Howden Ganley: from pits to polesitter

“There was Prince Bira in a Maserati 250F, Tony Gaze in a Ferrari 625, Jack Brabham in a Cooper-Bristol; all sorts.

“As soon as the flag dropped, everything changed. I was 13 years old and knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

“I was going to become a racing driver. I knew it with the sort of certainty you only have when you’re that age.”

In the BRM P160C at the 1972 Italian Grand Prix at Monza; having qualified 17th, Howden Ganley would go on to finish the race 11th © Motorsport Images

Warming to theme, Howden adds: “I began competing as soon as I had a driving licence; grass-track stuff, mostly.

“I held down three jobs and saved everything I earned. Then a fourth-hand Lotus Eleven came on to the market.

“I was going to go halves with a friend, but he backed out at the very last minute so Mum loaned me the rest.

“Soon after my 19th birthday, I entered a support race for the 1961 New Zealand Grand Prix and won my class.

“At the end of the day, there was a race just for New Zealand drivers and I won overall.

“I did well over the following two years, but I needed to get to England if I was going to progress.

“My grandfather had died and he left me some money; just enough for a one-way ticket to London.

“I had £25 to my name on arrival. The first thing I did was buy a copy of Autosport.”

“It transpired that Bruce McLaren was expanding his team and he wanted to hire Kiwis wherever possible. I joined in 1964”

“I thumbed to the situations vacant section and there was an advert for a racing school run by a complete chancer,” remembers Howden.

“I joined as a mechanic on the understanding that it would lead to some races. It didn’t.

“Then one evening I went to the Steering Wheel Club and journalist Bill Gavin introduced me to Mike Moseley, who had taken over the kit-car firm Falcon Shells.”

Within a week, Howden became the works driver and development engineer: “Then a new shareholder came in who also owned a stake in Marcos.

“There would be no more racing. I quit and within a day I became a mechanic for George Henrotte, who had taken over running the Gemini Formula Juniors.

“After that folded, I set about building a racing car called the Phoenix, but that went pear-shaped.

“I was then employed by Fulham Borough Council… It was pretty desperate, but then I received a phone call from Eoin Young. Someone who was with him wanted a chat.”

A self-confessed motorsport “anorak”, Howden Ganley has thousands of books on racing and a selection of memorabilia

It was Bruce McLaren: “It transpired that he was expanding his team and he wanted to hire Kiwis wherever possible. I joined in June 1964.

“There was Bruce’s mechanic, Wally Wilmott; Tyler Alexander; Eoin as company secretary; and me.

“Our centre of operations was the corner of a shed in New Malden, full of earth-moving equipment. There was a dirt floor, some workbenches and a bunch of welding kit.

“When I arrived on my first day, Wally and Tyler both said: ‘Why are you here?’ I told them I was a mechanic. ‘No,’ they said. I was the gofer.”

Howden rapidly graduated to becoming a fabricator, but the desire to compete still burned brightly: “I really wanted to race, which meant holding down regular hours so I could work on my own car.

“Reluctantly, I left for a job at Lola, but I hated it. I was outside the factory in Slough one day when Peter Revson stopped and asked me if I wanted to be his mechanic in Can-Am. I jumped at it.

“With the money I saved, I was able to finish building a Brabham BT21 Formula Three car. I also had a Cosworth MAE engine, a new trailer and a Transit van.

“In 1967, I set off on the start-money trail and had the most wonderful time going all over Europe.”

The Spice-Tiga GC85 won the Group C2 Teams title in the 1985 World Sportscar Championship © Motorsport Images

Scroll forward to 1969 and, armed with a Chevron B15, Howden annihilated the category lap record at Brands Hatch towards the end of the season, averaging exactly 100mph.

“That was the point when I no longer feared anyone,” he confirms. “Bruce [McLaren] had always shown an interest in my progress, and soon after that he asked me if I would like to test an F1 car at Goodwood.

“He then said he was going to put me in a quasi-works Formula 5000 car for 1970, with a few non-Championship F1 races thrown in.

“His next-door neighbour, Barry Newman, who was a successful businessman, was going to sponsor me.”

Howden finished second to Peter Gethin in the Guards European F5000 series, but the F1 outings never materialised following McLaren’s fatal crash in June 1970: “You will never hear a bad word said about Bruce. His death was devastating to us all.

“I would have loved to have driven in Formula One for the team, but instead I got a test with BRM at the start of 1971. I was then taken on as number-three driver to Pedro Rodríguez and Jo Siffert.

“BRM was great in parts – Tony Southgate was an excellent designer – but shambolic in others.”

“Stanley offered me number-one status at BRM. I then learned he had promised the same thing to Clay Regazzoni”

“Much of the problem for me was ‘Lord Louis’ Stanley, who ran the team,” he continues. “He thought he was Enzo Ferrari, a real player, but he wasn’t.

“For 1972, Stanley did a deal with Marlboro and decided there should be a Team A for Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Peter Gethin and me, and a Team B for pay drivers and local heroes.

“BRM was overstretched running three cars. I was fourth in the German Grand Prix at the ’Ring, and got some points finishes elsewhere.

“I also raced the P167 Can-Am car in the Interserie [placing second in the championship, with two wins], but I wasn’t keen to stay for 1973.

“The funny thing is, Stanley offered me number-one status. I then learned that he had promised the same thing to Clay Regazzoni.”

Hence the decision to sign for Frank Williams’ Iso-Marlboro squad, dovetailing F1 with a sports-car programme with JWAE Mirage.

“I never quite worked out where the money came from,” he muses. “Marlboro stumped up for a couple of customised Iso Leles for me and my teammate, Nanni Galli, but I am not convinced that Iso ever paid for anything.”

Howden Ganley tames an understeering Citroën SM on the 1973 Tour of Britain rally © Motorsport Images

“The 1973 season wasn’t happy,” says Howden. “What did it for me was that there was a mechanic who had a habit of not tightening things up.

“I had wing stays collapse three races in a row and words were exchanged with Frank. Aside from this potentially costing us points, it was bloody dangerous.

“I had the brakes fail at the Nürburgring, which resulted in a massive crash. Many years later, this mechanic applied for a job and used me as a reference!”

That same season Howden won the Canadian Grand Prix, only to then lose it.

This had been the first time a safety car had been deployed in Formula One, with Howden having stayed out amid chaotic scenes in the pits at Mosport.

He was the last to stop and was initially classed as the victor, only to be demoted to sixth some hours later, but then no two lap charts appeared to tally.

“Honestly, I think I came third,” he says. “Peter Revson was announced as the winner – eventually – but I reckon it was Emerson Fittipaldi.”

The Citroën SM in miniature is part of Howden Ganley’s model-car collection

“Anyway, my relationship with Frank had soured to the point that I set about building my own car with the help of a fabricator,” Howden recalls.

“I tried to interest Marlboro in taking it on, and Frank thought I was trying to take over his team. I just wanted a more competitive car.”

Hence the switch to March for 1974: “There was no money at March, though, and I knew Vittorio Brambilla was hovering with a big bag of Beta Tools money.”

So Howden moved across to Japanese start-up Maki, only to then sit on the sidelines: “I was taken on as the sole driver, which sounded great.

“The problem was, they had built a car that didn’t comply with the regulations. Eventually, there was a bit of an ‘or else’ moment and the team worked night and day for two weeks during the build-up to the British Grand Prix.”

The car was legal at last; it just wasn’t any good. “They loaded the car on the transporter the night before first practice at Brands, but then it didn’t appear,” he recalls.

“I phoned the factory and the caretaker told me everyone was drinking tea. They turned up for second practice, but we didn’t qualify.

“There was another ‘or else’ conversation and we were the first team on track the next time out at the Nürburgring.”

From dreams of yachting glory to the Le Mans podium, via a stint at the top of the motorsport tree, Howden Ganley had quite the career

“I was about a kilometre into my first lap when the Maki’s rear suspension broke,” he explains.

“The car smacked into the guardrail and the front end completely disintegrated. Both of my feet were mashed.

“I was lying in hospital when I received a writ from the team. They were upset because I hadn’t appeared at the Austrian Grand Prix.”

Howden returned to action, finishing second in the 1975 Nürburgring 1000km with a Georg Loos-run Mirage GR7 alongside Tim Schenken.

“At around that time, Tim and I were approached by a guy who was interested in making Formula Ford racers.

“I read his proposal and thought we might as well do it ourselves, so Tim and I formed Tiga in 1976.

“My last race as a driver was at Mid-Ohio in 1978. Alain de Cadenet was doing the Can-Am Challenge series in a Mirage, but he was committed to racing at Le Mans that weekend.

“I subbed for him and won the 3-litre class, but I didn’t derive any satisfaction from it.

“By that stage, I couldn’t wait to get up in the morning and go to the factory and make whizzy bits.”

The Matra MS670 of Howden Ganley paired with François Cevert heads towards second place behind its sister car at Le Mans, 1972 © Getty

“We built cars for Formula Atlantic, Sports 2000, Can-Am and Group C2; about 400 in all,” says Howden.

“I told Tim when we started that I would do 10 years but not one day more.

“Actually, I stayed on for a few months after Tiga was sold, but by then all I wanted to do was play golf every day with my wife, Judy [herself an accomplished racer].”

And his greatest achievement? “Racing-wise, I had a habit of grabbing second place from the jaws of victory.

“François Cevert and I were leading the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1972 in our Matra with just four hours to go when the Corvette of Marie-Claude Beaumont clattered into us.

“We finished behind the sister car of Graham Hill and Henri Pescarolo.”

After chewing on the question some more, Howden adds: “Honestly, I think my greatest achievement is to still be here.

“Look at Bruce McLaren. He was dead at 32. I joined BRM in 1971 and my teammates were both gone before the year was out.

“I never won a Grand Prix, but I still got to do something I loved and I stayed in motorsport after I stopped driving.

“When I was younger, I couldn’t pass an exam but I knew who had finished in the top six in every Grand Prix and who got the fastest lap.

“That hasn’t changed. I love everything about motor racing. I’m an anorak and proud of it.”

Images: Jack Harrison

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