www.engineeringnews.co.nz 5 “To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” (Bruce McLaren). New Zealanders have long been fascinated by our sporting heroes but for me one name truly stands out – a man who was more than just a world class sportsperson, but an inventor, designer, and an engineer – a true Kiwi renaissance man. Bruce McLaren died tragically at the early age of 32 while driving at Goodwood, England but he left behind an enduring legacy and achieved more in his short time on this earth than many others would have in twice the time. McLaren grew up in Auckland and was fascinated by cars – as a 13 year old he convinced his father to turn a 1929 Austin Ulster he had bought into a race car and two years later McLaren set the fastest time in the 750cc class at the Muriwai Beach hill climb. From then he never looked back – winning his first grand prix at the age of 22 at the 1959 US Grand Prix for the Cooper team. After a string of more victories he left Cooper and created his own team bearing his name and that name still resonates in formula one racing. Known for ingenuity and invention, Bruce McLaren applied the skills he had learned as a young builder and as a top class driver to produce cars that took on the best European constructors and won. Though he may have died young, McLaren is a fantastic representation of what New Zealanders do and can achieve. Engineers, designers and fabricators in our industry are still at it today – coming up with unique and novel processes using new materials to produce incredible things. It may be the number 8 wire mentality or it may just be that we get on with it with little fuss and fanfare and get the job done. One great example in this issue is related directly to Bruce McLaren – the restoration of a McLaren M8A by a bunch of blokes who were presented with a plethora of issues to solve and employed hard graft, invention and incredible engineering prowess to bring a sullied jewel back to fill lustre. Charles Clarke’s story (P6-9) of the whole process is a great yarn and a fitting continuation of another part of the McLaren legacy. So, in David Bowie’s words, we can all be heroes, and often for more than one day. If you’re involved in doing something worth shouting about then drop us a line – we can take care of the fanfare. Steve Best Acting editor sbest@hayleymedia.com E D I T O R I A L We can be heroes VISIT OUR BRAND NEW WEBSITE lep.net.nz
EN feb16-HR-nocrops
To see the actual publication please follow the link above