15. Howden Ganley: From F1 Driver to Sports 2000 Manufacturer

03/10/22 • 30 min

The Sports 2000 podcast

Host Sue Stockdale talks to Howden Ganley, a New Zealander who was inspired as a child to become a racing driver having been a spectator at the 1955 NZ Grand Prix. Howden talks about how he turned that passion into a reality, ultimately competing in 41 Formula One Championship Grand Prix races before he turned his attention to becoming a manufacturer.
Howden went on to found Tiga Race Cars in 1975 along with ex F1-driver Tim Schenken with the name being derived from the first two letters of 'Tim & Ganley' and being pronounced “Tyga”. Tiga constructed racing cars for various forms of open wheel racing and sports car racing, with over 400 chassis being sold. He reflects on his life and the highlights of his career as a racing driver and manufacturer.
Key Quotes:
'My family used to say, you'll grow out of it by the time you're 21, but I never did grow out of the love of racing.'
'Drivers today do benefit from the improvement in safety because it was stupidly dangerous in my day, and when you are young you think you are immortal.'
'I went to my first F1 season as the number three driver. At the end of the year I was the only one left.'
'I suppose I do look at them (Tiga cars) as children and get terribly frustrated when I see how people have modified them.'
'I mostly achieved what I wanted to, but didn’t get to where I really wanted to be and that was world champion.'
'Sadly most of today’s Grand Prix drivers, with the notable exception of Sebastian Vettel, have zero interest in motorsport history.'
'Formula 1 engines have become so efficient. Its absolutely amazing. They are now aiming for 60% efficiency out of an internal combustion engine.'
The Sports 2000 Championship has been established since 1977 and features Duratecs, Pintos and Historic Pintos.
Leave your feedback about the podcast https://sports2000.co.uk/podcasts/
Find out more at www.sports2000.co.uk or on social media
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/srcc_sports2000/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Sports-2000-Championships-327158720703344
Twitter https://twitter.com/SportsCarChamp
Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Previous Episode

14. Rob Whitwell: Racing Down Under

Host Sue Stockdale talks to Rob Whitwell about what it's like racing a Sports 2000 in Australia, including the circuits they race on, and what he enjoys about driving a Sports 2000.
Rob Whitwell from Melbourne, in the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria has always had a passion for cars and motorsport, growing up on a service station and garage. He studied Civil Engineering at Swinburne University and when career and family took priority over motorsport, his focus ended up in the construction and property market. Rob had major construction and development companies until he retired in 2016.
At age 50 he returned to motorsport with an Historic compliant MGB roadster which he ran for four years. He then purchased a MGB GT V8 full spec race car, and over the next 12 years Rob raced it whilst developing the car to finally have it producing over 500bhp. The MGB had a 6-speed sequential gear box and ran on 12" wide slicks. In 2015 Rob imported his Tiga SC85 and restored it over two years to begin racing it in 2018.
Leave your feedback about the podcast https://sports2000.co.uk/podcasts/
The Sports2000 Championship has been established since 1977 and features Duratecs, Pintos and Historic Pintos.
Connect with us at www.sports2000.co.uk or on social media
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/srcc_sports2000/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Sports-2000-Championships-327158720703344
Twitter https://twitter.com/SportsCarChamp
Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)

Next Episode

16. Mike Turner: Reflecting on fifty years of racing

Host Sue Stockdale talks to Mike Turner who has been involved in motorsport for many years. Mike reflects on being part of the Sports 2000 community since almost the beginning of its existence, and his career in racing.
Mike Turner first attended a race meeting with his parents at 5 years old and began club racing in 1968 in a Mini Cooper S. He then progressed to Formula Ford racing a Merlyn Mk 11A competing in the British and European Championships in 1969 and 1970. Mike was studying automotive engineering when the opportunity arose to join March Engineering in 1970. During this time, Mike worked on the Formula 1 and 2 teams, which included the team winning the European Formula Two championship in 1971 with Ronnie Peterson.
He later worked for a couple of other teams before starting a career in publishing, working for The Engineer magazine for thirty years. Mike started racing again, firstly in Multisports winning the championship in 1994, and then moving to Formula 2000 single seaters until 1997. In 1998 Mike started racing in Sports 2000, driving a Pinto, a Lola, and also a Shrike, where he won Class B. Mike then moved onto Duratec in the mid 2000s and has driven Van Diemen, Lola, and MCR Sports 2000 Duratec cars since then.
Key Quotes
‘The more you go back to a circuit, the more familiar it becomes, and you start to learn what you can do with the car.’
‘I think the thing with racing cars is you're never finished with them. No matter how much time you spend in the workshop or trying to get ready, there's always something else to do.’
‘We (the March team) won the European Formula Two championship with a guy called Ronnie Peterson. Another guy I’m sure people will have heard of was Niki Lauda who was an up and coming youth at that time, but turned out to be very, very quick.’
‘We (Sports 2000) still retain the ethos of fun racing at a sensible cost.’
Leave your feedback about the podcast https://sports2000.co.uk/podcasts/
The Sports2000 Championship has been established since 1977 and features four championships - Duratecs, Pintos, Historic Pintos and Mini Enduro.
Find out more at www.sports2000.co.uk or on social media
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/srcc_sports2000/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Sports-2000-Championships-327158720703344
Twitter https://twitter.com/SportsCarChamp
Sound Editor: Matias de Ezcurra (he/him)
Producer: Sue Stockdale (she/her)