We had a fantastic turnout last night from the HSV Owners Club of WA. Over 60 people attended a talk, presentation and barbecue. Thanks to Chantelle and James for arranging. Many walked away with a personally signed copy of the book.

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Did you know that the McLaren F1 team in the 1990s was looking to break the world land speed record?

I was recently reminded of my involvement with this story, and it has now been added to my book. However, I am happy to share this story, especially with all those who have already bought a copy and may not be aware of this...Just prior to our first visit to Lake Gairdner and our attack on the Australian land speed record in December 1993, I was invited to attend the Formula One Grand Prix in Adelaide. This Grand Prix was held on 7th November, 1993. I sat at a table with some heavy hitters, including Ron Dennis, the boss of McLaren, and Dean Wills, the CEO of Coca-Cola Australia at the time. I was asked to give a talk to all the exhibitors, FIA representatives, as well as a large crowd of F1 racers and support personnel. It went well, and I received some great comments and best wishes for our land speed record attempt.McLaren’s drivers were the brilliant team of Ayrton Senna and Mika Häkkinen at the time. Over the weekend, Dean Wills, the Coca-Cola boss, had a drive in one of the McLaren cars down the main straight of the Adelaide street circuit, claiming it reached speeds of about 180 km/h, remarking how fast it was. Ron Dennis said to Dean, “The speedo is in miles per hour, not kilometres.” Much to Dean’s surprise.Dean invited me to his house in the Northern Sydney suburb of Belrose, where I pitched to him for Coca-Cola sponsorship for our project. Dean was excited and rang Mark Clark, the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Australia. Dean told me to haul ass down and meet with Mark with his blessing for a two hundred thousand dollar sponsorship deal. Wow, how brilliant would that be?Mark and I had a discussion, shook hands, and he said, “Let’s do it.” I flew back to Perth, very excited, only to have Cheryl meet me at the airport, saying she had received a call from Mark, who said, “Sorry, it’s not going to proceed.” I was at a loss to work out why they had changed their minds so quickly.A month later, McLaren held a press conference on 16th December, 1993 at its headquarters in Woking, UK. This was during our first land speed attempt at Lake Gairdner. McLaren’s owner and Chief Engineer, Ron Dennis, announced that the team had been secretly developing a jet-powered vehicle to break the world land speed record and sound barrier for the last couple of years.At this press conference, McLaren showed a mock-up of their car, called Maverick. None of the assembled press were allowed to take any photos. McLaren announced that it aimed to break Richard Noble’s 1983 record of 633 mph and also sought to break the sound barrier. The car was designed and built by McLaren’s Advanced Vehicles division (MAV), hence the name Maverick. Millions of dollars had been budgeted to ensure this car got off the drawing board. It was going to be powered by a Turbo Union RB199 jet engine with afterburner, as used in the Tornado fighter-bomber. Its design was similar to Craig Breedlove’s Spirit of America – Sonic Arrow, which also featured a single jet engine. Maverick would utilise McLaren’s expertise in lightweight composites, aerodynamics, and efficiency. It would harness Formula One technology to achieve its speed rather than relying on brute power.Shortly after this announcement, I was interviewed by the press. I told the press at the time that a lightweight composite car was not the answer, as it would struggle to gain the wheel traction it desperately needed on a salt or desert playa surface. McLaren was considering an attempt about two and a half years after their initial announcement, aiming to break the record around mid-1996. There were even rumours that Ayrton Senna might be the driver. However, the project stalled, and in mid-1995, McLaren announced they were no longer pursuing their world land speed record ambitions. It was never officially announced why the project was pulled. At the time, McLaren was still well-resourced and had no shortage of money or expertise. However, Senna had left to drive for Williams and was sadly killed in May 1994. McLaren had not won any races that year since Senna had left. Cancelling Maverick after such a public announcement must have been slightly embarrassing for McLaren and may show a realisation of the challenges associated with such a car and project. Something we had known for a very long time.More great stories are in our book - ROSCO The Fastest Aussie on Earth.Rosco McGlashan OAM@followers @top fans McLaren #mclaren #McLARENF1Team Landspeed New Zealand Association Driver 61 Meremere Dragway Australian Drag Racing History and Memorabilia New Zealand Drag Racing AssociationPhoto sources - Unknown. ... See MoreSee Less