Levin and Cabbage Tree Corner

[khyndart in CA]

Bruce McLaren took the family 1954 Austin Healey 100-4 # 19 to the 1956 Levin Meet.
He got in driving experience driving up Auckland's One Tree Hill as shown in this Bruce McLaren Trust photo.

On the second row of the dummy grid at Levin.

With the race underway, Bruce is coming around with the Len Gilbert Cooper Mk 7 # 12 tucked in behind, ahead of Gavin Quirk in his Cooper Bristol # 4 followed by Jim Boyd in his Buckler Ford # 23.

Later, McLaren moves over to let Gilbert and Boyd go by.

A young, 19-year-old Bruce McLaren at work, on the road to greatness.

(Harold Plimmer photos)



(Ken H)

[khyndart in CA]

Some of the Specials and unusual cars at Levin in 1956.

Doug Lawrence racing away at the back of the field in a Citreon 15 # 32. (Perhaps leaving the spare wheel on slowed him down !)

Doug Bransgrove in his Wolsley Hornet Special # 25
(Harold Plimmer photos)

(Ken H)

[bry3500]

Some great Levin photos on this thread
http://www.theroaringseason.com/showthr ... r+turnbull

[Roger Dowding]

" Some great Levin photos on this thread
http://www.theroaringseason.com/show...ander+turnbull "

Thanks again Bry3500 - yes great photos and many I had not seen before, some [ a few ] I had - but without knowing the origins.
I wonder who the Evening Post photographer was ?? - Did the EP hire him/her or just buy the negatinves ???

[jellywrestler]

" Some great Levin photos on this thread
http://www.theroaringseason.com/show...ander+turnbull "

Thanks again Bry3500 - yes great photos and many I had not seen before, some [ a few ] I had - but without knowing the origins.
I wonder who the Evening Post photographer was ?? - Did the EP hire him/her or just buy the negatinves ???

I did photograhphy early on of bike meetings but it was going to send me to the poor house. I went to the local newspaper and got three films each visit, a press pass to the race meetings and i think $10 a shot for any published. I lost a few years of my own photos, but they were all avaialble and recently all of them surfaced recently and brought back memories. Some geek collector nerd had managed to get hold of them, long live geek collector nerds i say.

[khyndart in CA]

More Harold Plimmer photos from 1956.

Ross Jensen in his Austin Healey # 18 making his way to the starting grid.
Ahead of the Fordy Farland Singer Special # 41 powered by a Buick 8 cylinder and in front of Bruce McLaren's Austin Healey # 19

Ross Jensen at work.

[bry3500]

" Some great Levin photos on this thread
http://www.theroaringseason.com/show...ander+turnbull "

Thanks again Bry3500 - yes great photos and many I had not seen before, some [ a few ] I had - but without knowing the origins.
I wonder who the Evening Post photographer was ?? - Did the EP hire him/her or just buy the negatinves ???

Davis, Bruce Valentine, 1913-2003
Amateur photographer, born Raetihi. Living in Wellington in 1980, later resident of Masterton.
Cheers Roger , the only details I could find about the photographer was that he was a keen amateur

[bry3500]

More great photos on these links
https://www.cabbagetreecornermedia.com/ ... n-pictures
https://www.cabbagetreecornermedia.com/ ... newspapers
https://www.cabbagetreecornermedia.com/ ... ork-page-3
https://www.cabbagetreecornermedia.com/ ... ork-page-5
and lots more on that web page

[khyndart in CA]

With John Climo encouraging and giving permission to present more of his material it is time for me to get going.
More Harold Plimmer photos from the Oct. 1956 event.
Syd Jensen driving a 1955 Cooper MK 9 500 CC # 5

At speed along the straight.

Syd Jensen approaching the Levin Hairpin. Note the crowd size.

Syd Jensen leading Ron Frost out of the Hairpin.

A bit of information about a Cooper Mark 9 T36/ T 37. (Do any 500cc racers still exist in NZ today ?)
http://500race.org/marques/1955-mk-ix-t36-t37/

(Ken H)

[GregT]

There are enough 500's tucked away that Auto restorations did a batch of 500 JAP engines some years back. I saw the raw castings and some machined cases too. I suspect that any 500 Manx Norton engines used in cars are now back in bikes due to the high prices being achieved for Manx Nortons.

[khyndart in CA]

I have been in touch with my friend , Graham Donaldson, and it was a shock to learn of the serious health issues he is battling with and we should keep Graham in our prayers. He was a great race mechanic sought by many teams and drivers back in the 70s and 80s.

Here is a photo of Graham running to assist Peter Gethin in the VDS Chevron # 2 wearing a floppy hat, white t shirt and sandals!
Before the start of 1974 Tasman International Series first race, January 5th 1974 at the Levin Motor Racing Circuit,

(Ken H)

[khyndart in CA]

Jim Clark first drove at Levin in 1961 in a Lotus 18 and the track was slightly longer at 2.09 kms. When he returned in 1965 the circuit was now 1.77 kms in length. The races were about 30 laps long which was not much time to see some of the greatest drivers of that era.
Clark put on a masterful drive in 1965 driving a Lotus 32B. ( I liked the cars then as you could easily see the driver's name on the car, compared to the tiny lettering of today!
The 1965 start at Levin and one can clearly see who is behind the wheel of car # 1 )

There is a Primotipo article about the 1965 race.
https://primotipo.com/2017/11/02/levin- ... land-1965/
It appropriately mentions the fine work of our Milan Fistonic. (Thanks Milan, you are a tremendous asset to all of us on TRS (Ken H )

" Levin event held on 14-16 January 1965.

Kiwi enthusiast Milan Fistonic took some marvelous photos at the event which are posted on Steve Holmes ‘The Roaring Season’ website, check it out if you have not, it’s a favourite of mine. They are paddock shots which ooze atmosphere- Milan focuses mainly on local boy Bruce McLaren and Clark, they are magic shots which I hope you enjoy. This account of the weekend draws heavily on the sergent.com race report. It is another ripper site I always use as my Kiwi reference source." (Primotipo)

( I was a great admirer of Jim Clark and when I saw this 1965 ? clip of him at his Scottish family home it was like a scene from "All Creatures Great and Small" and I almost expected James Herriott to come walking around the corner!
Although some of the passing here looked a bit dodgy!
What a great driver and a humble man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt3oinrK54w



(Ken H )

[khyndart in CA]

January 1968.
Jimmy was a busy man when he last drove at Levin, January 13th 1968.
On Monday Jan. 1st 1968, Clark won the South African F1 Grand Prix at Kyalami.
On Jan. 6th he competed in the NZGP at Pukekohe and on Jan 13th he drove at Levin.
(Perhaps all the travelling led to him making rare mistakes during the race ?)
This was the last time the Lotus 49 was seen in the team’s green and yellow colours.
By the time he had reached Wigram at Christchurch Jan. 20th, his Team Lotus 49T had been repainted in Gold Leaf cigarette sponsorship colours.

Pukekohe. Jan.6th 1968

Jan.13th. Levin. Rare mistakes by Jim Clark.

Jan.18th 1968. Christchurch. A healthy-looking Jim Clark in his newly painted Gold Leaf Lotus 49T. (Sponsorship had arrived!)

(Ken H)

[GregT]

The cars were completed the Thursday prior to Wigram. They were based in Hutchison Ford premises in central Christchurch. I don't know if they were painted on site or fresh bodywork was freighted out from the UK. I walked in the back door to find the cars deserted but finished. Just as in the pic of Jimmy but no-one around. While I stood there a guy in a suit walked in and said "what do you think /" I said Denis Jenkinson is going to have a fit. I asked if Eoin Young had seen them yet. He said "He's just left "
I'd been in the previous day and they were flat out with both cars stripped to the chassis.

If you knew where the teams were based and had the time you could go round and see how things were going. I regularly parked my motorcycle out the back of Ransley Motors where a number of the kiwi privateers were based. Ernie introduced me to G lawrence and we had a 3 way discussion on space frames while looking at the Loti and brabhams on view.

A different time.

[928]

I remember watchimg a mini harassing clyde colins falcon from cabbage tree up to the hairpin.mini would closeup on the falcon then use hime for brakes and turn down inside clyde on the apex and nip off for a half a lap. colin roberts was the mini driver i think, what ever happened to him?

[Roger Dowding]

Ken H,

John has a lot of Levin Programme's - they are duplicates - would you like some -let me know.

Cheers

Roger

[jellywrestler]

this is what I have, always on the hunt for more....
Levin Motor Racing Circuit keen on any missing ones please

1961 SAT JAN 14TH
1961 SAT NOV 25TH
1963 SAT JAN 12TH
1963 SAT MARCH 23RD
1963 SAT NOV 30TH
1964 SAT JAN 4TH
1964 SAT NOV 28TH
1965 SAT JAN 16TH
1965 SAT MAR 27TH
1965 SAT NOV 27TH
1966 SAT JAN 15TH
1966 SAT MARCH 12TH
1967 SAT JAN 14TH
1967 SAT NOV 25TH
1968 SAT JAN 13TH
1968 SAT MARCH 23RD
1968 SAT NOV 30TH
1969 SAT JAN 11TH
1969 SAT MARCH 22ND
1970 FR1 2ND SAT 3RD JAN
1971 JAN 2ND
1972 SAT JAN 15TH TASMAN INTERNATIONAL
1972 SAT MAR 4TH
1973 SAT JAN 13TH
1973 MAY 26TH HUTT VALLEY MCC
1975 SAT JUNE 7TH HUTT VALLEY MOTORCYCLE CLUB
1975 DEC 7TH
1976 SUN MARCH 14TH HUTT VALLEY MCC

[jellywrestler]

JUST SCORED NOV 29TH 1969 TODAY.

[khyndart in CA]

I know this is getting away from the subject but when I checked our family heritage I found my uncle had first entered the RNZAF at Levin before he headed off to the war and sadly died in England, January 1944.
Could someone kindly point out where the air force training was located at Levin in 1942 ?
Thank you.

Ken H

[Oldfart]

Slightly similar Ken, Mum taught maths to navigators during the war, and until the day she died she regretted having done so as she felt she sent young boys off to die in the bombers! Also because she had done that with no pay, she was forever denied a salary step in education.