McLaren from the Inside: Photographs by Tyler Alexander
As you can read in this issue, Tyler Alexander is one of the privileged few to have worked closely with Bruce McLaren. It turns out he is also a talented photographer, as this wondrous book proves.Alexander's interest in taking pictures blossomed while growing up in Hingham, Massachusetts. By the time he was working in racing, the mechanic was clearly accomplished behind the lens.Lovely shots include Carroll Shelby grinning in a Yamaha-sponsored kimono dressing gown beside Dan Gurney at Indy, and Mini van fitted with the spindly rear wing from an M8B Can-Am car. The team used the van to test wing shapes at 60 mph on the public road ... and downforce was measured with a set of bathroom scales. Fittingly, his shots of Bruce stand out the most. Our favourite is one of a moody McLaren behind a 'dreadful' Ford V8 his young team used in Formula 1 during 1966. You'd struggle to find a better image of the great man.Alexander found less time for photography as the 1970s progressed, but returned to his hobby in his second stint with McLaren in the 1990s and 2000s. The results are less striking than his work in the earlier era, but some are still memorable. Ron Dennis lecturing a grim-faced Pierre Dupasquier of Michelin is fabulous, just like most of this book.--(Motorsport)