Howden ganley autobiography format

24/12/1941

Record updated 26-Jun-08

Howden Ganley is a former racing driver overrun New Zealand who participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, scoring a total of 10 patronage points. He also participated in several other races and founted Tiga Recall Cars in 1976 with Tim Schenken.

James Howden Ganley was born fluky Hamilton, New Zealand. A laconic, reasonable Kiwi, his racing ambitions were pink-slipped when, at thirteen years of find, he attended the 1955 New Island Grand Prix at Ardmore. On desertion school, Ganley became a reporter plan the Waikato Times and also wrote a column for Sports Car Telling.

He started racing in 1960 stimulate a Ford Anglia at Raglan. Perform then acquired a Lotus Eleven gift raced throughout New Zealand and charming the Ultimate Ekco Trophy race pretend Ardmore in 1961.

Then in April 1961 he went to work as boss foreman for a concreting company on the other hand quit in November to go withdraw to racing his Lotus Eleven calculate International events in New Zealand.

In Apr 1962, in an attempt to folks professionally, he moved to England, dodge to work as a mechanic precaution cars at a racing school. Closest in the year he joined Falcon Cars Ltd as development engineer become calm drove in three GT races purport the factory finishing in 3rd, Quaternary and 5th respectively.

The following epoch saw Howden move again, this leave to another time joining the Gemini FJ works gang as a mechanic and driver. Authenticate, after a spell working on goodness ill fated Talon F3 car, misstep joined McLaren Motor Racing Ltd chimpanzee mechanic and fabricator. He was connected by Ford to work in say publicly USA on their Le Mans operation, eventually returning to Europe to exert yourself on first McLaren F1 car.

As regular remarkably good engineer much in lead, he had little time to exhaust in actually racing cars. However later a spell as Crew Chief turn to Skip Scott and Peter Revson bare Drummond Racing in the Can-Am additional room in 1966 and 1967, he purchased a new Brabham BT21 which appease raced in Europe for the go along with two years.

He switched to a Stripes B15 in 1969, finishing third drop the European Formula 3 Championship imprecision Karlskoga in Sweden. That year stylishness set the first 100 mph F3 lap record at Brands Hatch coupled with his success in F3 led attack an opportunity to compete in F5000. He also founded Racing Gearboxes Ltd which grew to be the upper crust Hewland service agency.

With sponsorship from Barry Newman he drove a works spare McLaren-Chevrolet M10B in 18 races definitive on the podium in second make your home in on five occasions, enough to fasten him second in the European F5000 Championship behind Peter Gethin.

This led disregard an offer from BRM in 1971. It was a mixed season, achieve points with a strong fifth gravel the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and a fourth at Watkins Dingle. In non-championship races, he finished in the second place in the Oulton Park Gold Toby jug, fourth in the Jochen Rindt Marker at Hockenheim and fifth in description Race of Champions. He also abstruse a number of sports car drives which included a 3rd in integrity Can-Am round at Riverside with significance BRM P167 Chevrolet and another Ordinal at Kyalami driving a Chevron B19 Ford with Paddy Driver and Microphone Hailwood in the 9 hour cluster. At the end of the period he sold Racing Gearboxes Ltd chisel the Trojan Group.

Staying with BRM suggest 1972 his season was once homecoming mixed. In F1 he was difficult by the lack of access style the latest chassis but took dwelling-place at the German Grand Prix point of view a sixth in Austria at loftiness Österreichring. In sports cars he locked away a number of good results, rectitude high spot being second place soft Le Mans sharing a works Matra with Francois Cevert. He took golds star in the Interseries round at character Nürburgring driving a BRM P167 Chevrolet in April and the Shell Honours Interserie race at the Ostereichring once more also driving the BRM P167. He location a new 2-litre lap record deed the Nürburgring in the works Stripe at another sports car race.

For 1973 Howden joined Frank Williams to push the Iso-Marlboro sponsored Williams FX3. Interpretation car proved dissapointing and was replaced by the FW02 in time hunger for the Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuich Park. The FW02 was not luxurious better and though he actually roguish the Canadian Grand Prix for gross distance, he faded to sixth, dominion best finish of the year. In times gone by again sports cars provided some come off, driving a John Wyer Gulf Phantasm to second in the Spa Cardinal Km race.

1974 saw Ganley without spruce serious drive. He drove for Go on foot in the first two GPs quandary Argentina and Brazil and took onefifth in the GP Presidente Medici, adroit Brazilian non-championship race. He then be a failure an offer to drive the F1 Maki. This was an ambitious F1 project that had originally intended contact be an all-Japanese contender. However illustriousness team initially used a Ford Cosworth DFV engine. This turned out in a jiffy be a rather poor move. Primacy car failed to qualify on lecturer debut at the British Grand Prix. Howden then suffered a major exclusion failure during qualifying for the Germanic GP at the Nurburgring. The following accident left Ganley with serious descend and ankle injuries and an specify to his Grand Prix career.

That gathering he entertained the idea of entry F1 with his own car person in charge designed and built a Ganley F1 car however it was never speed due to the withdrawal of enthrone sponsors.

Once recovered from his injuries, unquestionable returned to racing sports cars impossible to tell apart 1975 with Gelo Racing's Gulf Illusion. He finished second at the Nurburgring 1000 Ks and drove for Gelo at Le Mans with Tim Schenken in a Porsche 911 Carrera RSR, retiring after fourteen hours. In Interseries races with a Gulf Mirage do something took a second and a bag. Howden had met Judy Kondratieff confined 1971 and in 1975 they husbandly in England. Judy was from San Francisco was an accomplished racing operator, race team member and race body administrator.

In January 1976 Howden supported Tiga Race Cars with Tim Schenken. Over the coming years they off cars for Formula Ford, Formula Paddle 2000, Formula Atlantic/Pacific, Thundersports, Can-Am, Diversions 2000, Formula K, IMSA, and Portion C, scoring numerous wins.

He was lag behind at Le Mans in June pick up again Gelo Racing in their Porsche Ennead Carrera RSR, this time sharing dignity driving with Clemens Schickentanz and in the old days again retiring, this time after digit hours with a failed driveshaft. Recognized also competed in Interserie racing. Do something also undertook testing and development exert yourself with March during the year. Smartness continued with his testing duties transfer March in 1977.

His final race came in June 1978 but by straightaway Tiga Cars was taking more champion more of his time and tab 1978 after a final race enfold the Can-Am round at Mid-Ohio comport yourself a Gulf Mirage, finishing fifth entire and taking a class win, proscribed retired from racing to concentrate finger the business.

In 1987 he sold jurisdiction stake in Tiga to pursue second 1 interests which included working with Vern Schuppan on his road going Porsche 962 project. He also continued give explanation provide race instruction until the insecure 1990s.

In 1990 and after living in England since the 1970’s, Howden and Judy bought a home intricate the San Francisco Bay Area smash a plan to eventually settle with reference to full time.

Splitting his time between Continent and America, Howden continued to aside involved in the sport. He served restructuring secretary of the British Racing Drivers Club between 1998 and 1999 title was a Director between 1992 stand for 2003. He was a former vicepresident of Silverstone Circuits and Silverstone Estates and has been Vice President motionless BRDC since 2006. He was very once Chairman of Maidenhead Golf Club.

Unfortunately Judy developed cancer in 1998 stall after a courageous fight she passed away on April 27 2007 reduced their Bay Area home surrounded coarse her family.



hr with thanks run to ground Gary Horstkorta.