at the wheel. But with the US F5000 regulations being changed to require the cars to carry Can Am sports car bodies, McRae took a year to revise the GM3 and unsponsored he could not pay for competitive engines, and privateer competition against the Haas or Paul Newman teams was hopeless. In 1978, he won his fifth F5000 title, the Australian Drivers' Championship. Death McRae died on 4 August 2021 at the age of 81. McRae Cars In 1972 McRae, Malcolm Bridgland of Malaya Garage, and car designer Len Terry built a new F5000. The car was initially designated the Leda LT27 following Terry's designs. McRae used the name Leda GM1 for his personal car. In mid-1972 McRae and London insurance broker John Heynes bought out Bridgland and set up a United Kingdom company McRae Cars Ltd at Poole, Dorset. As from 1 July 1972 the Leda was renamed the McRae GM1. Fourteen of these cars were built between 1972 and 1973. It achieved considerable success in the British Hill Climb Championship, driven by Roy Lane. A one-off McRae GM2 was built in 1973 and the design was subsequently sold to Jack McCormack who built five examples under the name Talon. A single GM3 followed in 1976 and this was later developed into the GM9 Can-Am car. McRae followed this up in 1993 with a replica of the Porsche 356 Speedster. It was based around a 2.0-litre Porsche 914 with a five-speed gearbox. McRae had imported a Porsche 356 Speedster from Vintage Speedsters of California to make the moulds for his production kits. Being a technical perfectionist, McRae's Spyder is an accurate replica of original built by Porsche in 1954 and 1955. Some McRae Spyders are powered by a Subaru engine. In June 2000, McRae set up the New Zealand based McRae Cars Ltd. Since his illness in 2003, no more of these cars have been made and the existing 38 models are in high demand. The company was struck off the register in June 2003. Former McRae GM1 owner and driver, Alister Hey of Queenstown registered McRae Cars Limited again in 2010. Indianapolis 500 results Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) Complete Formula One Non-Championship results (key) References General references Profile at Grandprix.com 1940 births 2021 deaths New Zealand Formula One drivers Williams Formula One drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year New Zealand racing