I gate crashed a sponsors party in Montreal during the Grand Prix weekend and stood beside him for quite a while. Very humble, no “star treatment” acting. Did not like Ron Dennis...arrogance oozed from him.
While Mika was amazing in 1998-1999, he also had clearly the best car on the grid, and MS still ran even with him in those seasons. So I would rate MS as better than Mika, but very few drivers has been as good as MS was, so it's no putdown.
Most F1 drivers from that era would have killed to win the championship. I’m thinking Schumacher, Senna, Prost. The only principled driver to compete at their level was Mika. Along with enjoying his beautiful driving, I also loved his two-word answers at post-race interviews. Finnish humor is the epitome of “droll.”
I attended several Can-Am races in 1971 and 1972, I saw the best Mclaren cars and the Porsche 917-30, I was at Watkins Glen and Mid Ohio it was a great series
I was lucky enough to see Dan race and win with it at St. Jovite in '70. Mika does him proud here. The power is almost visceral. A wonderful car from a wonderful era.
Great compliments to the Big Block Chevrolet engines that powered these cars. He's correct about the never ending torque. This series of races led to the development of a whole host of heavy duty parts that Chevy engineering produced for the BBC that was available for anyone to buy from the heavy duty parts catalog.
The BBC might have ruled Can Am but it wasn't the only powerplant used. There were a scattering of Fords and other GM Big Blocks over the years. This might have been the ideal venue for the Ford SOHC FE based engine.
They used a bored out 327 Chevy until the 427 came along in 1970. I believe it was 365 inches...060 over on the bore, and a half inch increase on the stroke..
I remember this race in 1970. It was my intro to CanAm. Followed it up watching with the '73 race where the Donahue's Porsche 917/30 made everyone else take their toys and go home.
As a child in the late 60s and early 70s, I attended several Can-Am races at the late, great Riverside raceway. My enduring memory is the visceral sensing of those cars when underway, even before you could see them. You felt vibration in your gut while Dad was still looking for a parking spot. The roars of engines penetrated all other sounds, and you’d have sworn they were driving right up on you instead of being clear on the other side of the course. To a kid’s mind, it seemed like they were alive, not machines.
Finally!!! After watching some of these videos as the owner of M8F -1-72 for several years its nice to hear someone actually drive one of these cars like it was meant to. You never forget the sound and its true what Mika said they just keep accelerating no matter what gear you have them in if your on the power band. The M8F had a 4sp Hewland gear box and the 5 spd would be better on such a tight course. Brings back so many wonderful memories, the challenge of going faster each and every lap listening to the what the engine rpm is telling you, sliding across the track on turn 9 under the bridge at Brainerd. Such an amazing experience that I could never share with anyone because today's small format camera's didn't exist back when I drove my car. You could feel the rubber peeling off the rear tires like someone was slipping a piece of paper under your ass, an experience only driving the actual car will give you. Great job on the camera and especially the sound.
I might be wrong but I think they might have used the block from the 427 but it was bored out to almost 500c.i. Traco built the engines. Around 1200hp. Jim pace motor sports (on UA-cam) has on board videos of actual race footage of these small block and big block monsters. 🤔😀
What Mika meant to say , is he is humbled and shocked by a 49 year old rocket ....... these cars were true race cars .....no computer shit , just mega torque and horsepower and the balls to take them to the absolute limit .............
The first race I ever attended was the 1970 Mosport Can-Am, won by Gurney. So, I would have seen this very car. Seeing an entire field of Can-Am cars was spectacular, especially on the first lap.
Never forget at age sixteen in 1972, at Riverside's turn 6, hearing the cars fire up in the pits and bellow up through the esses for morning practice. Changed my life!
I got to see this car race with Hulme driving in 1971 at Riverside. Wish this demo drive could have been at a track like Road Atlanta or Elkhart Lake (to bad Riverside is no more) where the cars could really open up! No matter, this was great to watch - thank you for this! Can-Am was my favorite series, so this was kind of like a walk down memory lane. Nice job!
Raymond Lowry .. shoulda seen it at Edmonton international speedway.. that main straight was 3/4 of a mile.. yeah, they really opened up. Well over 200 mph.
Denny drove the M8D at the 1970 Riverside Can Am, winning that race which was commemorated in a Road Track advertised poster from the era. He won the 1971 Riverside Can Am in an M8F.
I went to the first race at Riverside, in late 1957, and got to drive a formula ford around it in the Skip Barber school, in 1987, just before it closed. It was the short course, 2.5 miles, and I got to experience Turn six double apex, after watching all the greatest drivers in World, drive it. I was 16 in 1960, when Moss won the last 2.5 liter F1 race in November of 1960. I may be one of the last ones still alive for that race, because it was 63 years ago, and only 15,000 people attended!
One can see why Mika was/is so fast. Smooth, and has slow hands (he waits for the turn in point and then one movement, feeding it in). He quickly learned the lines. I could watch him all day. "Gearbox is slow but OK, it works. But I was hitting the limiter too often"
@@checkeredflagfilms Uh-uh....Not "most. "Many", certainly. I'm a BB (1945) and have been around IT since the term was invented. Couldn't live without it. Many of my peers are exactly the same. They may not use desktop PCs but many of them use smart-phones and/or lap-tops. So don't lump us all into the same basket, please.
@@hcrun Without question. I count myself amongst the BB many. As a storyteller, it's imperative I keep up with the latest gadgetry. (aerial/editorial/camera) It can be costly and a pain in the butt.
I was at Road Atlanta when George Folmer flipped the McLaren on the back stretch. Still have the pictures. Watched him walk away from it. One of the most incredible crashes I ever witnessed. The 917 won that day. The sound of engines of that series cannot be matched.
I was there too. George was in the Porsche, Denny Hulme flipped the McLaren and was taken away in an ambulance. The driver you saw was Denny's team mate Peter Revson whos car had broken the rotor button and was parked on the other side of the track. He would use the rotor button from Denny's car to get back in the race. Check out this home movie of that race. ua-cam.com/video/zqWCYwDsMIA/v-deo.html
I was a big Mika fan when he was in F1. He used to eat Ferraris for breakfast. I heard a story that the only way McLaren could get him in the simulator was to put a red car in front of him on the screen. Mika is an absolute legend.
I m quite sure he s not pushing very hard but I can see he is very fast. Great driving and great shifting with that old gerabox! Mika is a great driver
Strapping in to a Big Block Go Kart like this for the first time would be massively intimidating to a regular guy like me. Hakkinen does it and hammers the throttle with a smile.
god if they did another series like can am with the same requirements could you imagine what manufacturers would come up with today if they cars still look crazy in 2023
Unbelievable, one of the best cars from the can-am series with one of the best driver in the world. Worked as a pit marshall for the SCCA and was at the 71 race at Laguna Seca when Peter Revson won the 71 title .
Mika Hakkinen was loving it. That looks like so much fun. But man, what a monster of a car. Being an Aussie, I'd heard about an American racing series called Can Am when I was young, but we never saw it in Australia. It's only recently, now that we have the awesome resources of online video platforms, that I've looked it up. It's a racing series for drivers with big, church bell sized brass cojones. The female drivers too. Friggin' 900hp big block V8s in cars weighing less than 1000kg on 300mm+ racing slicks. Now that's fantasy racing.
Many you tube comments and videos (Lando? and Gulf) keep quoting 900 HP. This is not correct. You could look at Road & Track articles on the 1971 M8F and 1972 M20 where they claim 725-740 HP and 750 HP respectively. 900 HP was not seen on track in the Can Am until the 1972 Porsche 917-10 Turbo contested the series.
Mahtava pätkä! Mun suosikki Can-Am -auto jo lapsesta 1976 saakka, jolloin sain joululahjaksi peltisen 1:18 pienoismallin! Marvelous video! My all time favorite Can-Am car since 1976 when I got 1:18 scale die cast toy for christmas gift which I still have!
Denny Hulme 67 world F1 Champions favourite cars. He loved driving them,. He drove the very best too. Loved them even when their front wheels came off the ground.
Thanks Allan! As you know, the last year has been difficult for all of us. Most motorsport events have been postponed and/or cancelled. I do have a driver/test session coming up with legendary driver John Morton piloting his original center seat classic Can Am race car. Stay tuned for that in April 2021!
@@checkeredflagfilms Sounds great, thanks! Do you have a formal way of gathering info re. what people want to see, or do you mostly just go with what you like and hope others do as well? No judgement, just curious about your cool channel!
@@allanparr8104 Probably a combination of all of the above. I'm a for hire racing filmmaker. When I'm commissioned to cover a particular Historic and/or noteworthy car, I bring 35 plus years of experience to work closely with the owner or company to film an original, one-off, creative and informative outcome. I'm passionate about race cars and the process and utilize all sorts of tools such as aerial (FAA Aerial Pilot), on-board, interviews and Historic footage to engage the audience. Hopefully an entertaining experience for everyone. Thanks for your interest and pass the word.
This is for all those clowns who eep saying that modern drivers would shit themselves in the cars. A good driver is still a good driver, whatever the era.
I agree. Modern safety measures just allow taking cars closer to limit all the time. Those old cars killed you instantly if you made a mistake, with modern F1 cars the drivers will survive pretty major crashes. I'm also pretty sure those old cars had engines that could be broken if you rewed the engine too high where modern cars have ECU that cuts the fuel to protect the engine.
Great car, great era of racing. Porsche 917/30 still swamped McLaren and other cars, with over 300 to 500 horsepower more. McLaren had 800, Porsche had 1100 to 1500, depending on boost
This is where it sometimes began. Time image. Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo and Jyrki Jarvilehto (JJ. Lehto) drove karting cars.In 1979, Finland, Helsinki, Keimola race track. Taru Rinne (girl) won the karting championship in 1979. The film is in Finnish and about Mika Salo . Salo first and Hakkinen at 3:16 and taru at 10:30 Mika Salo also drove formula one successfully and replaced the injured Michael Schumacher Taru is the first woman to reach the World Championship points in the World Championships in track motorcycling. Taru Rinne was chosen as the legend of women's motorcycling in 2017 by the International Motorcycle Federation FIM and was awarded at the FIM Awards Gala in Andorra on November 26, 2017) (Taru Rinne had a bad accident in the Paul Ricard race. He recovered from driving, but received a letter from Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time decided who would be allowed to take part in the series. The letter said Rinne will not be involved in the World Championships next year. This ended his career at the top level, and Rinne later said that letter was the biggest disappointment in his life.) Finland is a small country (5.5 million) but a lot of good drivers ua-cam.com/video/KoxUlPCUuhY/v-deo.html
Interesting. Pity no one has bothered to put English subtitles. Reminds me of my Karting days way way back. Thanks for your informative post! Do subscribe if you'd like.
Early 90s at the Historic GP Nurburgring . I sat on the Muhlenbach tribune where these beauty's came thundering past .......I still feel that thunder in my breast ......awesome ! ❤
I used to work there at the Jim Russell school and couldn't agree with you more. Not only were 2 and 3 hard to get right, they were hold-your-breath fast, even in a school formula Ford. To be quick, you needed to be flat out from turn 9 all the way to turn 4.
What a great comment Taylor, so true! Watching Bruce and Denny in 1969 fly through 2 and 3 then under the bridge was just mind blowing....I will never forget it. Great times!
I am Half Finn, myself, and I have always wondered Why we have had so many world championship drivers from Finland?....Finns HAVE A SPECIAL STRENGTH CALLED Sissui, I guess...LOL
Finnish driver's have a special calm, cool headed approach to racing that pays huge dividends and separates them from the rest and I have always admired those qualities.
The very first race that I ever attended was the Mosport Can-Am on June 14, 1970, only 12 days after Bruce McLaren died testing a similar car at Goodwood. Dan Gurney won the race, and then won again at St. Jovite two weeks later in this same car. If I recall correctly, Gurney only drove for McLaren in the first two races of that season before a sponsorship conflict between Castrol and Gulf caused him to be replaced by Peter Gethin.
@@jjhpor But he still beat Zak Brown (Gt car champion and some other good performance on endurance races ICYDNK) and was on the limiter on gear changes. Maybe not taking so easy after all.. I would presume that the limiter is not set as high as it would have been on a real race of the Canam series.
Glar to see the Corkscrew* from the drivers view point. All too often track videos of laps a Laguna Seca jump from the drivers view to the cars negotiating the down hill left right. I dont follow F1 anymore. Haven't for decades. When it got to the point that the only passing was when the leaders lapped the back of the field I lost interest. But back in the late 60s early 70s I was nuts about two racing series and one race. The CanAm and TransAm from that era are the two best racing series that were ever run in North America. It wasn't just the cars. It was the fan base. As to the one race. Well Indy is THE American automotive racing event. There is one thing the SCCA missed out on IMO. Up until around 1970 the majority of the pony cars were sold with 6 cylinder engines. In th he past I've thought that if they had set up a companion series with engines limited to 3.75 liters/228 cubic inches and 6 cylinder engine type open to any body that met the Sedan A specs in terms of wheel base etc they would have had a potential winner. It also might have led to lighter weight six cylinder performance cars in the US. The V-8 still would be king but it would have been interesting. *I initially typed in Carousel getting Laguna and Elkhart confused in my mind.
They made 69 1969 Zl-1 Camaros and 2 1969 Zl-1 Corvettes with basically the same all aluminum L88 engines. The Camaros cost more than every car GM made in 1969 except a fully loaded Cadillac Eldorado convertible mostly due to the cost of making the all aluminum blocks.
Mika Hakkinen is one of my most favorite F1 drivers hands down. His dry sense of humor and humility is lost in modern F1.
absolutely
and the ONLY man that Michael Schumacher was intimidated by...high praise indeed
what a pleasure to watch Mika in a McLaren! Such a great driver in such an iconic car!!
Nika is the most underrated F1 Champion! I think he's every bit as good as Schumacher. He never cheated or pulled a cheap maneuver ever!
Michael feared only one driver and that was Mika. He once said in a interview. Dick 🇳🇱
I gate crashed a sponsors party in Montreal during the Grand Prix weekend and stood beside him for quite a while. Very humble, no “star treatment” acting. Did not like Ron Dennis...arrogance oozed from him.
While Mika was amazing in 1998-1999, he also had clearly the best car on the grid, and MS still ran even with him in those seasons. So I would rate MS as better than Mika, but very few drivers has been as good as MS was, so it's no putdown.
Most F1 drivers from that era would have killed to win the championship. I’m thinking Schumacher, Senna, Prost. The only principled driver to compete at their level was Mika. Along with enjoying his beautiful driving, I also loved his two-word answers at post-race interviews. Finnish humor is the epitome of “droll.”
@@barath4545 Michael was great on pretty much any car but then again Mika basically only drove Mclarens. (yes two years in uncompetitive Lotus)
Geezzz. The M8s were/are so beautiful.
And, at Laguna Seca… great vid
Great car, great driver
And a great circuit.
I attended several Can-Am races in 1971 and 1972, I saw the best Mclaren cars and the Porsche 917-30, I was at Watkins Glen and Mid Ohio it was a great series
You didn't see the 917-30 in 1971 or 1972 so the rest of your post is suspect as well!
Back when race cars were chassis, and not the whole package, and the drivers had to shift for a living!
And the steering wheel was for driving the car and not a peg board with knobs
D.A.R.F.
What a treat to have the Dan Gurney raced Can Am McLaren doing laps at Laguna Seca.
I was lucky enough to see Dan race and win with it at St. Jovite in '70. Mika does him proud here. The power is almost visceral. A wonderful car from a wonderful era.
Two legends! Mika was always just so smooth, and those McLaren Can-Am cars were beastly.
Great compliments to the Big Block Chevrolet engines that powered these cars. He's correct about the never ending torque. This series of races led to the development of a whole host of heavy duty parts that Chevy engineering produced for the BBC that was available for anyone to buy from the heavy duty parts catalog.
The BBC might have ruled Can Am but it wasn't the only powerplant used. There were a scattering of Fords and other GM Big Blocks over the years. This might have been the ideal venue for the Ford SOHC FE based engine.
They used a bored out 327 Chevy until the 427 came along in 1970. I believe it was 365 inches...060 over on the bore, and a half inch increase on the stroke..
That was very cool. I grew up watching Can Am cars at Mosport.
Thanks for tuning in! I fly as well.
Mika the legend " I want to go flat out!" Love it!!
I remember this race in 1970. It was my intro to CanAm. Followed it up watching with the '73 race where the Donahue's Porsche 917/30 made everyone else take their toys and go home.
Which race did you attend?
"I wanna go flat out.", he's a racing driver alright!
he cant will be banned for life to be loud thats a no no there nowdays:D:D
As a child in the late 60s and early 70s, I attended several Can-Am races at the late, great Riverside raceway. My enduring memory is the visceral sensing of those cars when underway, even before you could see them. You felt vibration in your gut while Dad was still looking for a parking spot. The roars of engines penetrated all other sounds, and you’d have sworn they were driving right up on you instead of being clear on the other side of the course. To a kid’s mind, it seemed like they were alive, not machines.
Excellent, thanks
Thanks for watching Michael and do give a thumbs up and subscribe it helps to continue presenting race clips.
Finally!!! After watching some of these videos as the owner of M8F -1-72 for several years its nice to hear someone actually drive one of these cars like it was meant to. You never forget the sound and its true what Mika said they just keep accelerating no matter what gear you have them in if your on the power band. The M8F had a 4sp Hewland gear box and the 5 spd would be better on such a tight course. Brings back so many wonderful memories, the challenge of going faster each and every lap listening to the what the engine rpm is telling you, sliding across the track on turn 9 under the bridge at Brainerd. Such an amazing experience that I could never share with anyone because today's small format camera's didn't exist back when I drove my car. You could feel the rubber peeling off the rear tires like someone was slipping a piece of paper under your ass, an experience only driving the actual car will give you. Great job on the camera and especially the sound.
Thanks for tuning in Jeff and for your added perspective.
Such a cool and talented Champion. A beast of a race car. Bring back Can-Am
that would be cool. time the group was featured again at Monterey and elsewhere.
Heck with that F1 stuff. Hearing his down shifts and seeing him with those intake trumpets is perfect !
Absolutely!! F1 is second rate now
Compared to this!
big block chevy L-88 with over 800hp, pure joy of sound and fury.
I might be wrong but I think they might have used the block from the 427 but it was bored out to almost 500c.i. Traco built the engines. Around 1200hp. Jim pace motor sports (on UA-cam) has on board videos of actual race footage of these small block and big block monsters. 🤔😀
@smokeylovesfire1589 510 ci if I'm not mistaken
What Mika meant to say , is he is humbled and shocked by a 49 year old rocket ....... these cars were true race cars .....no computer shit , just mega torque and horsepower and the balls to take them to the absolute limit .............
The first race I ever attended was the 1970 Mosport Can-Am, won by Gurney. So, I would have seen this very car.
Seeing an entire field of Can-Am cars was spectacular, especially on the first lap.
Never forget at age sixteen in 1972, at Riverside's turn 6, hearing the cars fire up in the pits and bellow up through the esses for morning practice. Changed my life!
I got to see this car race with Hulme driving in 1971 at Riverside. Wish this demo drive could have been at a track like Road Atlanta or Elkhart Lake (to bad Riverside is no more) where the cars could really open up! No matter, this was great to watch - thank you for this! Can-Am was my favorite series, so this was kind of like a walk down memory lane. Nice job!
Thank You Raymond for the kind words! Sounds like you were there for the 'real' deal!
Raymond Lowry .. shoulda seen it at Edmonton international speedway.. that main straight was 3/4 of a mile.. yeah, they really opened up. Well over 200 mph.
@@meldowning9800
Wish I had visited that track as well. I would have enjoyed watching those cars at all the places they raced!
Denny drove the M8D at the 1970 Riverside Can Am, winning that race which was commemorated in a Road Track advertised poster from the era. He won the 1971 Riverside Can Am in an M8F.
I went to the first race at Riverside, in late 1957, and got to drive a formula ford around it in the Skip Barber school, in 1987, just before it closed. It was the short course, 2.5 miles, and I got to experience Turn six double apex, after watching all the greatest drivers in World, drive it. I was 16 in 1960, when Moss won the last 2.5 liter F1 race in November of 1960. I may be one of the last ones still alive for that race, because it was 63 years ago, and only 15,000 people attended!
One can see why Mika was/is so fast. Smooth, and has slow hands (he waits for the turn in point and then one movement, feeding it in). He quickly learned the lines. I could watch him all day. "Gearbox is slow but OK, it works. But I was hitting the limiter too often"
How is it that tiny Finland is so over-represented among great drivers?
@@johntechwriterwe have shit roads. 10 months raining 3-4 months of that with snow. And old cars
True, the mark of a real pro is how quickly they are on the power!
When an F1 guy gets out and says the car has incredible power!
Oh the massive Torque..
I like when the subtitles say “music” ✅
That was friggin awesome! Thanks for posting!! Love those CAN AM .. Good to see Mr Brown and Mika.
thanks very much and glad you enjoyed it
Mika, that must have been fun! Come back and drive one in the vintage races.
You should have 970 thousand subscribers. To boomer-aged racing fans, this video is priceless.
thanks John, I have to agree. most boomer age folks are not computer savvy and/or could care less.
@@checkeredflagfilms Uh-uh....Not "most. "Many", certainly. I'm a BB (1945) and have been around IT since the term was invented. Couldn't live without it. Many of my peers are exactly the same. They may not use desktop PCs but many of them use smart-phones and/or lap-tops.
So don't lump us all into the same basket, please.
@@hcrun Without question. I count myself amongst the BB many. As a storyteller, it's imperative I keep up with the latest gadgetry. (aerial/editorial/camera) It can be costly and a pain in the butt.
I was at Road Atlanta when George Folmer flipped the McLaren on the back stretch. Still have the pictures. Watched him walk away from it. One of the most incredible crashes I ever witnessed. The 917 won that day. The sound of engines of that series cannot be matched.
I was there too. George was in the Porsche, Denny Hulme flipped the McLaren and was taken away in an ambulance. The driver you saw was Denny's team mate Peter Revson whos car had broken the rotor button and was parked on the other side of the track. He would use the rotor button from Denny's car to get back in the race. Check out this home movie of that race. ua-cam.com/video/zqWCYwDsMIA/v-deo.html
Well Done Mika. Great drive mate. We love you down in Australia. Please come and race down under again soon.
Mika just gets in & drives. No trouble changing gears .
I was a big Mika fan when he was in F1. He used to eat Ferraris for breakfast. I heard a story that the only way McLaren could get him in the simulator was to put a red car in front of him on the screen. Mika is an absolute legend.
Magic on board cameras. powerful race car!
Thanks Albert for watching. More McLaren content coming soon!
I m quite sure he s not pushing very hard but I can see he is very fast. Great driving and great shifting with that old gerabox! Mika is a great driver
Strapping in to a Big Block Go Kart like this for the first time would be massively intimidating to a regular guy like me. Hakkinen does it and hammers the throttle with a smile.
god if they did another series like can am with the same requirements could you imagine what manufacturers would come up with today if they cars still look crazy in 2023
Sam thanks for watching
Unbelievable, one of the best cars from the can-am series with one of the best driver in the world. Worked as a pit marshall for the SCCA and was at the 71 race at Laguna Seca when Peter Revson won the 71 title .
Thanks Donald for watching and commenting. Must have been amazing to witness the real deal.
Mika Hakkinen was loving it. That looks like so much fun. But man, what a monster of a car. Being an Aussie, I'd heard about an American racing series called Can Am when I was young, but we never saw it in Australia. It's only recently, now that we have the awesome resources of online video platforms, that I've looked it up. It's a racing series for drivers with big, church bell sized brass cojones. The female drivers too. Friggin' 900hp big block V8s in cars weighing less than 1000kg on 300mm+ racing slicks. Now that's fantasy racing.
Many you tube comments and videos (Lando? and Gulf) keep quoting 900 HP. This is not correct. You could look at Road & Track articles on the 1971 M8F and 1972 M20 where they claim 725-740 HP and 750 HP respectively. 900 HP was not seen on track in the Can Am until the 1972 Porsche 917-10 Turbo contested the series.
what a machine.....pure power and style....and hard work with it...
I got to see that car race as a kid.
This video told me more about how good the driver is than all his years in F1.
It would have been nice to see Mika's foot work too!
my favourite race car of all time love this amazing car
Never underestimate those big block motors....the torque inertia is incredible it pulls you around the corners
You're absolutely correct Mark. Thanks for watching.
Such beautiful music..........
Mahtava pätkä! Mun suosikki Can-Am -auto jo lapsesta 1976 saakka, jolloin sain joululahjaksi peltisen 1:18 pienoismallin!
Marvelous video! My all time favorite Can-Am car since 1976 when I got 1:18 scale die cast toy for christmas gift which I still have!
Anyone noticed the amazing sound?
Big block Chevies, in race configuration, are that way.
Denny Hulme 67 world F1 Champions favourite cars. He loved driving them,. He drove the very best too. Loved them even when their front wheels came off the ground.
Great video. Mika certainly mastered that gearchange pretty quick .Would love to see him really pushing it to limit! He certainly is the Real Deal!
Thanks George. Yes, most definitely the real deal.
@@checkeredflagfilms he makes it look easy... when we know it isn't. Incredible talent 👏
@@davidblankenship2720 agreed. He possesses a smoothness, doesn't unset the equipment and deceptively works it to his advantage.
@@checkeredflagfilms thank you🤙
He is a great Finn!,,,and I know because I'm half Finn, myself...LOL
Good stuff, good times! Both era's...
Checkered Flag Films: more of this please! Old masters driving legendary cars at premier circuits!
Thanks Allan! As you know, the last year has been difficult for all of us. Most motorsport events have been postponed and/or cancelled. I do have a driver/test session coming up with legendary driver John Morton piloting his original center seat classic Can Am race car. Stay tuned for that in April 2021!
@@checkeredflagfilms Sounds great, thanks! Do you have a formal way of gathering info re. what people want to see, or do you mostly just go with what you like and hope others do as well? No judgement, just curious about your cool channel!
@@allanparr8104 Probably a combination of all of the above. I'm a for hire racing filmmaker. When I'm commissioned to cover a particular Historic and/or noteworthy car, I bring 35 plus years of experience to work closely with the owner or company to film an original, one-off, creative and informative outcome. I'm passionate about race cars and the process and utilize all sorts of tools such as aerial (FAA Aerial Pilot), on-board, interviews and Historic footage to engage the audience. Hopefully an entertaining experience for everyone. Thanks for your interest and pass the word.
CanAm. Was the pinnacle raw visceral power.
Got that right! Thanks for watching.
Nice speech at the end :)
This is for all those clowns who eep saying that modern drivers would shit themselves in the cars. A good driver is still a good driver, whatever the era.
I agree. Modern safety measures just allow taking cars closer to limit all the time. Those old cars killed you instantly if you made a mistake, with modern F1 cars the drivers will survive pretty major crashes. I'm also pretty sure those old cars had engines that could be broken if you rewed the engine too high where modern cars have ECU that cuts the fuel to protect the engine.
Two legends.
Beautiful Driver!! Crazy Race Car! American Style!
Hey Mike, thanks for your comment.
@@checkeredflagfilms Absolutely The best
Can Am was so Raw , fast, so much more
Enjoyable then F1. To me
Great car, great era of racing. Porsche 917/30 still swamped McLaren and other cars, with over 300 to 500 horsepower more. McLaren had 800, Porsche had 1100 to 1500, depending on boost
2:00 what a cool camera angle 📐
thanks! my cinematographer background kick-in.
I don't have favorite drivers. I am my favorite driver. But, if I did. Mika would be one. Humble, funny, nice and a great driver.
The quickest gentleman ever seen on a F1 car.
This is where it sometimes began. Time image.
Mika Häkkinen and Mika Salo and Jyrki Jarvilehto (JJ. Lehto) drove karting cars.In 1979, Finland, Helsinki, Keimola race track.
Taru Rinne (girl) won the karting championship in 1979.
The film is in Finnish and about Mika Salo .
Salo first and Hakkinen at 3:16 and taru at 10:30
Mika Salo also drove formula one successfully and replaced the injured Michael Schumacher
Taru is the first woman to reach the World Championship points in the World Championships in track motorcycling.
Taru Rinne was chosen as the legend of women's motorcycling in 2017 by the International Motorcycle Federation FIM and was awarded at the FIM Awards Gala in Andorra on November 26, 2017)
(Taru Rinne had a bad accident in the Paul Ricard race. He recovered from driving, but received a letter from Bernie Ecclestone, who at the time decided who would be allowed to take part in the series. The letter said Rinne will not be involved in the World Championships next year. This ended his career at the top level, and Rinne later said that letter was the biggest disappointment in his life.)
Finland is a small country (5.5 million) but a lot of good drivers
ua-cam.com/video/KoxUlPCUuhY/v-deo.html
Interesting. Pity no one has bothered to put English subtitles. Reminds me of my Karting days way way back. Thanks for your informative post! Do subscribe if you'd like.
I would love to see Mika Back in F1
F1 is so canned now. Corporate greed
Racing. Can Am needs to come back!
Mika is my favorite driver bar none!!
Early 90s at the Historic GP Nurburgring .
I sat on the Muhlenbach tribune where these beauty's came thundering past .......I still feel that thunder in my breast ......awesome ! ❤
Got here after driving this car in Grid on my PS4....really fun car!!! The Porsche 917/30 is a beast though almost uncontrollably powerful
Must be a kick and take some special skills to handle it on your PS4!
Nika was very impressive fir the first time in a Can Am car.
Wonder how he would feel after driving that car at the original 1.9 mile track. Turn 1, 2 and 3 were very difficult to get perfect.
I used to work there at the Jim Russell school and couldn't agree with you more. Not only were 2 and 3 hard to get right, they were hold-your-breath fast, even in a school formula Ford. To be quick, you needed to be flat out from turn 9 all the way to turn 4.
Having many laps around the place I agree. And Mark Donohue got the 917-30 around in 57 seconds!
What a great comment Taylor, so true! Watching Bruce and Denny in 1969 fly through 2 and 3 then under the bridge was just mind blowing....I will never forget it. Great times!
I am Half Finn, myself, and I have always wondered Why we have had so many world championship drivers from Finland?....Finns HAVE A SPECIAL STRENGTH CALLED Sissui, I guess...LOL
Finnish driver's have a special calm, cool headed approach to racing that pays huge dividends and separates them from the rest and I have always admired those qualities.
The very first race that I ever attended was the Mosport Can-Am on June 14, 1970, only 12 days after Bruce McLaren died testing a similar car at Goodwood.
Dan Gurney won the race, and then won again at St. Jovite two weeks later in this same car.
If I recall correctly, Gurney only drove for McLaren in the first two races of that season before a sponsorship conflict between Castrol and Gulf caused him to be replaced by Peter Gethin.
Oh to be a f1 legend 🙌
Yes, and certainly when he's a personable chap and a pleasure to work with.
Look how close to death you are the entire time, brilliant! 👏 One can only dream about driving a beast like this
This was very cool to see $ Thx #Mika & #ZackBrown
I agree with Andy as well. Very good driver!
A true master at work. He makes it look easy and we all know it damn sure isn't.
Bad assed. Nothing but love for the godfathers of racing cars.
😍 just awesome!
No paddle shifters on this one Mika. 😂 Great drive.
That car came from a time when men were men and racing was deadly dangerous and sex was safe.
Mika said that this car had a 5-speed gearbox, but I recall that it was a 4-speed.
Not sure now.
That would have been so much fun
Had the pleasure of watching a little Can Am at Laguna Seca in the early 60's !! Love the sound !
mika is like that cool grandpa 🔥
Unreal.....
Thanks for watching Jeff
I really want to see him go full bore on this track. He is taking it super easy.
I suggest his smoothness and the engine’s vast power made it look as if Mika was going much slower than he actually was.
@@johntechwriter No. He was braking way early. I've driven that track many, many times (but in a much slower car!)
@@jjhpor But he still beat Zak Brown (Gt car champion and some other good performance on endurance races ICYDNK) and was on the limiter on gear changes. Maybe not taking so easy after all.. I would presume that the limiter is not set as high as it would have been on a real race of the Canam series.
One of my favorite cars at y favorite track
He used the right speed here considering all factors. Sounds like the car was just getting into the power curve though.
It has a soul.
The Corkscrew at Laguna Seca is iconic.
Without a doubt
A Legend driving a Legend.
Glar to see the Corkscrew* from the drivers view point. All too often track videos of laps a Laguna Seca jump from the drivers view to the cars negotiating the down hill left right.
I dont follow F1 anymore. Haven't for decades. When it got to the point that the only passing was when the leaders lapped the back of the field I lost interest. But back in the late 60s early 70s I was nuts about two racing series and one race. The CanAm and TransAm from that era are the two best racing series that were ever run in North America. It wasn't just the cars. It was the fan base. As to the one race. Well Indy is THE American automotive racing event.
There is one thing the SCCA missed out on IMO. Up until around 1970 the majority of the pony cars were sold with 6 cylinder engines. In th he past I've thought that if they had set up a companion series with engines limited to 3.75 liters/228 cubic inches and 6 cylinder engine type open to any body that met the Sedan A specs in terms of wheel base etc they would have had a potential winner. It also might have led to lighter weight six cylinder performance cars in the US. The V-8 still would be king but it would have been interesting.
*I initially typed in Carousel getting Laguna and Elkhart confused in my mind.
Love me some Mika and McLaren!!
This kitten is puring
No, that 510 rat is not even trying, never call a big Chevy rat motor a kitten.
Now that Mika has driven the "family" car, get him into a real car, the 1973 Porsche 917/30.
I saw the Trans AM cars race at Michigan International Speedway in 1974 .. I was 13 years old ..
"The Finn on a Kiwi"
The beautiful color of the iconic newzelander brand.
1970... Led Zeppelin III & Deep Purple In Rock.
Damn, I'm such a romantic...
Indeed you are. Thanks for watching.
They made 69 1969 Zl-1 Camaros and 2 1969 Zl-1 Corvettes with basically the same all aluminum L88 engines. The Camaros cost more than every car GM made in 1969 except a fully loaded Cadillac Eldorado convertible mostly due to the cost of making the all aluminum blocks.
Yes. Fuck Yes.
Two days after my birthday, I was getting over a hangover...
And Mika was driving the MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMclaren...@_@
Such a shame its namesake was killed in this awesome car. RIP Mr McLaren.