The Roaring Season

Milan Fistonic wrote:The Heron Daimler was number 16 at the April 23 1966 meeting and was driven by Ken Richardson

That was the reverse direction meeting not May '66 as on the photo.. some of my names / dates / details on the photos are now incorrect.



and was this the same car the Heron MK 11 at Waimate in 1966..driven by K Richardson ??

1963 the first running of the long distance saloon car race at Pukekohe - the year the track hosted the first NZ International Grand Prix.

The Car -race # 6, they used the system used by Le Mans back then with Race numbers starting with the largest capacity cars. The Jaguars
Photo from Brian Ferrabee - who has provide the photo and entry list to the son of the Driver Bill Thomason.
The co-driver Johnny Riley.
The car was the most expensive in the field


One of the Triumph Vitesse further back in the Esses

The entry list ; from Brian Ferrabee



The car also competed the the long distance 5 hour race [ not six hours ] at Teretonga
entry list by Graham Woods;


Hopefully the results are out there with a TRS member !!

Thanks to Mark Joblin who provided the results via Facebook page " Old New Zealand Motor Racing ".





The Mercedes retired

The Boys in Blue, will be watching you



when the track looked like this ..

...and they may even catch you.

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ERC wrote:...and they may even catch you.

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Indeed they will, cheers Ray

Roger Dowding wrote:Indeed they will, cheers Ray

" Indeed they did " got caught on Highway 27 near Patetonga - speed camera 2 weeks before Christmas My own Christmas Present.
They say " 'tis better to give than to receive ".Not sure if a Traffic Ticket is considered a Gift.

Rothmans Book of New Zealand Motor Racing - the cover


Story of the track from the Rothmans Book - above


From the 1963 NZIGP programme


Auckland Car Club article


posted before, the track in 1963 - from the Rothmans Book


One question asked is who actually designed it, an individual or was it the the NZIGP people
Ron Frost, Eric Mallard, Ross Jensen ? as a group,with the constraints of the Horse Track,size of the total property and the fact that it was needed by early 1963, after being advised that Ardmore would not be available.

Further details indicate that the McLaren's, Les and Bruce had some input, Eric Mallard was involved in the project in a huge way but not in the design according to his son Mark Mallard

This is from Graham Woods, stuff from Motorman magazine and Graham's photo's

Motorman 1966 opening of the Club Circuit, do we still wish it was there ; Yes is my Vote
Article mentions the Dennis Smith Special - powered by an Outboard Motor. V4 of 1500cc .. amazing !!


Photo's of the car too quick and too fragile, I seem to remember !!


sorry about the size of the picture


Steve Holmes I need help !!

I have a newspaper pick showing Jim Palmer in his Lotus 20 with Mr Parton -President Grand Prix organization- and Bill Stevenson-contractor-standing on the track after a test run

John McKechnie wrote:I have a newspaper pick showing Jim Palmer in his Lotus 20 with Mr Parton -President Grand Prix organization- and Bill Stevenson-contractor-standing on the track after a test run

John, send it too me I will publish it here .. would be a great article to add .. PM me cheers Roger D

Roger Dowding wrote:Photo's of the car too quick and too fragile, I seem to remember !!
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I recall someone saying the reason it crashed was because he didn't provide any proper air outlets for the radiator, so at speed, the pressure built up and tried to tear the nose off......

He also built a gorgeous sports car.

Allan wrote:He also built a gorgeous sports car.

Which is now being rebuilt by Louis McNair, son of Rob who built the gorgeous Riley Moth and Grandson of Wallace. Louis has already built penny farthing, often seen at Leadfoot, boardtrack twin engine Villiers, a plane... Bantam racer... Very talented young man, with more than a bit of parental guidance and skill to draw on.

The single seater certainly had some aero issues, it wasn't nice looking at it from the bottom as it reared up around the kink on the back straight at Puke from a flag point!

I was dead keen to see it, as it had been featured in the Harold, so went out to Puke, but he had already binned it. Did it sound OK?

SPman wrote:I was dead keen to see it, as it had been featured in the Harold, so went out to Puke, but he had already binned it. Did it sound OK?

It sounded incredible, those megaphones were awesome, in the real sense of the word. Heaps of revs. Think of a racing offshore powerboat, but louder!

Allan wrote:He also built a gorgeous sports car.

This one with Allan Woolf at the wheel - Manfeild 1992

Milan Fistonic wrote:This one with Allan Woolf at the wheel - Manfeild 1992

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Is that Dennis beside the car ? I am sure he had a beard at some stage.

Yes that is Dennis.