In the beginning.
Bruce McLaren Motor Racing was founded in 1963 by New Zealander Bruce McLaren. Bruce was a works driver for the British Formula One team Cooper with whom he had won three Grands Prix and come second in the 1960 World Championship. Wanting to compete in the Australasian Tasman Series, Bruce approached his employers, but when team owner Charles Cooper insisted on using 1.5-litre Formula One-specification engines instead of the 2.5-litre motors permitted by the Tasman rules, Bruce decided to set up his own team to run him and his prospective Formula One teammate Timmy Mayer with custom-built Cooper cars.
Bruce won the 1964 series, but Mayer was killed in practice for the final race at the Longford Circuit in Tasmania. When Bruce McLaren approached Teddy Mayer to help him with the purchase of the Zerex sports car from Roger Penske, Teddy Mayer and Bruce McLaren began discussing a business partnership resulting in Teddy Mayer buying in to Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Limited (BMMR) ultimately becoming its largest shareholder. The team was based in Feltham in 1963–1964, and from 1965 until 1981 in Colnbrook, England.
During this period, Bruce drove for his team in sports car races in the United Kingdom and North America and also entered the 1965 Tasman Series with Phil Hill, but did not win it. He continued to drive in Grands Prix for Cooper, but judging that team's form to be waning, decided to race his own cars in 1966.
Bruce McLaren made the team's Formula 1 debut at the 1966 Monaco Grand Prix, though good results were hard to come by in 1966 and 1967 as the team struggled with developing a suitable engine and chassis combination. The team began to come together in 1968 when McLaren was joined by 1967 World Champion (and fellow New Zealander) Denny Hulme.
McLaren and Hulme were signed to drive a pair of turbine powered cars at the 1968 Indianapolis 500. The project, managed by Carroll Shelby, was doomed when the team's engineer discovered that the cars were not legal. Hulme took a ride with another team and qualified for his 2nd 500.
McLaren had gotten involved in the North American Can-Am Championship in 1966 and by 1969 they were the dominant team. With encouragment and funding from their tire supplier, Goodyear, the team began seriously looking at building a car to compete in the Indianapolis 500. This car, the Gordon Coppuck designed M15, borrowed heavily from the team's Can-Am cars and was ready for testing by late 1969.
The team was ready to go in 1970 and managed to put 2 cars into the field. Carl Williams placed 9th for the team's highest finish. Bruce McLaren was killed a week following the 1970 Indianapolis 500 while testing a Can-Am car, but the team kept going and throughout the 1970's would rack of a considerable list of achievements both in Formula 1 and in the USAC National Championship.
McLaren's North American operations were wrapped up following the 1979 season due to a downturn in their Formula 1 fortunes. They would not return to Indianapolis until 2017 when they partnered with Andretti Autosport to field a Dallara for Fernando Alonso. In August 2019, McLaren announced their fulltime return to IndyCar for the 2020 season. They will be joining forces with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Racing to become Arrow McLaren SP.
