Teddy Mayer 1935 – 2009

 

Former McLaren team principal and founder passes away at 73

Mayer was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While studying law at Cornell, he became involved in the Rev-Em Formula Junior team whose drivers included his brother Timmy and Peter Revson. After graduating in 1962 Mayer followed his brother and Revson to Europe and joined Bruce McLaren who was setting up his Formula One team. Despite the death of his brother in 1964, Mayer continued to be involved in motor sport and assumed control of the McLaren team after Bruce McLaren was killed in 1970.

For much of the 1970s McLaren enjoyed considerable success, with both Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt taking the drivers title.In addition to Formula One, McLaren also competed in CART and CanAm racing under Mayer’s management.

Towards the end of the decade the team’s results began to decline and title sponsor Marlboro engineered a merger with the Project 4 team run by Ron Dennis. Mayer remained as joint managing-director until 1982, when he sold his shares and left the team he had helped to create.