John R. Wright

In the Paddock at Harewood Acres with the Canada Class Autosport Special taken in the spring of 1956, probably by Jack Wheeler. Harewood Acres opened in the spring of 1956. BEMC signed a leasing agreement with farmer Russell Hare (hence the name of the track: Harewood). In those days, you could give farmer Hare $5 and you could run all day on the track. Hanna Collection

Story by John R. Wright

Read Part 1

JW: Let’s talk about your own career in racing, Bob. You started racing at almost the very beginning of the sport at the old air force track at Edenvale, just south of Georgian Bay.
Bob Hanna: That’s correct. I raced Jack Wheeler’s MGTD at Edenvale and here’s how lax crowd control was in those days. Carol, my wife, was there with our baby standing on the edge of the circuit while I was out there racing. Jack’s wife got a new Morris Minor and I bought her old Morris Minor with a sidevalve engine. I ported and polished the head, put two SU carburetors on it and balanced it. I raced it at the Carp racetrack in eastern Ontario, driving it to and from the track as was the fashion those days. It then became Carol’s daily driver.

Bob Hanna in the 1960s. Hanna Collection

By John R. Wright

Bob Hanna is one of those quiet and unassuming people who do things unobtrusively so that unless you look closely you miss the important achievements they have accomplished. Not only was he an effective race driver, but he was also a builder of the sport in Canada and one of his crowning achievements was the first Canadian Formula One Grand Prix at Mosport in 1967.