The Road to Monaco: My Life in Motor Racing
By Howden Ganley
It all began for Howden Ganley at the 1955 New Zealand Grand Prix, an experience that set him on the path toward his career as a racing driver. After first competing in cars like his mother’s Morris Minor, he tackled entry-level single-seaters and began a progression that would carry him all the way to F1.
The first third of the book covers his days as a mechanic and engineer who dreamed of being a driver, but he eventually gets into F3 and begins working his way to F1, finally landing with BRM. Perhaps the book’s most engrossing tale is from the 1973 Canadian GP at Mosport, where Howden was one of several who believed they’d won the confused race.
The winding down of his F1 career was catalyzed by the deaths of Roger Williamson and, particularly, François Cevert, with whom he’d shared a Matra at Le Mans, and by 1978 he was driving his last race, a Can-Am at Mid-Ohio where he finished 5th in a 3-liter Mirage against the 5-liter opposition.
After exiting the cockpit he joined forces with old pal Tim Schenken to build Tiga racing cars for a variety of classes where they enjoyed significant success. This good read about a diverse career is available for US$79.95/£49.99/NZ$99.95 from enthusiast bookstores, Hortons Books at www.hortonsbooks.co.uk or in New Zealand from the Bruce McLaren Trust at www.bruce-mclaren.com
