Can-Am Championship
The Can-Am championship, which full name was originally "Canadian-American Challenge Cup", was established in 1966. There were two separate periods in its history. The first period was from 1966 to 1974. It was the most famous Can-Am era. Eligible group 7 sports racing cars were almost totally unrestricted and they were the quickest cars in the world at the time - quicker than F1 or sportscars running in the World Championship.
Many top F1 drivers took part in the Can-Am of those days. It was the best-feed series. The first title went to John Surtees with a Lola. But then became a McLaren era. Works team with Denny Hulme and its founder Bruce McLaren was almost unbeatable and won most of the races between 1967 and 1971. But, before 1970 season Bruce was killed testing of his new Can-Am car. The new McLaren management lost their interest about Can-Am after dominance of Porsche-Turbo in 1972. Soon after, Can-Am began slowly to lose its importance and interest of public. This situation came into crisis in 1974 when the series ended after only five races and the winner Oliver with Shadow wasn't accepted by the FIA.
The new era of Can-Am was 1977-1986. This modern era admitted also single-seater cars but only up to 5 liter engines were allowed. So classic Can-Am cars were handicapped against much lighter re-bodied F5000.
An attempt to bring Can-Am back was seen in 1998 when the new SCCA sanctioned USRRC created its own championship almost identical to IMSA. Usual WSC sportscars were renamed to Can-Am but that had really nothing to do with the 'true' Can-Am championship. USRRC series disappeared after only two years of its existence.
Many top F1 drivers took part in the Can-Am of those days. It was the best-feed series. The first title went to John Surtees with a Lola. But then became a McLaren era. Works team with Denny Hulme and its founder Bruce McLaren was almost unbeatable and won most of the races between 1967 and 1971. But, before 1970 season Bruce was killed testing of his new Can-Am car. The new McLaren management lost their interest about Can-Am after dominance of Porsche-Turbo in 1972. Soon after, Can-Am began slowly to lose its importance and interest of public. This situation came into crisis in 1974 when the series ended after only five races and the winner Oliver with Shadow wasn't accepted by the FIA.
The new era of Can-Am was 1977-1986. This modern era admitted also single-seater cars but only up to 5 liter engines were allowed. So classic Can-Am cars were handicapped against much lighter re-bodied F5000.
An attempt to bring Can-Am back was seen in 1998 when the new SCCA sanctioned USRRC created its own championship almost identical to IMSA. Usual WSC sportscars were renamed to Can-Am but that had really nothing to do with the 'true' Can-Am championship. USRRC series disappeared after only two years of its existence.
1966 to 1974 and 1977 to 1986
Mission of this Blog
This Blog focus on the first era, covering both the USRRC and the CanAm, up to the end of the 1974 season. This was the time when the real "sacred monsters" raced. A small representation of that era and belonging to my 1/43 collection is displayed in here.
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