“He’s just not normal”
From the first Grand Prix held at Ardmore in 1954, until the penultimate event in 1961, the circuit had not only been rain-free but also had generally been baking hot, with minimal places to escape the relentless rays. We had the Americans to thank for the aerodrome located some 30km southeast of central Auckland and so, by extension, for a Grand Prix venue close to the largest population base. Constructed during World War II, it didn’t take long for enthusiasts to note that airfields at Goodwood and Silverstone in England had transitioned into speed facilities – and there were many others across the UK. In time Britain would become firmly established as the home of European motor racing, thanks in part to the number of readymade circuits that had quickly sprouted during hostilities — one small positive side effect of the Nazi vileness. Racing at Wigram and Ohakea had shown the way here with inaugural events in 1949 and 1950 respectively. The first two races at Ardmore were not New Zealand GPs. It took until 1956 for the event to be officially accorded that status, at least ahead of the event. Curiously, the programme for the 1956 meeting referred to the ‘Third NZGP’, meaning the big races in the two preceding years were retrospectively granted that status.
It was Ardmore that introduced so many Kiwis to motorsport and it is frequently mentioned by the people I ‘lunch with’. From Steve Horne to the Andersons, Ardmore played a hugely significant part in the establishment of the sport in the northern North Island — Howden Ganley making a last-minute decision on the morning of the 1955 race to join his dad and brother on the run up from Hamilton, which he called “the day that changed my life”; a 13-year-old Chris Amon listening to Ron Roycroft leading the 1957 race in a Ferrari in a farmhouse 20km from Bulls; and countless people who became fans for life, including officials and/or competitors at whatever level. Reports of crowds of 60,000, even 70,000, spectators during those early years are frequently quoted based on
