Shot from four different angles, we're fortunate to watch Sheehan work from the nose, side, roll-hoop, and engine cover of the McLaren. (Photo: SPEED) » More Photos

I was noticing that I'd have lots of understeer with even throttle steady state, but when I began to feed in the throttle, I could dial out some steering input. So if I got to throttle earlier and harder, I could unwind due to the additional slip on the rear tires. I told this to Tony when I came back in. He didn't like that I couldn't put the power down very well coming out of the tight corners, so he'd decided to go in a different setup direction while we ate lunch.

The guys from the shop seemed pretty excited about the car's pace, since the car was fairly new to them (this particular car, not McLaren M6's by any means) and I was an unknown quantity to them when the day started. By this time I was in the mid 1:38's and Tony mentioned that that was the fastest he's seen one of these cars go around Infineon with the skinnier treaded tires that were on the car. The fact that the tires were two years old also helped to make me look good.

The car felt much better with the changes Tony made--much more driveable and even a bit tossable in the corners. Now I was able to roll onto the throttle coming out of the carousel and carry a little bit of oversteer out to the exit curbing. The car was much more confidence inspiring after that change. I came in after only 5 laps and told Tony how it felt. He wanted to try one more change, stiffening the rear bar to counteract some of the mid-corner understeer I was still feeling. Zip, out of the pits again for another 4 laps. That change also improved the car and I really started to feel like the car was flowing with me. I was able to carry nice drifts out of the corners under hard acceleration and the understeer was definitely manageable. In fact, I think the car could go back to the bigger rear bar and be better still, but we ran out of time for me and it was time to set up the cockpit for Bob to get in.

The fun angle from the shoot--the throtte body lever connecting the pedal to the engine moves up and down relentlessly as Sheehan drives. (Photo: SPEED) » More Photos

Tony was kicking himself because he made a timing mistake just before what was my fastest lap. He got a happy finger and clicked the stopwatch a bit early, just before he could see the car, about 3 car lengths. My next lap was a 1: 38.18, including the additional time for the jumpy trigger finger. He was bummed because he was sure that lap would have been a high 1:37. He really wanted to see it happen.

By the end of the day I was over the moon. Tony and I had improved the car set up quite a bit over where it had started and saw even more room for improvement. I was confident that the car would do mid 1:37s just the way it was if I really attacked turn 1 and 9. With new slicks instead of the old treaded tires, Tony is confident we would have been turning 1:34's.

Most of all, I came away thinking that I JUST SPENT THE DAY DRIVING A %!#@%!&% CAN-AM CAR! The very same Can-Am car that ex-Formula 1 driver Jo Bonnier had driven. Just awesome!

It was one of the most fun days on the track in my entire racing career. It is something I will definitely have to do again. So my aching shoulders keep telling me...

Thanks to Bob Lee and to Robin Automotive for their generosity and assistance in this creating this story

More vintage racing news and stories can be found at www.vintagemotorsport.com


Gary Sheehan has established himself as one of the premier sportscar and touring car drivers in the country, with specialties in all-wheel drive race cars and track testing for various auto magazines. More information on Sheehan's driving exploits can be found at GarySheehan.com

CLICK HERE to watch Sheehan wring the life out of the ex-Bonnier McLaren M6B Can-Am car.