In the summer of 1976 England was delirious with the punk rock and heroic deeds of the great and terrible James Hunt on the tracks of "Formula 1". As usual, much less glory went to the modest McLaren M23, who brought Hunt to the championship cup. The boys, whose childhood was in those years, still remember with a sinking heart the orange and white livery in the Marlboro logos, the giant rear and tiny front tires, the powerful rear wing - a tribute to the rapidly becoming fashionable aerodynamics - and of course the 3-liter Cosworth DFV.
When Hunt, not with words, but with deeds began to confirm his status as a top pilot, M23 has already turned three years old. The debut of the car took place at the Grand Prix of South Africa in 1973, and immediately Danny Hume, who, probably, is more correct to call Denny Halm, took pole position. In the race the New Zealander finished fifth, but after three more stages in Sweden, the "em-twenty-third" won. By the end of the year it became obvious to everybody: M23 is a rising star. In Season-74, this lure in the team lured the world champion 1972 Emerson Fittipaldi, who won for McLaren three races and the first Constructors' Cup in F1.
By the way, it was on the M23 in the "Formula-1" debuted 6-speed box: in 1975, the novelty was sold by the manager of McLaren Alistair Caldwell. He also initiated the use of a removable steering wheel - so familiar today, the thing first appeared on the M23.
In 1976, Hunt came to the team, who could not wait to prove that his success in Hesketh was not accidental. Already at the first race in Brazil, he started from the poles; all in the season the Briton won six Grand Prix. Despite the change in regulations, the M23 continued to show remarkable adaptability. True, after the Spanish Grand Prix, judges found that McLaren cheated and made a car 1.8 cm wider than permitted, and Hunt was disqualified. But after the protest, the victory was still returned to James. At the British Grand Prix there was another bright episode: the local idol flew out on the first lap, but the frenzied fans eventually made sure that he was allowed ... to re-start on the spare car. Such it was summer ...
