Gregg Hansford

Gregory John Hansford (8 April 1952 – 5 March 1995) was an Australian professional motorcycle and touring car racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1978 to 1981 and in Australian touring car championships from 1982 to 1994. Hansford was a two-time vice-champion in the 250cc road racing world championships. With 10 Grand Prix victories to his credit, he is ranked fourth for the most Grand Prix wins by an Australian behind Mick Doohan (54 wins), Casey Stoner (38) and Wayne Gardner (18).

After his international motorcycle racing career ended prematurely in 1981 due to serious injuries from a racing accident, Hansford returned to Australia and established himself as a competitive driver in Australian touring car competitions. Hansford's 1993 Bathurst 1000 victory gave him the unique distinction of winning a race at the Mount Panorama Circuit in both motorcycle and automobile racing events. He died in an accident while competing in a Supertouring race at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in 1995. In 2016 he was inducted into the Australian Motor Sport Hall of Fame.

Motorcycle racing career Early Australian racing

Hansford was born in East Brisbane, Queensland, Australia where he attended Milton State School (1958–1960), the Anglican Church Grammar School (1961–1967) and Brisbane State High School (1967–1969). John Taylor at Brisk Sales supported his early road racing career by offering him the opportunity to race a Kawasaki H1R, which led to an offer to race for the Brisbane Yamaha distributor, Annand and Thompson. The Annand and Thompson-Yamaha team obtained one of the newly-released machines on which Hansford made his international racing debut at the 1974 Daytona 200, then considered one of the most prestigious motorcycle races in the world. However, during the race the motorcycle experienced ignition problems and he failed to finish.

Hansford returned to Australia where his battle with Warren Willing in the 1974 Unlimited Class Grand Prix at the Mount Panorama Circuit has been cited as one of the greatest Australian motorcycle races of the 1970s. The victory marked the first of six Australian motorcycle road racing National Championships in different classes that he won during his motorcycle racing career. Hansford’s KR750 lacked the power to compete with the Yamaha TZ750, but he made up the deficit with sheer ability. At the Canadian round of the 1977 FIM Formula 750 Championship held at the Mosport Circuit on September 18, Hansford beat Yvon Duhamel and eventual Formula 750 champion, Steve Baker for the victory.

Hansford's international results were so impressive that, the annual motorsports publication, Motocourse, rated him as the number five rider in the world, despite the fact that he had never ridden in an FIM World Championship Grand Prix race.

1979 riders' revolt During the 1979 season, the riders had boycotted the 1979 Belgian Grand Prix due to the dangerous track surface. The circuit had been paved just days before the race, creating a track that many of the racers felt was unsafe due to diesel fuel seeping to the surface. The event highlighted the animosity between motorcycle racers and the FIM concerning track safety. At the time, many motorcycle Grand Prix races were still being held on street circuits with hazards such as telephone poles and railroad crossings. Dedicated race tracks of the time were also dangerous for motorcycle racers due to the steel Armco trackside barriers preferred by car racers.

Yamaha rider Kenny Roberts began talking to the press about forming a rival racing series to compete against the FIM's monopoly. At the end of the 1979 season, Hansford joined Roberts, Barry Sheene and British motorsports journalist, Barry Coleman, in announcing their intention to break away from the FIM and create a rival race series called the World Series, with most of the top Grand Prix racers joining in the revolt.

Belgian Grand Prix accident The Kawasaki factory launched a full effort in the 500cc World Championship, with Hansford and Ballington riding the KR500. His first ATCC race was in Round 6 at Surfers Paradise where he qualified a surprising third behind Moffat and Brock and after missing a gear at the start and dropping to 11th at the first turn, put in a great drive to finish in 3rd place. He then finished in 6th place at Oran Park before finishing second to Peter Brock's Holden Dealer Team Commodore in the wet final round at Lakeside in Brisbane (Moffat finished 3rd to clinch his 4th ATCC). He then qualified 12th in the Mazda at the 1983 James Hardie 1000 (Moffat qualified his car 14th), though problems saw him and co-driver Garry Waldon not classified as finishers after only completing 49 laps. Moffat and Japanese driver Yoshimi Katayama finished second outright. Moffat, who was making his comeback to racing after a crash earlier in the year at Surfers Paradise, started the race from pole and although suffering from the flu handed the car to Hansford in the lead ahead of 1984 ATCC winner Dick Johnson in his Ford XE Falcon, a lead the former Grand Prix Motorcycle star would not lose.

Later, the pair finished second in the Mazda at the Castrol 500 at Sandown before they went on to finish third at the 1984 James Hardie 1000 at Bathurst. The Moffat team entered two cars for the race with Hansford listed in both cars alongside Moffat. Hansford won a number of fans by qualifying his RX-7 in eighth place and it was his car (which the team admitted was not meant to run the full race) that crossed the line third after Moffat's own car had been retired with overheating on lap 15.

After Australian touring car racing changed from the locally developed Group C rules to the international Group A rules in 1985, Hansford was forced to look elsewhere as Mazda (nor Moffat for the season) wouldn't be competing. Though at the start of 1985, the Moffat team took their Mazda RX-7, along with Peter McLeod and Kevin Bartlett to drive in the 24 Hours of Daytona. After Moffat qualified the car 38th in the GT class, they progressed through to the top-five in their class before engine problems saw them drop back to 24th outright at the end of the race.

Hansford then teamed with Moffat's former teammate Colin Bond to drive an Alfa Romeo GTV6 to eighth outright and first in Class B in the 1985 James Hardie 1000. The following year he joined fellow Queenslander Dick Johnson in a Ford Mustang GT and finished the 1986 James Hardie 1000 in fourth outright.

Hansford stayed with Dick Johnson Racing for the 1987 season, with the team running two new Ford Sierra RS Cosworth's in the 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship. The team endured a tough season with the fast but fragile turbo Sierras which were upgraded to the more reliable, and much more powerful RS500 version for the endurance races. The 1987 James Hardie 1000 was a disaster for the team with the Johnson/Hansford car retiring from the race with a mechanical failure after just 3 laps, while the team's second car retired one lap earlier after Neville Crichton crashed with the Holden Commodore of Larry Perkins.

Hansford was told by Dick Johnson at that year's Jack Newton Celebrity Pro-Am that he won't be driving for DJR in the 1988 Australian Touring Car season and was replaced with former dual Australian Drivers' Champion John Bowe. He again linked with Allan Moffat and the pair went on to win the Enzed 500 at Sandown driving a Ruedi Eggenberger built Ford Sierra RS500. The pair were joined by Eggenberger's ace West German driver Klaus Niedzwiedz at the 1988 Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst (with Eggenberger himself engineering the car for the race), and were leading by almost a lap on lap 129 when the car suffered engine failure with Hansford at the wheel (the turbocharged engine suffered a head gasket failure).

Hansford would drive the RS500 Sierras for both Allan Moffat and Glenn Seton Racing in both the ATCC and at Bathurst over the next four seasons, though on-track results would elude him. He finished 2nd at the 1993 James Hardie 12 Hour with Charlie O'Brien in a Mazda RX-7 and won the 1993 Tooheys 1000 at Bathurst with Larry Perkins in a Holden Commodore (VP). Hansford's 1993 Bathurst 1000 victory gave him the unique distinction of winning a race at the Mount Panorama Circuit in both motorcycle and car racing. Such performances earned him further respect and drives in both V8 Supercars and Super Touring, with highlights being third in the 1994 Tooheys 1000 and third in the 1994 Sandown 500 all partnered with Larry Perkins in a Holden VP Commodore.

Death While competing in a Supertouring race in 1995 at Phillip Island, Hansford's Ford Mondeo slid off the track and hit a tyre wall at high speed. The car bounced back onto the track where he was hit by Mark Adderton's Peugeot 405 at over 200 km/h. Hansford died moments after the impact. At the time of his death, his youngest son Harrison, born to model Carolyn Donovan, was only eight months old.

In 2007, Hansford's older sons from his marriage to Julie-Anne, Ryan and Rhys had made their first steps into a motor racing career and Ryan presently (2025) competes in Touring Car Masters. Ryan previously competed in the Australian Mini Challenge and V8 Ute Racing Series.

Hansford is buried in Brisbane's Pinnaroo Lawn Cemetery.

Career summary

Season Series Position Machine Team 1974 Australian Unlimited Motorcycle Series 1st Yamaha TZ750 Annand and Thompson-Yamaha 1978 250 cc World Championship 2nd Kawasaki KR250 Team Kawasaki Australia 350 cc World Championship 3rd Kawasaki KR350 Team Kawasaki Australia 1979 250 cc World Championship 2nd Kawasaki KR250 Team Kawasaki Australia 350 cc World Championship 3rd Kawasaki KR350 Team Kawasaki Australia 1980 350 cc World Championship 15th Kawasaki KR350 Team Kawasaki Australia 1982 Australian Endurance Championship NC Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing 1983 Australian Touring Car Championship 8th Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyvesant International 1983 Australian Endurance Championship 6th Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyvesant International 1984 Australian Endurance Championship 2nd Mazda RX-7 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship 28th Alfa Romeo GTV6 Network Alfa / The Toy Shop 1985 Australian Endurance Championship 7th Alfa Romeo GTV6 Network Alfa 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship 30th BMW 635 CSi Charlie O'Brien 1986 Australian Endurance Championship 28th Ford Mustang GT Palmer Tube Mills 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship 10th Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team 1987 World Touring Car Championship NC Ford Sierra RS500 Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship NC Ford Sierra RS500 Allan Moffat Enterprises 1988 Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship NC Ford Sierra RS500 Allan Moffat Enterprises 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship 15th Ford Sierra RS500 Allan Moffat Enterprises 1990 Australian Touring Car Championship 10th Ford Sierra RS500 Allan Moffat Enterprises 1991 Australian Endurance Championship 24th Ford Sierra RS500 Peter Jackson Racing 1994 Australian Super Production Car Series 7th Mazda RX-7 Mazda

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points 15 12 10 8 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Car Racing

Complete Australian Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete World Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DC Points 1987 Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team Ford Sierra RS500 MNZ JAR DIJ NUR SPA BNO SIL BAT CLD WEL FJI NC 0 Not registered for series & points

Complete Asia-Pacific Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 DC Points 1988 Allan Moffat Enterprises Ford Sierra RS500 BAT WEL PUK FJI NC 0

Complete Bathurst 1000 results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1982 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Lucio Cesario Mazda RX-7 A - DNS DNS 1983 Peter Stuyvesant International Garry Waldon Mazda RX-7 A 49 DNF DNF 1984 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 Group C 161 3rd 3rd Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 15 DNF DNF 1985 Network Alfa Colin Bond Alfa Romeo GTV6 B 158 8th 1st 1986 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT C 162 4th 3rd 1987 Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 1 3 DNF DNF 1988 Allan Moffat Enterprises Klaus Niedzwiedz Allan Moffat Ford Sierra RS500 A 129 DNF DNF 1989 Allan Moffat Enterprises Pierre Dieudonné Ford Sierra RS500 A 30 DNF DNF 1990 Allan Moffat Enterprises Pierre Dieudonné Klaus Niedzwiedz Ford Sierra RS500 A 138 DNF DNF 1991 Peter Jackson Racing Glenn Seton Ford Sierra RS500 A 146 9th 8th 1992 Allan Moffat Enterprises Klaus Niedzwiedz Ford Sierra RS500 A 128 19th 17th 1993 Castrol Perkins Racing Larry Perkins Holden VP Commodore A 161 1st 1st 1994 Castrol Perkins Racing Larry Perkins Holden VP Commodore A 161 3rd 3rd

Complete 24 Hours of Daytona results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1985 Allan Moffat Racing Allan Moffat Kevin Bartlett Peter McLeod Mazda RX-7 GTO 482 24th 7th

Complete Sandown 400/500 results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1982 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Lucio Cesario Mazda RX-7 D NA DNF DNF 1983 Peter Stuyvesant International Garry Waldon Mazda RX-7 Over 3000cc 122 6th 6th 1984 Peter Stuyvesant International Racing Allan Moffat Mazda RX-7 Over 3000cc 128 2nd 2nd 1985 Network Alfa Colin Bond Alfa Romeo GTV6 B 126 4th 2nd 1986 Palmer Tube Mills Dick Johnson Ford Mustang GT B 16 DNF DNF 1987 Shell Ultra Hi-Tech Racing Team Dick Johnson Neville Crichton Ford Sierra RS500 B 86 DNF DNF Dick Johnson Ford Sierra RS500 - DNS DNS 1988 Allan Moffat Enterprises Allan Moffat Ford Sierra RS500 A 129 1st 1st 1989 Allan Moffat Enterprises Allan Moffat Ford Sierra RS500 A 12 DNF DNF 1990 Allan Moffat Enterprises Klaus Niedzwiedz Ford Sierra RS500 Div.1 111 DNF DNF 1991 Peter Jackson Racing Glenn Seton Ford Sierra RS500 A 146 DNF DNF 1993 Castrol Perkins Racing Larry Perkins Holden VP Commodore V8 101 DNF DNF 1994 Castrol Perkins Racing Larry Perkins Holden VP Commodore V8 161 3rd 3rd

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 1992 Mazda Australia John Bowe Mazda RX-7 T 245 5th 3rd 1993 Mazda Australia Charlie O'Brien Mazda RX-7 T 261 2nd 2nd 1994 BP Mazda Motorsport Neil Crompton Mazda RX-7 X 262 1st 1st