The Roaring Season

Rhys,
I do not mean to spoil your thread but I found this old photo of a Baypark race that my brother was in. The Mini at the back of the grid.
I would like to have the date and names of the other entries. (Barry Phillips is on the left in the front row. )
The quality is a bit rough but the crowd size can be noted !
Cheers,
Ken H.

Reg Cook- 100.
Could this be a practice day, not a race day as there doesnt seem to be a starter or marshals there.
If so could that be Jim Boyd in Barry Phillips Mini?
This could make this late 1969.

Thanks John,
Yes it is probably a practice session for a handicap race perhaps.
Thanks for dating it for me.
What is that neat looking sports car in front of my brother's Mini ?

(Ken H )

The last two photos are one and the same. I just cropped it.

The Alfa is a 1966 Giulia Sprint 1600, the Fiat 850 Coupe looks to be the Abarth version due to the name badge across the front.

John McKechnie wrote:Reg Cook- 100.
Could this be a practice day, not a race day as there doesnt seem to be a starter or marshals there.
If so could that be Jim Boyd in Barry Phillips Mini?
This could make this late 1969.

Is the Imp Richards? I vaguely recall seeing it look similar before it took on the Sidchrome identity

Rhys,
Were these last photos at the Caltex garage in Matamata ?

Yes Sean that does look a bit like Richards Imp. So my brother was mixing with some pretty good company.


1969 Levin Rothmans 4 hour race
(Ken H)

Agree with you on the Fiat Spgeti. Imagine what that would be worth today.
Allan

khyndart in CA wrote:Rhys,
Were these last photos at the Caltex garage in Matamata ?

If they were taken in Matamata, the U2 is the one built by Graham McRae. My mate Ian Morrison bought it from someone in Matamata and later sold it to Graeme Morley.

Milan Fistonic wrote:If they were taken in Matamata, the U2 is the one built by Graham McRae. My mate Ian Morrison bought it from someone in Matamata and later sold it to Graeme Morley.

A very nice car that went to the South Island at one stage - the independent rear end went into an Escort [Reg Bartlett around 1974]
I think it all went back together as the McRae U2, seem to remember it resurfacing at maybe the first Lyttelton street races in the mid 80's.

Kwaussie
[Frequent visitor to Technical Books Newmarket!!] when they were there.

khyndart in CA wrote:Rhys,
Were these last photos at the Caltex garage in Matamata ?

Yes Sean that does look a bit like Richards Imp. So my brother was mixing with some pretty good company.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]37849[/ATTACH]
1969 Levin Rothmans 4 hour race
(Ken H)

Hi Ken, yes, the cars were more part of the car sales yard next to the garage. The garage /service station was owned by Allen ? (my best friend later married the daughter) The sales guy had a very pronounced limp. There were often some pretty cool cars on the yard.
Thanks Steve for giving these the light of day. Glad there were some interesting bits there, and if the sow a few seeds, that's great.
Yes that was an Abarth coupe.

Oldfart wrote:Hi Ken, yes, the cars were more part of the car sales yard next to the garage. The garage /service station was owned by Allen ? (my best friend later married the daughter) The sales guy had a very pronounced limp. There were often some pretty cool cars on the yard.
Thanks Steve for giving these the light of day. Glad there were some interesting bits there, and if the sow a few seeds, that's great.
Yes that was an Abarth coupe.

Rhyce, was that the old Cowling's garage where I did my aprenticeship or the G.M. garage or Black's garage?

I don't want to hijack this thread but as the discussion has got on to Matamata I thought these "then and now" photos might be of interest.


This is from 1965 and was taken at the corner of Tamihana and Rata Streets.




This is the scene today.

Kevin Hirst wrote:Rhyce, was that the old Cowling's garage where I did my aprenticeship or the G.M. garage or Black's garage?

Hi Kev, that garage was opposite the primary school on Broadway, almost right beside the pedestrian crossing. I thought Cowlings was on Rawhiti, and the GM guys between Arawa and Tainui, it's a few days ago.
Great pic Milan, is that Jamie going "Whoops"? And who/what is the #114 car? Current photo I think is taken from another spot, (Hohaia into Tamihana?) as my memory says that circuit came along Hohaia, then up Tamihana to Meura, then the only left into Tui. Could be wrong though.

The photos are taken from approximately the same spot. Check out the house in the background - that's on the corner of Tamihana and Rata.

Memory had me correct, what a miracle! The first of your photos shows the 3 cars about to take a corner, and folks standing out the front and no corner next door but the circuit didn't go into Rata, whereas your second (current) has that house on a corner.
I was really puzzled, but looking at the windows of the house and such showed differences, so I wondered. My previous says them going into Tamihana, finger error I meant to say into Meura, so if the old photo is closer to Meura it would make sense. Having said that it's not a long way between the two. I am not being critical Milan, it was part of my life, just confused. I know Rata went through from the domain to Memorial Drive, as it was on the Friday night (naughty) driving route. Skids on the grass.

Milan and Rhys, you certainly have brought back memories from that era.
I remember cheering on Brian Innes and also watching Jim Boyd lose control and sliding almost up the stairs to the church on the corner of Broadway and Hohaia !
I think Spinner Black drove a Triumph Spitfire at Matamata at one time.

http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthread.php?847-Matamata-Round-the-houses

Before that we went to the Waharoa Aerodrome for the Grass Track Meet. That programme certainly has some well known names.
The description of the dust and the track was pretty accurate by Rex Bentham. " You couldn't see much of the racing, only the start, the rest of it was under a huge cloud of dust. By the end of the day the cars had dug a trench around each corner. Some great old cars tho', "
I can remember Denny Hulme being a guest speaker at the lunch break after his first season in Europe and describing a crash he was involved in and the tread marks were left on the top of his helmet !


(Ken Hyndman )

Winding down towards the finish. Clearly some overlapping in the third image.

Ooh ! Black body, gold roof and snout, and carrying #103 : is the A40 Graham Watson ?

GD66 wrote:Ooh ! Black body, gold roof and snout, and carrying #103 : is the A40 Graham Watson ?

I thought not, but hopefully Milan will come in here. Aren't A40s cool? Club meeting given the lack of crowd. Obviously before May 67!