Howard Smith

Howard Smith is a long-time fan of last issue’s Muscle Man pro lee Spencer Martin. Initially, the ‘old school ties that bind’ drew Howard to the twotime Australian Drivers Championship (Gold Star) winner. Howard attended the same school in Sydney’s suburban north as Martin, what’s now Marist College Eastwood [ED: Me too!]. “As an ‘Old Boy’ of his school, I was always a great fan,” Howard writes. “He was about two years ahead of me and I followed his racing career with great interest. I have included my collection of photos of him.” We are especially taken by the side-on shot of the #1 Brabham Climax 2.5 which magni cently conveys the sensation of speed. Danger is written all over another shot, with a very brave Kevin Bartlett attempting to nip down the inside of Martin at McPhillamy Park in 1967. You could say KB is doing ‘a van Gisbergen’, mimicking the Kiwi’s move in a McLaren 650S GT3 on Mika Salo’s Ferrari in the 12 Hour 47 years later. And just how treacherous does the Catalina track look as Martin presses on in the #51 Humpy! The #46 Vauxhall Viva won class A at Bathurst in the hands of Martin and Bill Brown, who both raced a far more exotic and speedy Scuderia Veloce-entered machine, the Ferrari 250LM.