Bob Hayward
By David Greene

Bob Hayward 35 Years Ago

Bob Hayward got his start in Unlimited Racing as a mechanic on the Miss Supertest II and moved into the cockpit in late 1957 as a replacement for the former driver. In 1958, he won his first race on the St. Clair River against rather meager opposition. Hayward came into his own in 1959 as the driver of Miss Supertest III, which retired after four races undefeated, The III won the first time in the Ford Memorial over a good field of boats. The second win came in the International Harmsworth Trophy in a match race against Maverick, which was to go on to win the National High Point Championship for 1959.

Bob Hayward astounded the hydro world in 1960 by turning an 126 m.p.h. lap en route to the III's third victory, which was her second consecutive victory in the Harmsworth. Bob Hayward made it three consecutive Harmsworths in 1961 by defeating the Miss Detroit in a match race. Unfortunately, Hayward was killed in his next race about a month later when the Miss Supertest II flipped. In the minds of some, especially those who had witnessed the Harmsworth races of the twenties and thirties involving Gar Wood, the British International (Harmsworth) Trophy represented the epitome of motor boat racing featuring a competition among nations for international marine racing supremacy. By winning this event on three consecutive occasions, Hayward's place in the history of motorboating is secure.

(Reprinted from the Unlimited NewsJournal, March 1985)

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