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TOM JOHNSTON ... our Canadian friend
Tom Johnston was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1941 and grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan. He began racing in 1962, at the age of 20. Over the years, he participated in well over 300 race events at tracks across North America, as a driver, car designer and manufacturer and team owner. He has designed, built and then raced ten different cars, as well as racing 15 others. In 1969 he left the prairies and moved to the North Shore of Vancouver. In addition to his many and varied racing experiences, Johnston built a career in engineering and founded Thomas E. Johnston Engineering Inc. He was also employed by Keen Engineering, one of Canada’s largest mechanical engineering consulting firms, from 1972 tto 1999, starting as a student draftsman and finishing as President and CEO. He was awarded the Government of Canada’s Award for Business Excellence in 1990. In 1998, Johnston was honoured by being inducted into the Canadian Motor Sport Hall of Fame.
Tekst taken from "Granville Island Publishing"
Quoted: Norris McDonald, The Toronto Star Dec. 11, 2004
But Tom Johnston was good at something else: he was also one of Canada's best, all-round motorsports personalities. Over a 35-year-period, he drove, designed, built, did the mechanical work and entered race cars in more than 300 events across North America. When he wasn't in the cockpit himself, he prepared and entered cars for drivers of the stature of Ross Bentley and Frank Allers. In fact, Allers won the 1990 Canadian Formula Atlantic championship in one of Johnston's cars.
Tom Johnston wrote a first book Sports Car Road Racing in Western Canada , which will soon be followed by a second one Road Racing Circuits of Canada.
We are very honoured that Mr Johnston was so willing to offer us a helping hand in tracking down the Canadian tracks !
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