One for the Kiwis
#1
Posted 26 September 2010 - 01:42
Regards
Sean McBride
Sunshine Coast OZ
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#2
Posted 26 September 2010 - 05:47
OTTOMH, the first race in October 1963 was won by a Jaguar 3.8 (Archibald/Shelly), but the Lotus-Cortinas took over the following year (Palmer/Fahey), after which it was decided to ban these, the Cortina GTs and Mini-Cooper 'S's, so that Jaguars were able to win again. Then came a couple of years when 3.3-litre Vauxhall Victors and MkIV Ford Zodiacs battled it out, before Chrysler Chargers took over and ruled the roost for some years. This was the period of domination by Timaru drivers, notably Leo Leonard but also Brent Hawes and Ernie and Gary Sprague
As well as the battle for overall victory, there were also fascinating struggles in the smaller classes: I can think of at least two TNFers who were involved in these, and I think from memory the newest member was a class-winner on at least one occasion
In addition to this, and of course the main saloon championships, there were shorter-lived long-distance production-car races at other circuits, but perhaps the most memorable series was the Castrol GTX championship, with names such as Jim Richards, Robbie Francevic, Leo Leonard, Rod Coppins, Wayne Murdoch and Inky Tulloch battling out the big class in Chargers, Torana XU1s and Falcon GTHOs
I'll try putting together a list of the Pukekohe race winners a little later
#3
Posted 26 September 2010 - 06:32
#4
Posted 26 September 2010 - 07:46
Below are the Pukekohe winners as far as my records go
Wills 6hr
1963 Archibald/Shelly (Jaguar 3.8)
1964 Palmer/Fahey (Lotus-Cortina)
1965 Ward/Coppins (Jaguar 3.8)
1966 Archibald/Shelly (Jaguar 3.8)
1967 E Sprague/G Sprague (Ford Zodiac)
Benson & Hedges 500
1968 Leonard/Hawes (Victor 3.3)
1969 Leonard/E Sprague (Victor 3.3)
1970 Leonard/E Sprague (Valiant)
1971 Leonard/Richardt (Valiant)
1972 Leonard/E Sprague (Charger)
1973 Richards/Coppins (Charger)
1974 Wilkinson/Innes (Charger)
Benson & Hedges 1000
1975 Leonard/G Sprague (Charger)
1976 Little/Richardt (Charger)
1977 Leonard/E Sprague (Charger)
1978 Wilkinson/Harrington (Charger)
1979 Coppins/Clayton (VW Golf)
1980 Coppins/Clayton (Commodore)
Benson & Hedges 500
1981 Leonard/G Sprague (Fairmont)
1982 Wilkinson/Crichton (Commodore)
1983 Hulme/Ray Smith (Commodore)
1984 Baigent/Lowe (BMW 635CSi)
Wins to that time:
8: Leo Leonard
5: Ernie Sprague
4: Rod Coppins
3: Gary Sprague, Wayne Wilkinson
#5
Posted 26 September 2010 - 10:21
#6
Posted 21 March 2013 - 06:32
I’d forgotten – there was a B&H series in the eartly ’80s
Below are the Pukekohe winners as far as my records go
Benson & Hedges 500
1972 Leonard/E Sprague (Charger)
1973 Richards/Coppins (Charger)
1974 Wilkinson/Innes (Charger)
Benson & Hedges 1000
1975 Leonard/G Sprague (Charger)
1976 Little/Richardt (Charger)
1977 Leonard/E Sprague (Charger)
1978 Wilkinson/Harrington (Charger)
David,
The interesting thing about those results was how dominant the Valiant Charger was in New Zealand, compared to its relatively unsuccessful career in Australia.
Apparently there were 2 main reasons for this:
1. The Charger was much better suited to the tighter, twistier NZ circuits than power circuits like Bathurst
2. The level of support given to teams in NZ was much more level, than compared to Australia where the GM and Ford factory support far outweighed the Chrysler support.
This excellent page gives some more details of the Charger's dominance in the B & H 500 race in the 70's:
http://www.valiant.org/nz.html
#7
Posted 21 March 2013 - 06:38
The first NZ national Group 1 championship, the 1972 Castrol GTX series, was open to imports, and was dominated by Falcon GTHOs and Torana XU1s