Bruce Fox’s love for Formula One cars began long before he would ever get his license, learn to drive, or take his own car—a 1996 Ford Taurus station wagon suped-up with a baby car seat in the back—lapping around Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. It started before he became fascinated by the rich history of Formula One and the greats like Jackie Stewart and James Hunt and traveled to watch races in real life as a teenager.
No, Bruce first became hung up racecars the same way so many other little boys did: playing with Dinky Toys in the basement, racing the die-cast cars over toy tracks.
“I think what really turns my crank is this sort of man and machine becoming one on a track,” says Bruce. “You have to really challenge yourself, whether you’re in a Ford Taurus or a super-charged Corvette.”
Bruce worked for years as a drama teacher with the Peel District School Board, and now that he’s retired, he’s “trying to check things off my bucket list.” And topping that to-do list? Drive a Formula One car.
Accompanied by his best friend Steve and a new Canon 70D camera with an empty memory card just waiting to be filled, Bruce travelled to Barcelona to make his dream come true.
“It was just an incredible experience. It was great. It was something that I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid,” Bruce says.
Behind the wheel of a real racecar, Bruce sped down the track at 150-miles per hour, an experience he describes as equally “terrifying and fantastic.” While Bruce has always respected the athleticism of Formula One drivers—in fact, he’ll gladly debate you on why legendary driver Jacques Villeneuve deserved to win Canada’s top athlete award, twice—after his experience in Barcelona, he admires the drivers even more.
“The interior of the car is extremely loud and extremely hot. You’re being thrown around and beaten up. It’s a sensory overload,” Bruce says. “All the while you also need to drive really fast and keep control.”
Although the whole trip was a whirlwind that sped by – in more ways than just on the racetrack – Bruce will have hundreds of photos to keep the adventure fresh for years to come.
“Steve and I tried to take advantage of the camera and capture the speed, the movement,” Bruce says. “This trip will be something that we will both fondly remember and share with our families.”
