[8] 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.
[3][5][8] Both competitors rode similar Yamaha TZ750s in an event that featured numerous lead changes throughout the 20 lap race, before Willing took the victory over Hansford by a narrow margin.
[8] In a 1976 race held at the Laverton Air Force Base just outside Melbourne, Hansford rode the newly-released, water-cooled Kawasaki KR750 to victory over Grand Prix-winner, Pat Hennen.
[5] Hansford returned to the Daytona 200 in 1977, where despite the domination of the 750cc class by the Yamaha TZ750, he posted a credible fourth place result as the highest-placed Kawasaki rider.
[5][8] In his world championship debut at the 1978 Venezuelan Grand Prix, Hansford suffered a poor start in the 350cc race and was outside of the top twenty after the first lap.
[2] Ballington beat Hansford by a half a wheel in the 250cc Nations Grand Prix at Mugello and both riders were credited with identical race times.
[3] At the German Grand Prix held at the daunting, 14.2 miles (22.9 km) long Nürburgring racetrack, considered too dangerous for the Formula One championship, Hansford was the fastest 250cc and 350cc qualifier, on his first visit to the circuit.
[8] His injuries and tire problems led to a slow start in which he failed to score any points until the fourth round when he won the 350cc Nations Grand Prix at the Imola Circuit.
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.
[16] Yamaha rider Kenny Roberts began talking to the press about forming a rival racing series to compete against the FIM's monopoly.
[3] Hansford made only one appearance in the 1980 World Championships at the final round in Germany, where he debuted the new KR500 featuring a monocoque chassis, but retired with a mechanical issue.
[8] At the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 1980, he teamed with Eddie Lawson riding a modified Kawasaki Kz1000 to a second place behind Wes Cooley and Graeme Crosby on a Yoshimura-GS1000.
[8] He won the pole position at the Imola 200 pre-season race, but while avoiding slower riders, he hit a damp patch of track and crashed, sustaining a fractured tibia.
Hansford's first touring car race was in the second Moffat Mazda RX-7 at the 1982 Sandown 500 driving with young open wheel prospect Lucio Cesario.
[20][21] His first ATCC race was in Round 6 at Surfers Paradise where he qualified a surprising 3rd 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.
[22] Hansford's first touring car win was the 1984 Oran Park 250 in the 1984 Australian Endurance Championship with team boss Allan Moffat in the RX-7.
[27] 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.
[28] 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.
[33] 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).
[36] Such performances earned him further respect and drives in both V8 Supercars and Super Touring, with highlights being 3rd in the 1994 Tooheys 1000 and 3rd in the 1994 Sandown 500 all partnered with Larry Perkins in a Holden VP Commodore.
[37][38] 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.