Sports Roadster
Chassis number: GW1
The Canadian-American Challenge Cup or Can-Am, was an SCCA/CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. It began as a race series for Group 7 sports racers, with two races in Canada (Can) and four races in the United States (Am). The Series was governed by rules under the FIA Group 7 category with unrestricted engine capacity and few other technical restrictions. They had virtually unrestricted aerodynamics, unlimited engine sizes (and allowed turbocharging and supercharging), and basic safety standards. Rules stated the racers needed two seats and bodywork enclosing the wheels.
Gary Wilson raced Chaparral, McLaren, and Lola cars before having a car built around the remains of his McLaren M8E which he had raced with during the 1973 season. The M8E had been involved in a fire and no new customer cars were available. John Collins was enlisted to build the new Can-Am racer along with fabricator Gerald 'Jerry' Tune. The result of their work was the Sting GW1.
The Sting GW1, built around the burnt McLaren, had an aluminum monocoque chassis and was powered by a Chevrolet big block V8 engine. The body design was new, although it had a similar appearance to the Porsche 917/30.
The Sting made its racing debut at Mid-Ohio, having missed the first three rounds of the 1974 season. The car initially showed promise during practice, but that was short-lived, as Wilson crashed due to rain. The car was not able to start the race.
The next race was at Road America, and the car was repaired in time for that race. This time it started and finished the race, finishing in a respectable 5th place. The Sting's Can-Am racing career would then come to an end at Road America as this would be the final Can-Am race as the championship was canceled. The energy crisis increased the cost of competing, and a lackluster season had brought the series to a close. Man of the Can-Am drivers and teams switched to the single-seater Formula 5000 series.
Wilson raced the Sting once more in a minor event where it failed to finish after suffering a driveshaft failure.
Currently, the Sting has been restored and is raced in historic events. It has a fiberglass body, and aluminum monocoque chassis, ventilated disc brakes, and a 540 cubic-inch Chevy engine fitted with a Lucas fuel injection system.
by Dan Vaughan