Sometimes one comes across motor racing information from unexpected sources
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Sometimes one comes across motor racing information from unexpected sources
Such was the case for me when I saw that there was not much to be found about the Napier Road Races held at the Ahuriri Circuit during the late 50s and 60s. Many local and visiting drivers stated;" the Ahuriri course was the best in New Zealand at the time because of natural hazards of a true road race and made for great racing"
I found this brief video which shows how the Hillmans and Holdens skated around.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsTF1Ry2H4E
The course was down by the Napier waterfront as shown in these two images.
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( Ken H )
I might get yelled at but I found my source for some good photos at Ahuriri in the Hawkes Bay Photo News, that is after you get past all the pages of swimsuit beauties from that era etc !
The natural grandstand might not meet todays approval !
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But they were treated to some wonderful racing.
Great post Ken,
Great shot of the Humber 80 getting a bit sideways (about half way through)!
That was right next to the old Napier port and that whole area was commercial warehouses and wool stores etc. It would have been easy to close the roads then. Very different now with apartments and cafe restaurants there.
A bit like Lyall bay/ Rongotai in Wellington there were street races in Kingford Smith Street, I think the last races were in the late 70s but today it is all retail complex.
Hopefully see you at Taupo.
Cheers
Paul
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and some competitors. Norm Agnew photo's
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The first race meeting was known as the Port Ahuriri Centennial Road Races during the 1958-59 summer.
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The formula race was dominated by Merv Neal in his Cooper Climax # 37
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Merv Neal (wearing sunglasses) telling all both young and old about how good his car is.
So good that a year later a certain D. Hulme was again winning in the same Cooper # 37 at Ahuriri.
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Denny was probably barefoot and wearing shorts when this was taken as that is what he felt most comfortable in when he began his racing career !
( Ken H)
I am going to need Milan to fill in the information on a lot of this thread. Thanks in advance Milan. KH
A couple of people who I spoke to about this weren't too happy with 44 gallon drums filled with concrete as corner markers. Perhaps that would stop the current crop running off the track as often :)
The first meeting was on November 22, 1958.
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Saturday November 22nd 1958.
South Pond Circuit, Ahuriri, Napier.
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When I went to my first NZ Grand Prix at Ardmore in Jan. 1959, the first car to roar by as we had just entered was Brian Tracey driving the ex Ron Roycroft Alfa Romeo Tipo B. It seemed so big compared to the other cars that were there and it did not qualify for the main race.
Perhaps Brian was still having handling problems like he had at Ahuriri as shown in these Hawkes Bay Photo News photos.
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(Note he stayed well clear of the 44 gallon drums that Rhys mentioned ! )
(Ken H )
Interesting facts concerning the handling of the Roycroft Alfa.
Ralph Watson. --- After a few trials, the wandering was cured by an increase in castor angle. This was done by making stepped keys to replace those which prevented the axle beam from rotating in the clamps which held it to the chassis. We made three sets of these keys which provided varying positions offset from the original position and this enabled us to experiment with changes in castor angle.
It is exceedingly interesting that there was no evidence of any change having been made on any previous occasion. One must therefore assume that the car would have been handling badly when Nuvolari drove it to win the 1935 German Grand Prix! What is more, it appears that before the Alfa came to N.Z., previous owners Kenneth Evans and Roy Salvadori, both criticised the handling of the car.
Note : When the Alfa was restored some 30 years later, the stepped keys were incorrectly fitted in reverse. This resulted in the handling of the restored car being sharply criticised by a well known N.Z. motoring journalist, who wrote about it and caused incorrect stories to become accepted and reiterated. It was implied that the stepped keys were an original component, whereas they were made and fitted in N.Z.
Refer here for full details:-
http://ralphwatson.scienceontheweb.net
Perhaps it is the photo quality but it does appear that the front left tyre has less tread than the right front.
Very interesting input Trevor. Thank you.
Ken.
Nov. 1958. Ahuriri.
Sports car and sedan race grids line up.
Just put a number on the door and away you go !
(Perhaps even reverse the headlights. )
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For the 1961 Ahuriri races Pat Hoare showed up with his magnificent Ferrari 256 with a 3 litre V-12. # 19
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A great shot of a great car in action turning from Coronation Street onto Battery Road.
Spectators got a good close look at the action !
Thanks to Phil Moore for these photos.
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Sometimes things did not go as planned as Colin Ngan spins his Cooper Bobtail just in front of another competitor at the tricky corner from Battery Road onto Hyderabad Road toward the start / finish line.
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Again note how close the crowd is to the action !
(Ken H )
The Alfa has the Dubonnet front suspension, which I'd assume would make it hard to fine tune anyway...
Ever looked at a Vauxhall with one of these?
Very true. Ralph Watson clearly set out the specific problems involved including a drawing showing the exact details here:-
http://ralphwatson.scienceontheweb.net
Looks like this race.
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[QUOTE=khyndart in CA;63066]Nov. 1958. Ahuriri.
Sports car and sedan race grids line up.
Just put a number on the door and away you go !
(Perhaps even reverse the headlights. )
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Looks like this race. If the cars are lined up in order of their handicaps then they are in this order.
4, 20, 3, 38, 13, 7
That must be Hyslop's D-type in the bottom left-hand corner of the picture.
Number 38 is not a Buckler - it's Doug Lawrence's Mistral bodied TR3.
Thanks Milan, very helpful.
Ken, I pinched one of your pics for the Buckler facebook page. I hpe that's OK
Rhys,
Yes of course that is ok. You and Milan 'could walk on water' in my book.
I was just a bit confused and also noted the date was not correct on Roger's thread as it was 1958 not 1960 when that race was run.
Cheers,
Enjoy the New Year,
Ken
Hell, Ken, I can't even stop the water going over the top of my waders. Milan, well he's a very special asset to us all.
1961 Ahuriri race circuit.
As you can see in this photo that arriving at the corner of Battery Rd and Hyderabad Rd was a bit intimidating as you can see power poles on either side (protected by a hay bale !), a slight S in the road approaching the corner, the cursed 44 gallon drums, more poles and fencing with the inner harbor marshes beyond plus a very close crowd trying to see from every vantage point and trying to get onto the main straight as quick as possible ..whew !
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Here are some photos of the action from that corner and once again I ask for help in identifying the vehicles and the drivers..Thanks.
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An interesting special.
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(Ken H )
Milan, more entry lists please! In 61 I was sailing my P class there in the background waters, not while the racing happened! I would have sworn there were more buildings!
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As Roy Harrington raced a Morris Minor at Ardmore a month prior to the Ahuriri meeting it is safe to say that it is him in number 56.
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I think that's Rex Flowers in the Lotus 6 in the second photo.
Thanks Milan, so we have Alwyn Marshall, that car now with Roger Munns, and probably Scott Wiseman that car now with Kelvin Brown.
So what is the vehicle / driver that has the license plate number 558-515 ?
Hey it is still 2017 here, you folks are way ahead of us Left Coasters !
KH
Looks like a Lotus 6 or replica...
It is a Lotus VI imported by Jack Hobson in the late fifties. It had a number of owners including Russ Buckthought, Rex Flowers, Doug Lawrence and in 1971 David McKinney.
Any idea where it is now?
The Hawkes Bay Photo News took some photos of the 1964 NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe that brought back memories for me of that day. January 11 1964.
After having the privilege of seeing Frank Matich at Mount Maunganui two weeks before, he again came and put on a dominant display at Pukekohe and ran away from the field.
I like this shot of him as he accelerates away from the Elbow Corner in his Lotus 19B Climax.
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Later in the day the NZGP was in progress when I took this photo of the Elbow Corner and Bruce McLaren is coming up on Jim Palmer in his Cooper. Tony Shelly has already gone out of the photo on the left. On the right is Jack Brabham as he approaches the corner under braking. The next lap Jack ran over the Shelly Lotus and was lucky not to get hurt as it was a loud and dangerous crash as he almost hit the horse stables !
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(Ken Hyndman photo )
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Tony Shelly car did not suffer too much and he was able to continue after a pit stop.
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Bruce McLaren slowed down in his Cooper T70 long enough to check on Brabham and Tony Shelly and then drove off to win the 1964 NZGP.
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(Note the lack of safety items compared to today ! )
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Well deserved winners on the victory platform. NZGP winners. Jan. 11th 1964.
Ken H and H B Photo News.
Some 1964 racing photos from the Hawkes Bay Photo News.
A fine shot of the start of the Lady Wigram Tasman Cup Race at Christchurch showing McLaren and Brabham accelerating away.
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(Ken H )
G Thonson is Grady Thompson later of Team Cambridge Monaro and Z/28 Camaro fame as he ran a Healey back then.
1963/1964 Summer.
Some Napier / Ahuriri race scenes from the Hawkes Bay Photo News.
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Onto the 1965 Tasman Series.
Pukekohe. Jan. 1965
Jim Palmer does not look very happy at coming in 3rd. It was a drive well done Jim !
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A real pain at the "Elbow" (Note the crowd size !)
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On to Levin.
Lucky Jim Clark with every NZ man's favorite, Elaine Miscall.
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Thanks to Hawkes Bay Photo News for giving us a glimpse back into these events from the 50s and 60s.
( Ken H)
Ken H ,you have been busy, some great stuff here, thanks
Roger D
PS sorry about the spelling " Los Olivos ". maybe you are at work ??
The last of the HB Photo News race photos were taken at Levin. 1967.
A neat shot of race winner Jim Clark accelerating away in his Lotus 33
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The winners paraded later in a slightly slower vehicle. Jim Clark,1st, Jackie Stewart 2nd and Richard Attwood 3rd(obscured)
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Dene Hollier from nearby Taihape had a full crew of friends to help with his Lotus 27.
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Some of the saloon car action that day.
'Doc" Langley in his Austin Cooper S chasing Neil Doyle in his Anglia-Corvette # 109
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Here is one for Grant Ellwood which shows B.Harvie in Cooper S # 77 and Bryan Faloon in his Anglia # 57 cornering at different angles !
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Well folks that is about it for the Hawkes Bay Photo News photos of a wonderful era in NZ motor racing.
Time for me to do some work and prepare for Taupo.
I hope to meet some of you there.
Cheers,
Ken Hyndman
Roger, I had already said that! Shouldn't have included the "probably". I along with Kelvin have collated a spreadsheet of all the known "real" Bucklers that were in NZ with all known owners, except for the last 90 I owned myself which we can only get back till 1969. Even Bruce Sutcliffe didn't know of it. (I have now owned/own 3)