In 1960 the winner received 1000 pounds. In 1962 only 500.
In 1960 the winner received 1000 pounds. In 1962 only 500.
I wonder what the reason was for the pay cut. Total prize money in 1960 was 2560 pounds. In 1962 it was 1570 pounds.
Can you imagine telling the teams & drivers today. " Sorry lads your winnings will be half of what it was 2 years ago !"
There must have been some other attraction for the international teams to come all the way out to NZ and Australia.
(any input is appreciated for the question of the day.." Why the pay cut ?"
Perhaps they were saving for the move to Pukekohe.
(Ken Hyndman )
Ardmore. Jan 6 th 1962. Entrants list for the Saloon Car Race up to 1600 cc. Again some well known names in this race including; Bruce Mclaren, Ron Flockhart and Roy Salvadori along with all the local drivers.
Attachment 28282
Ardmore. First lap of saloon car race up to 1600 cc.
Kerry Grant in his Austin Farina # 118 leading R.Redmayne in his Wolseley # 129 followed by Roy Harrington in his Morris Minor # 121 who is just ahead of Ron Flockhart in his Austin Mini Cooper 998
and the rest of the field as they charge through College Corner.
Attachment 28283
( Ken Hyndman's scrap album picture from the 8 0clock newspaper)
Roy Harrington ?
GD66,
I was just testing to see if anyone was paying any attention to what I am entering as there are very few comments and no answers to the questions I put out. So you pass the test. Thank you. Actually I did have a friend in Santa Barbara named Rod Harrington so it was my error when R.D. Harrington became Rod. I have some more programme inputs left to go and I do appreciate any of your inputs or memories also. I have carried this stuff to the States so I imagine many of you have much the same material from this era also so I do not want to be too repetitive and boring but I am enjoying doing this and getting it out on TRS before it is forgotten or lost altogether.
(Ken Hyndman )
Oops ! Ardmore Saloon car race up to 1600 cc. Jan 1962
D.A. Currey facing the wrong direction in his 848 cc Mini as B.Elder goes by in his Singer Gazelle.
Attachment 28300
(K Hyndman scrapbook )
Looks about right to me...Currey has got the engine and drive in the correct end. :)
I remember being here at Ardmore with friends and cousins and cheering on anyone from the Morrinsville / Hamilton area that was racing that day. We certainly had plenty to cheer on even though we eventually got soaked in the rain.
From the local BMC dealer, Neil Johns in his 848 cc Mini, Dennis Marwood in his Humber 80, Ross Greenville in his Lotus 18, Spinner Black had a Mistral TR 2, Kris Kay in a Ford 10 Special and Brian Innes with his Ford Zephyr.
Morrinsville was well represented that day in January 1962 and we were noisy little brats letting everyone know around us know that, as we watched from in front of the Tatts Stand at the final corner before the finish line.
( Ken Hyndman )
I have mentioned before that a relative was involved with the Motordrome Service Station in Te Rapa and they had this race team which had some future stars and again Morrinsville was well represented in 1962 with Marwood, Greenville and Innes being on the team along with Howden Ganley.
Attachment 28306
The Ardmore race for saloon cars over 1600 cc assembled as the rain started.
Attachment 28309
Attachment 28310
G.Dixon in his Chevrolet ( 141) leads a bunched field around College Corner on the first lap.
The 8 lap race was a hard fought dice at the front between John Riley in his older Chevrolet and Brian Innes in his Motordrome Team green Ford Zephyr. Brian Innes held on to win and our section of the crowd cheered him on as the rain started to get heavier.
(Ken Hyndman )
Earlier in the day Angus Hyslop won the Ardmore Championship Race for NZ drivers only, in his Cooper. Some well known names are listed for this event including a certain Mr C.A. Amon.
Attachment 28311
In this clipping of the first lap, Hyslop is already leading and only briefly challenged by Johnny Mansel in car # 17. Behind Mansel is Rod Coppins in his Tec Mec # 16 with Tony Shelly on the far right. Behind Shelly is Forrest Cardon in the Lycoming and directly behind him and in one of his first races is the great Chris Amon in his Maserati 250 F.
Attachment 28312
(Ken Hyndman )
Attachment 28442
You may note that this next race started at 10.30 am and the previous race was at 9.55 am and some of the same cars were in both races ! Wow. That did not give much time to get ready especially on a warm Ardmore day. I know we have early English cars that have real chronic starting problems after they have sat for 15 -20 minutes and the heat being transferred from the engine through the intake manifold and into the carburetor bodies, which then boils the fuel in the float bowls so that the mixture is all wrong when you try to re-start the car. This may have happened to Forrest Cardon and Rod Coppins when they tried to start the Sports Car Trophy Race. Sadly they did not get to compete at all in this race.
( Thanks to Stu Buchanan for the great coloured photos of this LeMans type start..some of the drivers and cars were already worn out. I wonder who set this race schedule ? ! )
Attachment 28429 (K Hyndman scrapbook )
Attachment 28439
Attachment 28440
(coloured photos thanks to Stu Buchanan )
( Ken Hyndman )
Question; Is the car number 74 driven by J. Nicholson, the John Nicholson of McLaren, Cosworth engines and Lyncar fame ?
( Ken Hyndman )
Ken I am not sure , I thought John would have been a lot younger as in these piks BUT the driver second on the right does not appear to have a skid lid on ?????? when running towards his car , I find the very interesting ...
Grant, that is Rod Coppins running to his TecMec # 16. He has his helmet on in the last picture so the other picture does make for interesting optics !
John Nicholson was born in 1941, Chris Amon was born in 1943 and he was driving here at the age of 18 so it is possible it is John or possibly a family member.
Any input is appreciated.
I am still amazed that the Lycoming and the TecMec were entered in 4 races that day including the NZ Grand Prix !
That would have kept their mechanics busy, that's for sure !
(Ken Hyndman )
Thank you Ken , I was at the recent scope meeting at Ruapuna , the Lycoming was racing in the historics and was driven hard I might add, as for John Nicholson I had never heard of him until I went to UK in mid 70,s there was an article of him in Autosport... from that day on I followed his activites in motor sports.....an other GREAT KIWI in UK doing the big time .......that most of us dream about but by saying that if we really really wanted to be like John we would have given it a go & who knows personal choices when we were young we all take the road that suits our souls..Iife is so interesting ... just love it ....hope you all good there Ken..... Grant
Offers please. Motor Action 19th April 1974,
Auckland Car Club Pukekohe Program 1964 4th April.
Auckland Car Club 75th Anniversary booklet. email hatz@xtra.co.nz
I'm in Eastern suburbs Auckland. Thanks
Thanks John. They all seemed to enjoy coming out to NZ back then, especially from a European winter.
(Ken )
Ardmore Jan. 1962.
Simon Taylor driving his white D-type Jaguar # 33 won the sports car race, event # 4. He won the footrace to the car and was first away in the LeMans start and was never headed especially as his main opposition of Cardon and Coppins were stranded on the grid !
Taylor did not do as well in the later event # 7 as shown in these cuttings from the K Hyndman scrapbook.
Also shown is a young 19 year old driver Mr K.J.(Ken) Smith, driving a Cooper Holden # 57. (This same car sold in Europe about 10 years ago now with a Maserati engine installed for over one million pounds !)
Attachment 28506
Attachment 28507
(Ken Hyndman & scrapbook collection.
Thanks for your kind words about my colour slides - there are actually 2 others which fit in between the 2 you put up, time-wise. Coppins is wearing a helmet, it shows up if you blow up the image, but 1960's helmets were quite small, by comparison with later years. J.Nicholson probably wasnt the engine building man, and in any case he didn't start, and my old clippings/programmes don't show him running an A/Healey anywhere else around that time.
This was quite an interest/eventful race, as it turned out. I was swapping emails a few years ago with David McKinney and we found we both done lap charts of the race, me from the main grandstand, and he from the bend before the hairpin, where the cars were closer, and going much slower - better for photos etc. Somebody (bodies?) spun at College corner on the first lap, and when the leader Simon Taylor got to the hairpin he had a 30 second lead, and the there was the downpour!
I will transcribe Dave McK's email and post it tomorrow, it makes good reading.
Stu Buchanan
Thank you Stu........not to mention but the cars here in the piks such great looking little sports cars , & yes some fantastic history as well many thanks ........ grant
No unfortunately havn't got any photo,s of that stuff anymore, Simon was [ or is] a very lovely english gentleman & a real hard case, would love to know where he is now, must have been sent out to the colonies for being a naughty boy back in England but he was allowed to bring his toy,s with him.
1962 Ardmore Motor Cycle TT up to 500 c.c.
This race featured some riders including Hugh Anderson from Ohinewai and Ginger Molloy from Huntly. They finished 1st & 2nd in this race so the central Waikato was well represented on this day.
I note # 5 bike is ridden by F.Cardon. If this is the Lycoming driver, he certainly had a busy day !
It was a big field and if you placed below 7th there was not much reward for these brave men. As the scrapbook shows it could be rough going out there especially as the weather changed.
Attachment 28574
Attachment 28575
Attachment 28576
Attachment 28577
(Ken Hyndman )
(scrapbook of 8o'clock cuttings )
That has a number of International riders from the day. Len Perry, Peter Pawson and the 2 already mentioned, I am sure others will add to this.
1962 NZGP. January 6th. 1962. Ardmore's last Grand Prix.
By 2 pm as the main event was to begin it really started to rain and by this time we were pretty well drenched. It was amazing the race was allowed to start and we thought the weather would clear but it only got worse.
Stirling Moss did not have time to qualify and had to start at the back of the 21 car field.
Note where he is at the first corner, in 7th place already !
Attachment 28615
Attachment 28616
After one of his greatest drives Stirling beat everyone in dreadful conditions. It was also one of his last wins before a crash at Goodwood during 1962, ended his main racing career.
Attachment 28617
(Stirling enjoyed looking through my scrapbook and signed the last newspaper clipping. )
(Ken Hyndman )
Amazing photos. Never seen these. I remember it all well. I had never heard of Amon but can still hear his car booming out of the hairpin. Moss casually waving as he flew past others. Bruce McLaren seemed very downcast soaking wet, at the end of the race eating his sandwich. A great day indeed. :)
John,
I have attached some of the comments of the drivers after the race and it seems McLaren was pretty downcast.
Note how they all wanted to come back but sadly some did not make it back. Flockhart died later in the year and Bandini died in 1967 and Stirling did not race in the NZ Grand Prix again.
Also note how Chris Amon is mentioned as a "newcomer". Little did we know then how great he would become in the next decade.
Attachment 28641
Attachment 28642
(Ken Hyndman's clippings )
Thanks for that. Very nice of you KH. I didn't know the race had been short and as you say some didn't survive the year.. BTW I have that old program from Puke 1964. Would you like it? ... needs to go to a good home. Just email if you want it. hatz@xtra.co.nz Chrs John H
Thanks John,
I appreciate the offer but I do have NZGP 1964 programme which is coming up. If you have a 1963 programme out there I would be interested. I forgot to put in the final race results and had a hard time explaining the race times shown when a race is stopped early.
If you can do that for me I would be most appreciative.
Seeing Ross Greenville's name does bring back memories of when my friend, Jim also from Morrinsville and I were in LA in August 1972 and we contacted Ross who was living near LAX. We went around when Spinner Black was also there preparing for a trip back to NZ. I don't think I have laughed so much as the stories were told and we had to make certain engine parts looked used and then put into various pockets and jackets and take Spinner and others to the airport explaining to the curious that the heavy clothing was due to the severe cold weather back in NZ even as it was hot and very smoggy in LA at that time. I was glad to leave them off at the airport and get out of there before I was involved in sneaking engine parts into NZ ! When I visited Ross at the Mount in 2003 we had a good laugh about this memory. He was a character and with Spinner there also, it was priceless.
Attachment 28643
Hi Ken,
Thanks for these cuttings, I had them in an old scrapbook for years but they were well time-ravaged. I have taken the liberty of sharing them to a fb page related to the history of NZ Motorcycle racing with a credit to you, if that's not ok I will soon pluck them off !
Regarding Forrest Cardon, yes it is the Lycoming pilot, I was about to spring into print and say Malcolm Gill would probably have been the driver but that was in 1961, and Forrest was winding down his distinguished bike racing career and did indeed race the Lycoming that same day at Ardmore in 1962. For years he held a spot in the NZACU rulebook as holder of a beach speed record set at Muriwai : he had raced speedway and roadracing with great success and this pic is from his win on a Manx Norton at the 1961 Cust Grand Prix held outside Christchurch on swept, oiled gravel roads !
Attachment 28669
GD...
I am happy you can do something with these old clippings.
I also found this page from the 1962 programme.
Attachment 28684
Remember the days of "Overseas Funds"
If you wanted a decent new car, this is what you had to have back then.
Attachment 28685
(From the pages of the 1962 NZGP programme)
( Ken Hyndman )