Judy Ganley (Kondratieff)

 

Judy Kondratieff, also known as Judy Ganley, raced sportscars and saloons in the USA, between 1965 and 1972. 

She was born Judith Ann Wood in 1939. Her racing career began after her marriage to her first husband, Serguey Kondratieff, whom she had met at Stanford University. By 1965, they had separated. 

That year, Judy ran a Brabham BT8 with another racer called Bart Martin. Both of them drove it on occasion, although it was Judy who had bought it from Robs Lamplough. The car came without its original engine, so she had it fitted with a Ford V8. Only a year before, she had attended her first motor race. She would later claim that the smell of Castrol R drew her back.

Sadly, Bart died in June that year, following a serious accident at Candlestick Park.

Later in 1965, she returned to the circuits and drove an Austin-Healey Sprite in the Cotati 4 Hours. The car belonged to Judy and she shared it with Al Auger. Their finishing result has been lost.

For most of her career, she raced a Sprite, or after 1968, a Mini Cooper. In a 1970 newspaper interview, she admitted that “the big cars are too fast for me”. This was a touch disingenuous, as she was capable of going very fast in a small car. She was a regular at race meetings held by the San Francisco SCCA, and considered Laguna Seca her favourite circuit. 

In 1968, she took part in the American Road Race of Champions, driving the Mini. 

In 1970, she raced at the Sebring 12 Hours for the Ring Free Oil "Motor Maids" team, with Janet Guthrie and Rosemary Smith. She was back in a Sprite, this time in Sebring trim. The car was familiar, but this was her first experience of racing at night. She was also a lot shorter than Janet and Rosemary and found the car awkward to start with. Its right-hand drive did not help. The “Motor Maids” were 19th overall and first in class. Judy was part of the team again the following year, but car troubles intervened before it was time for her stint. The Chevron B16’s engine blew up on the second lap of the race.

At the same time as her Sebring adventures, Judy continued to race her Mini. She also married Formula One driver and former engineer, Howden Ganley, in 1971.

After her marriage to Howden Ganley and retirement in 1972, she worked in motorsport management and administration extensively. Since her early racing days, she had got involved in running her local SCCA chapter, so this was a logical extension of her skills. She worked for the McLaren Formula One team and earned a reputation as one of the best timekeepers in the business. Stories exist of her managing to time twenty cars with a single stopwatch. 

She was soon branching out into other management tasks, although these could sometimes be unorthodox. When working for the McLaren Can Am team, she instituted a routine for their drivers called “The Reading”. She would read out the letters page of Penthouse magazine in the team caravan for their benefit, as a way of helping them relax before a race.

Her achievements were not just in the areas of timing and morale-boosting, although she was adept at that. The “Doghouse Club” for Grand Prix ladies was often entertained by Judy’s singing and dancing at their fundraising events. Much later, she shared her piri-piri chicken recipe for “Racey Recipes”, a charity cookbook.

On the serious side, she provided administrative and management support to at least two Formula One teams and two major teams at Le Mans, including Matra. She even worked as an aerodynamicist in sportscar racing. When Howden Ganley and Tim Schenken founded the Tiga racing car company in 1976, Judy was there alongside them.

She died in 2007, after a long battle with cancer.

(Image copyright Judy Ganley/Erin Kondratieff)