Triumph and tragedy
The harsh realities, the pain, and the dangers of motor sport were never more present. I remember it being a warm summer’s day 53 years ago when I walked into the burns unit at Middlemore Hospital in South Auckland to visit a driver I very much admired. Kerry Grant had experienced what seemed at the time a fairly innocuous accident a few days earlier at the Pukekohe race track.
Six weeks previously, at Levin, Kerry’s favourite and home circuit, everything seemed to be going right for the 26-year-old Manawatu mechanic’s racing career following his transition from saloons to open-wheelers. Ever conscious of the extra danger in racing open, single-seater machines, Kerry was adopting a responsible, balanced approach to the sport he loved.
In November 1966, on a tight Levin track that often seemed more suited to smaller racing cars, Kerry shared the front row of the grid for the Fred Zambucka Memorial race with Graeme Lawrence. He quickly assumed the lead after a melee eliminated rivals Dennis Marwood and Dean Hollier. Not only that but Kerry set a lap record of 51.8 seconds in taking the
