1973 McRae GM1

Monoposto
Chassis number: 9

This car was campaigned by Quicksilver Racing in 1973 to 1974 and was driven by Chuck and Jim Sarich. The car was not able to qualify for many of the races as newer cars rendered it uncompetitive. The car was purchased by Ted Wenz in 1975, who raced it in vintage events until 2005. It was later purchased by Stan Redmond from New Zealand and sold to its current owner in 2009. It was then treated to a restoration to its original Quicksilver livery and has competed in Tasman F5000 Revival Series to championship results.

Monoposto
Chassis number: 6

This car has an aluminum monocoque derived by Len Terry. Graham McRae won the 1972 U.S. Formula 5000 title in another GM-1. This chassis was campaigned in period by Dr. Gordon Meffert with a number of top 10 finishes. The car passed through a number of hands until it was comprehensively restored to its current condition by Chris Schneider of Executive Auto Sport. It is in the 1973 livery of the Quicksilver Engines team as driven by the Sarich brothers. It has been raced by its current owner since 2008 in F5000 Revival Series.

After a chance meeting at Road America with Dr. Meffert, photos of period livery were discovered and the car was repainted in the correct Wengor Racing livery in 2018.

Graham McRae of New Zealand was the Tasman Series Champion three years in a row, from 1971 to 1973, and the United States Formula 5000 (F5000) Champion in 1972 after winning three races. He won the title again in 1978 in the CAMS Gold Star Championship.

In 1973, McRae competed in Formula One. His sole outing was at the 1973 British Grand Prix on July 14th of 1973, where he retired in the first lap. Also that year, he raced at the Indianapolis 500 where he placed in the 16th position and was crowned with 'Rookie of the Year' honors.

In 1972, McRae teamed with Malcolm Bridgeland of Malaya Garage, and with designer Len Terry to construct a new F5000 car. The completed car was originally dubbed the Leda LT27, but when McRae and John Heynes (an insurance broker from London) bought out Bridgeland and established McRae Cars Ltd, the name was changed to the GM1.

In total, there were 14 examples of the GM1 created.

by Dan Vaughan