1969 Can-Am season explained

The 1969 Canadian-American Challenge Cup was the fourth season of the Can-Am auto racing series. It consisted of FIA Group 7 racing cars running two-hour sprint events. It began June 1, 1969, and ended November 9, 1969, after eleven rounds.

This was the first season of Can-Am following the demise of the similar United States Road Racing Championship. With several USRRC events choosing to continue on under Can-Am, the series schedule was greatly expanded beyond its normal six event season. This also meant that the season was run over a greater period of time, rather than just being run in the autumn.

The season was swept by McLaren, whose founder Bruce McLaren won the championship over teammate and fellow New Zealander Denny Hulme. McLaren won six races to Hulme's five, winning the championship by a mere five points.

Schedule

RndRaceCircuitDate
1Labatt's Blue TrophyMosport ParkJune 1
2Labatt's 50Circuit Mont-TremblantJune 15
3Watkins Glen Can-AmWatkins Glen InternationalJuly 13
4Klondike 200Edmonton Speedway ParkJuly 27
5Buckeye Can-AmMid-Ohio Sports Car CourseAugust 17
6Road America Can-AmRoad AmericaAugust 31
7Bridgehampton Grand PrixBridgehampton Race CircuitSeptember 14
8Michigan International Can-AmMichigan International SpeedwaySeptember 28
9Monterey Castrol Grand PrixLaguna Seca RacewayOctober 12
10Los Angeles Times Grand PrixRiverside International RacewayOctober 26
11Texas International Grand PrixTexas World SpeedwayNovember 9

Season results

RndCircuitWinning TeamResults
Winning Driver
1Mosport #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren
2Mont-Tremblant #5 McLaren CarsResults
Denny Hulme
3Watkins Glen #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren
4Edmonton #5 McLaren CarsResults
Denny Hulme
5Mid-Ohio #5 McLaren CarsResults
Denny Hulme
6Road America #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren
7Bridgehampton #5 McLaren CarsResults
Denny Hulme
8Michigan #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren
9Laguna Seca #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren
10Riverside #5 McLaren CarsResults
Denny Hulme
11Texas #4 McLaren CarsResults
Bruce McLaren

Drivers Championship

Points are awarded to the top ten finishers in the order of 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Only the best nine finishes out of eleven rounds counted towards the championship. Points earned but not counting towards the championship are marked by parenthesis.

PosDriverTeamCarEngineR.1R.2R.3R.4R.5R.6R.7R.8R.9R.10R.11Total
1 Bruce McLaren McLaren CarsMcLaren M8BChevrolet201520152015202020165
2 Denny Hulme McLaren CarsMcLaren M8BChevrolet(15)201520201520151520160
3 Chuck Parsons Carl A. Haas Racing TeamLola T162
Lola T163
Chevrolet8
 

 12

 8

 12

 4

 6

 12

 15

 8
85
4 Jo Siffert Porsche-AudiPorsche 908/02
Porsche 917PA
Porsche6
 

 10

 12

 10

 8

 10
56
5 George Eaton George Eaton RacingMcLaren M12Chevrolet241012631552
6 Chris Amon Chris Amon
McLaren Cars
Formula 1 Enterprises
Ferrari 612P
McLaren M8B
Ferrari 712P
Ferrari
Chevrolet
Ferrari
12
 
 
15
 
 
12
 
 
39
7 Lothar Motschenbacher Motschenbacher RacingMcLaren M12Chevrolet106103635
8 Tony Dean Porsche-AudiPorsche 908/02Porsche2386444334
9 John Surtees Chaparral Cars Inc.McLaren M12
Chaparral 2H
Chevrolet12
 
 
10
 
8
30
10 John Cordts McCaig Racing
Young American Racers
McLaren M6BChevrolet
Ford
10
 
8
 
 
6
24
11= Dan Gurney All American Racers
McLaren Cars
McLaren M6B
McLaren M8B
Ford
Chevrolet
 
12
10
 
22
11= Mario Andretti Holman & MoodyMcLaren M6BFord101222
13 Peter Revson Agapiou Brothers
Robbins-Jeffries Racing
Ford G7A
Lola T163
Ford
Chevrolet
 
4
 
10
 
8
22
14 Dick Brown Ecurie GreenMcLaren M6BChevrolet2431313
15 Jack Brabham Agapiou Brothers
Alan Mann Racing
Ford G7A
Open Sports
Ford1212
16= Tom Dutton Dutton RacingLola T70 Mk.3BChevrolet189
16= Pedro Rodríguez Matra of France
North American Racing Team
Matra MS630/650
Ferrari 312P
Matra
Ferrari
1
 
 
8
9
18 Leonard Janke Leonard JankeMcLaren M1C
Lola T160
Chevrolet1
 
 
4
2
 
2
 
9
19 Andrea de Adamich Chaparral Cars Inc.McLaren M12Chevrolet88
20 Jacques Couture Ecurie Soucy RacingMcLaren M1BChevrolet628
21 Kris Harrison Ecurie Canada 1969McLaren M1CChevrolet6118
22 Gary Wilson Wilson RacingLola T163Chevrolet167
23 Oscar Koveleski Auto-World, Inc.McLaren M6BChevrolet437
24 Fred Baker Fred BakerMcLaren M6B
Lola T160
Chevrolet6
 
6
25 Dave Causey Dave CauseyMcLaren M6AChevrolet246
26 Richard Galloway R.B. GallowayMcLaren M6BChevrolet325
27 Jo Bonnier Scuderia FilipinettiLola T70 Mk.3BChevrolet44
28= Joe Leonard Salyer RacingMcKee Mk.10
McKee Mk.14
Oldsmobile33
28= Johnny Servoz-Gavin Matra of FranceMatra MS650Matra33
30 Roger McCaig McCaig RacingMcLaren M6BChevrolet213
31 Brooke Doran Marshall Brooke DoranLola T160Chevrolet22
32= David Hobbs Young American RacersMcLaren M6BFord11
32= Spencer Stoddard Northwest American RacingMcLaren M1CChevrolet11

References