Howden Ganley

James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of 10 championship points (only the top 6 places scored points). He also participated in numerous non-Championship Formula One races.

Howden Ganley

Born	(1941-12-24) 24 December 1941
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	New Zealander
Active years	1971 – 1974
Teams	BRM, Iso–Marlboro, March, Maki
Entries	41 (35 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	10
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1971 South African Grand Prix
Last entry	1974 German Grand Prix

Personal and early life

When he was thirteen years old, he attended the 1955 New Zealand Grand Prix at Ardmore[1] which inspired him and provided him with an impetus to follow a career in racing.[2] Immediately after leaving school, Ganley became a reporter for the Waikato Times[3] and wrote a column for Sports Car Illustrated.[3] He moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 and pursued a career as a mechanic.[1]

Career

Early career

Between 1960 and 1962, Ganley competed in many events throughout New Zealand driving a Lotus Eleven.[3] Throughout this period, he was earning a living by working as a foreman for a concreting company.[3]

In 1970, Ganley finished second to Peter Gethin in the European Formula 5000 championship.[1] This caught the attention of the BRM Formula One team, who signed him to a contract for 1971.

Formula 5000

In 1970, Ganley finished the European Formula 5000 Championship in 2nd place with help from his friend and mechanic Barry Ultahan.

Formula One

In 1971, Ganley started off the season promisingly with fifth place at the non-championship Race of Champions.[4] At the end of 1971, having scored two points finishes during the year, Ganley was awarded the Wolfgang von Trips Memorial Trophy for the best performance by a newcomer to Grand Prix racing.[3] In 1972 Ganley raced for the Marlboro BRM team and finished 13th in the Championship with 4 points. His highest finish for the season was 4th at the Nürburgring.[5] For the 1973 season Ganley signed up to drive an Iso–Marlboro car for Frank Williams Racing. At the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix he was almost declared the winner because of a timing mix up with the pace car; when the results were corrected, Ganley was classified sixth.

A suspension failure in practice for the 1974 German Grand Prix while driving for the Maki team left Ganley with serious foot and ankle injuries that ended his Grand Prix career.[3]

Ganley F1 Car

In 1975 a Ganley F1 project was initiated. The Ganley-Cosworth 001 car was hand-built by Howden Ganley on his premises at Windsor. It was almost readied, and Ganley had two DFV engines at hand, but it never ran in anger.[6] Ganley eventually used the equipment to start Tiga Race Cars with fellow driver Tim Schenken the following year.

Sportscars

Ganley and François Cevert drove a Matra-Simca MS670 to second place in the 1972 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Tiga Race Cars

1983 Tiga SC83 Sports 2000 car

In 1976 Ganley and former Formula One driver Australian Tim Schenken founded Tiga Race Cars as a British-based race car constructor and race team.[7] The team had plans to compete in Formula One in 1978, but the project did not proceed due to sponsorship withdrawal.[8]

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	WDC	Points
1971	Yardley Team BRM	BRM P153	BRM P142 3.0 V12	RSA Ret	ESP 10	MON DNQ	NED 7	FRA 10	GBR 8	GER Ret									15th	5
		BRM P160									AUT Ret	ITA 5	CAN DNS	USA 4
1972	Marlboro BRM	BRM P160B	BRM P142 3.0 V12	ARG 9	RSA NC	ESP Ret		BEL 8	FRA DNS										13th	4
		BRM P180					MON Ret
		BRM P160C								GBR	GER 4	AUT 6	ITA 11	CAN 10	USA Ret
1973	Frank Williams Racing Cars	Iso–Marlboro FX3B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG NC	BRA 7	RSA 10													19th	1
		Iso–Marlboro IR					ESP Ret	BEL Ret	MON Ret	SWE 11	FRA 14	GBR 9	NED 9	GER DNS	AUT NC	ITA NC	CAN 6	USA 12
1974	March Engineering	March 741	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG 8	BRA Ret	RSA	ESP	BEL	MON	SWE	NED	FRA							NC	0
	Maki Engineering	Maki F101											GBR DNQ	GER DNQ	AUT	ITA	CAN	USA

Footnotes

1. Bruce Jones, ed. (1998). The Complete Encyclopedia of Formula One. Carlton Books. p. 105. ISBN 1-85868-515-X.
2. "Drivers: Howden Ganley". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
3. "Howden Ganley – BRDC Archive Biography". British Racing Drivers Club. Archived from the original on 6 December 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
4. "Race of Champions Brands Hatch 1971". Gerald's Motor Sport Pictures. Retrieved 8 January 2007.
5. "Germany gp 1972". YouTube. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
6. "Grand Prix Cars that never raced". 8W. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
7. "AD Team Tiga – Event Partner at Spa Franchorchamps". www.tigaracecars.com. 27 September 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
8. "Interview with Mikko Kozarowitzky". F1 Rejects. Retrieved 8 January 2007.