars, Imola, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Porto, Sicily (Targa Florio retrospective), Shelsey Walsh, Pau and Tunisia GP etc. Travelling to New Zealand to participate in the 2010 Bruce McLaren Commemorative Festival, the M1B has twice accepted invitations to run in the Whitsun Trophy Race at the Goodwood Revival. A past winner of the Gentlemen Drivers Series' Dunlop Prize, the sports racer was damaged during a hillclimb event a couple of years ago but expertly repaired by Martin Greaves of Classic Performance Engineering who took the opportunity of refurbishing its spaceframe chassis at the same time. Always Ford-engined, the McLaren's current 4.9-litre V8 was last overhauled by Geoff Page Racing of Maldon, Essex in October 2010 at a cost of some £10,048.24, while its Hewland LG-600 five-speed gearbox was refurbished by J P Race Shop of Silverstone a month later for £1,771.31.
`Spanner checked' ahead of its outing at the 2012 Goodwood Revival, the M1B is offered for sale with a detailed two volume history file (complied by Richard Taylor of Historic Car Research), old-style FIA HVIF papers and spares package (two-seater bodywork, wheels/tyres etc). Well known in McLaren circles, chassis 30/09 has been a proven passport to some of the world's most exciting historic racing events.
Registration No: N/A
Chassis No: 30/09
Mot Expiry: N/A
Aside from 3 Works racers, McLaren built 28 M1B cars for customer use. Supplied new to Ken Sheppard, chassis 30/09 was prepared for Keith St John (real name reputedly Keith Smith) to drive in the 1966 Guards Trophy Series. Despite Radio London sponsorship money and proven Ford 289ci V8 power, the sports racer was initially plagued by various oil feed problems; the 11th and 16th places it managed in heats one and two of the RAC TT at Oulton Park on April 6th 1966 being a typically disappointing early result. Performing much better the next year, the McLaren was comfortably leading the Guards Championship by May (via six outright wins, five seconds and a third place finish). Unmoved, Sheppard sold it to hillclimber Bob Rose the following month. Displaying the registration number `500 KRA' - appropriated from a road legal Marcos that Rose had previously campaigned - chassis 30/09 was driven to and from various sprints/hillclimbs. Scoring the occasional class victory during the rest of 1967 and into 1968, the M1B was nonetheless fighting a losing battle against more specialised four-wheel drive machinery. Reacquired by manufacturer Trojan (formerly McLaren Elva) in 1969, the sports racer subsequently passed through the hands of John Jordan, Alan Brodie, Peter Taylor, Geoffrey Breakall, John Beasley, Dave Preece, Mike Harrison, Roger Williams, the Massimer Collection and Graham Goodman before entering the current ownership during September 1999.
Boasting a nigh-on continuous history and greater degree of originality than many of its siblings, chassis 30/09 has been enjoyed at a huge variety of meetings and venues over the past fourteen years including: South Africa ISP, Brussels NATO airbase, Chimay, Ollon-Villars, Imola, Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Porto, Sicily (Targa Florio retrospective), Shelsey Walsh, Pau and Tunisia GP etc. Travelling to New Zealand to participate in the 2010 Bruce McLaren Commemorative Festival, the M1B has twice accepted invitations to run in the Whitsun Trophy Race at the Goodwood Revival. A past winner of the Gentlemen Drivers Series' Dunlop Prize, the sports racer was damaged during a hillclimb event a couple of years ago but expertly repaired by Martin Greaves of Classic Performance Engineering who took the opportunity of refurbishing its spaceframe chassis at the same time. Always Ford-engined, the McLaren's current 4.9-litre V8 was last overhauled by Geoff Page Racing of Maldon, Essex in October 2010 at a cost of some £10,048.24, while its Hewland LG-600 five-speed gearbox was refurbished by J P Race Shop of Silverstone a month later for £1,771.31.
`Spanner checked' ahead of its outing at the 2012 Goodwood Revival, the M1B is offered for sale with a detailed two volume history file (complied by Richard Taylor of Historic Car Research), old-style FIA HVIF papers and spares package (two-seater bodywork, wheels/tyres etc). Well known in McLaren circles, chassis 30/09 has been a proven passport to some of the world's most exciting historic racing events.
Auction: Imperial War Museum Duxford, 17th Apr, 2013
All successful bids must be paid in full by midday the day after the auction at the latest.
You can collect your new pride and joy from our venue until 1pm the day following the sale or our partners are on hand to help arrange safe transportation:
Do you have an item to sell?
If so, contact one of our friendly specialists for your free valuation by completing the form below and someone will get back to you as quickly as possible.
If you prefer to speak to humans, don't hesitate to call our office on +44 (0)1925 210035
Other lots in this sale
