More on Andy Buchanan
I enjoyed your story about Andy Buchanan in Classic Driver Issue 53! We enjoyed having Andy at the Ferrari Festival, too, as he is quite a character!
I have a bit more information for your story…
Page 53 has a photo of Andy’s Brabham BT7A Climax [Chassis # IC/3/63] with a question mark as to location. It can’t be Wigram because Wigram was an active RNZAF Base at the time and only one race meeting a year was held there – in January annually. Plus the hills in the background are not the Port Hills. I was based at Wigram twice in my RNZAF career!
I believe the photo was taken at Renwick on 13 November 1965. This was Andy’s first race in the ex-Jim Palmer Brabham BT7A Climax. Andy finished 3rd in the Renwick 50 to Jim Palmer in his ex-Jim Clark Lotus 32B-Climax, and Roly Levis in his Brabham BT6 Ford.
Andy’s next race was at the Levin meeting on 27 November 1965. In Event 4, results show Andy finished in second place in the Racing & Sports Car Scratch Race of 8 laps (Roly Levis was 1st and Bill Caldwell in Andy’s old Brabham BT6 was 3rd). In Event 14 of 10 laps for the Gold Leaf Trophy Race, Andy was 1st ahead of Roly Levis, Graeme Lawrence (BT6) and Dennis Marwood in the ‘Rothmans’ Cooper T66 Climax. In Race 18 for the Fred Zambucka Memorial over 8 Laps, Andy lead until a spin at the Hairpin on the last lap let Levis, Lawrence, Caldwell and Marwood by – with Andy finishing in 5th place.
Andy’s next outing before Christmas and before the start of the 1966 international series was at Pukekohe on 11 December 1965. In the 15 lap ‘Rothmans Feature’ race Andy finished 4th behind Palmer, Marwood and Johnny Riley in the ex-Tony Shelly Lotus 18/21 Climax.
At the NZIGP at Pukekohe on 8 January 1966, Andy was on the grid in 12th place of 18 cars but at the start of the GP, Frank Gardner in his Brabham BT11 tangled with Andy when trying to avoid a stationary Jim Clark’s Lotus 39 Climax – and both Brabhams were eliminated.
At the Levin International held on 15 January 1966, Andy started in 14th place of 15 cars and finished 1 lap down in 9th place.
At the Lady Wigram Trophy raced on 22 January 1966 Andy started in 7th place on a grid of 18 cars and finished in a credible 5th place behind Jackie Stewart and Richard Attwood in their BRM P61s, Jim Palmer in his Lotus 32B and Spencer Martin in his Brabham BT11.
At the final NZ International of the year held at Teretonga, Andy was in 9th place on the grid of 19 cars. He retired on lap 33 of the scheduled 46 laps with a broken cam follower.
Andy then left with Palmer, Marwood and Levis to race in Tasman races in Australia. At Warwick Farm for the ‘Tasman 100’ on 13 February 1966, Andy did not start in the race as he had engine problems. For the 31st Australian GP held at Lakeside on 20 February 1966, Andy qualified 12th of 15 cars and finished in 7th place, 4 laps down. There is no record of Andy racing at Sandown Park, Melbourne on 27 February 1966, or at Longford, Tasmania on 7 March 1966. Although entered to race at Levin in the ‘Gold Leaf National Meeting’ on 12 March 1966, Andy did not race. And that seems to be the end of the BT7A – who did Andy sell it to?
In the Brabham BT7A, Andy finished in 11th equal place in the 1966 Tasman Cup, and 5th place in the 1966 NZ Gold Star.
The photo of the Ferrari 250LM on page 54 is of Spencer Martin who used car #11. Andy always had car #28 on the Ferrari (or 128 in the photo taken on 5 Nov ’66!).
Keep up the good work!! Jim Barclay Auckland