RACER: Rick Knoop 1972 McLaren M8F Can-Am Visor Cam 

Yeah Laguna sucks!

I'm almost 63 , I remember going to Mosport for the CanAm races at Mosport on a few occasions , There was Bruce & Denny and all the rest . I will never forget feeling my insides vibrate when they would go down the Andretti straight at the crest of the hill . I can die now because I know what heaven sounds like .

I was fortunate enough to see the all the races at Riverside (and a few at a Laguna Seca) from 1967 until 1973 (I lived about 40 miles from the track at Riverside). There was nothing like the starting lap when you had 20 or so big V-8’s ( and a couple of 8 and 12 cylinder Porsche’s and a random V-12 Ferrari) come blasting past you. I’m getting goose bumps recalling it now, and that was 50 years ago! Wish I could have seen them at Road America! I am grateful I got to see them race where I did.

Laguna Seca is one of many tracks CanAm was raced on and most of them, other than say, Road America, didn’t have particularly long straights. But in the same spirit as “race what ya brung”, you race on the track where the race is held and that’s that. Everyone has to deal with the same problem. It’s a race around a circuit, not a race to see who clocks the highest top speed. By the way, having an 8.8 litre engine isn’t a guarantee of a high top speed, though it helps. The strength of these engines is in their low-mid range torque.

@@thethirdman225 I got to watcgh the older Can-Am cars when they ran SCCA Sports A class at the old Westwood race track outside of Vancouver, BC, when the 8-liter cars would come into the hairpin at the bottom of the track you could hear the ait being sucked into each intake trumpet, it was a glorious sound. Later in the 80s I got to what was then Mosport Raceway outside of Toronto and watch go honking up the Andretti Straight, pretty wild.

unionrdr yes, pity it had to end, it was just going over the top, with the Porches spitting 1200 horsepower and McLaren fitting turbos to the Chevy's. It would have been magnificent to watch and listen to. Respects to Bruce and Denny The Bear.

Yeah, I hated to see it all end. I remember a magazine article at the end calling it the " can't-Am"...

It may be returning I think, we can watch as old men and remember being boys. The McLarens will continue to set the standard for that type of racing and everyone else will follow. It will be glorious.

McLaren were testing twin turbo Chevy Rat engines when Bruce died. What might have been.

Yeah, He was testing the MK20 when he died. A true innovator was lost...

Big engines, mechanical grip only, manual gearboxes, steel brakes and lots of exhaust noise. That would be worth watching.

Even though this is an older comment, i would have to say that some Aero and better brakes just for safety would be enough. I do agree though, much engine, much fun :D

Not 1,000 hp.

680 kg

While I mostly agree with you, the 427 SOHC Cammer would like to have a word.

I doubt if any of them made much more than 800 hp (is that not enough for you?). There’s a video out there of a McLaren M8F getting its arse handed to it by a Matra MS670 - a 3 litre V12 which is only one or two years younger - at Silverstone.

@@thethirdman225 Show the link to this 3L passing the M8F.

@@raymondbanks4103 Mate, it’s not hard to find but RU-vid keeps deleting my reply. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ikjTT59RyPc.html

@@thethirdman225 Ok. I see that. And it's what I thought. Bigger heavier car gets passed by smaller lighter car in the corner and then can't catch up.....Lol. Still has no bearing on my post about the guttural sound. And at the time, (70's) the M8F had roughly 700-800hp. They were 494ci all aluminum BBC's. Today they have 1000HP.

It's most likely a GoPro mounted to the outside of his helmet.

Brandon Kaiser It clearly isn't. The camera is too low and too far inside the cockpit, plus we get no wind noise. Also, in the first of these videos they did, with Simon Pagenaud at Detroit, it is very clear that the camera is INSIDE the visor as you hear some light wind as he leaves his pits, then he pulls down the visor and the wind noise stops.

its a gocart with big block chevy

Watkins Glen

They were made to race on tracks like Laguna Seca, Mosport, Watkins Glen, Bridgehampton, Road Atlanta and Road America. I realise none of these tracks have long enough straights to please some people but those are the cards they were dealt. In the same spirit as “run what ya bring”, the track is an equal playing field for everyone. Either the cars are suitable or they’re not. If they’re not then perhaps someone brung the wrong car.

zoomosis also it could go through a stabilization pass in digital post production.

zoomosis To be honest it's kinda fitting with this monster. This way you get an impression of the raw power and rush this must be. Nothing digital about this thing! Peace

Probably not as much as you think. But it’s pitifully slow in corners.

+antonio Pu layy o ...perhaps an education about these cars, their strengths and weaknesses, and their value is needed here.

He can’t. Rick Knopf is a pretty good driver. He knows the limits.

Still the Porsches won...

*the 917/10 - 917/30

I seem to remember that quite a few Europeans did quite well in Can-Am cars such as John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, Jo Siffert, Jackie Oliver and Patrick Tambay to name but a few. But American drivers were just as good ... Mario Andretti, the brilliant Mark Donohue, Peter Revson, Jim Hall, George Follmer, Parnelli Jones and Dan Gurney. A score draw I reckon. American drivers are just as good as Europeans but so many of them just turn left and Europeans just don't understand or appreciate oval racing.

Not 1,000 hp.

Yes, pitifully slow in corners, isn’t it?

@@thethirdman225 Hey boy .... just so you know.... all these guys are doing these days is putting on a show..... Big chevy can am cars ruled when the money was on the line .......pro drivers back then ..... amateurs now. There's a reason your the third man, I'm two ahead of you! LOL!

@@hilleryclifford2367 CanAm cars were a one trick pony.

@@hilleryclifford2367 Would probably be slower than a GT3 today. LULZ!

Keep driving your Kia 😂😂😂😂😂

Jonathan Sanchez Read the description. 800 horsepower, no downforce, no power steering, no ABS... I know what you mean, but shit man.

Jonathan Sanchez Well, Bring your ride out to Laguna and lets do a track day together sometime.

Jonathan Sanchez What a ride. Ha. I would probably be out on every corner. Hahaha

Um...watch at 4:15 and 10:48

@@Stoppahpowah No downforce? Are you kidding?

Nevertheless that was one of the tracks they had to race on. Bad luck if you don’t like it.

@@thethirdman225 Laguna Seca is a dusty mess. These cars need to be opened up. Road America is the best for can-am

@@slashracingproductions5593 So? They still ran CanAm races there. Not the track’s fault if the cars find it tough going.