Tony Roberts (racing driver)
Antony Martin Roberts, (17 November 1938 – 2000), was an Australian race and rally driver.
Career
Roberts won the 1968 Datsun 3 Hour Trophy at Sandown in Melbourne with Bob Watson, giving the Holden HK Monaro GTS327 a debut victory. In 1969 Roberts, then a prominent rally driver competing for a major Holden dealership, and with just a single season of circuit racing experience, was invited by Harry Firth to join his newly formed Holden Dealer Team and went on to take victory co-driving with Colin Bond in the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 HDT Holden HT Monaro GTS350.
Roberts and Bond won the 1970 Rothmans 12 Hour at Surfers Paradise, also in an HDT Monaro GTS350. Then Roberts drove a Holden Torana sports sedan which was used as a prototype for the Torana GTR XU-1 which debuted later in the year.
During the 1970 Hardie-Ferodo 500 Roberts was involved in a sensational incident late in the race when, after losing control, he launched his Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II backwards over Skyline before tumbling down the hillside.
Roberts made seven starts in the history of the Bathurst 1000, after his impressive debut with a third place (with Bob Watson) in 1968. Tony Roberts died in 2001.[1]
Career Results
Complete Bathurst 500/1000 results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 |  AM Roberts
|
Bob Watson
|
Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | D | 129 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 1969 | Holden Dealer Team
|
Colin Bond
|
Holden HT Monaro GTS350 | D | 130 | 1st | 1st |
| 1970 | The Tony Roberts Team
|
Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II | E | 124 | DNF | DNF | |
| 1971 | Dusting & Co Pty Ltd
|
Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 | D | 125 | 17th | 10th | |
| 1972 | Essendon Chrysler
|
Lawrie Nelson
|
Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49 | D | NA | DNF | DNF |
| 1976 | Clemens Sporting Car Servies Pty Ltd
|
Frank Porter
|
Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTAm | 1301cc – 2000cc | 149 | 16th | 4th |
| 1977 | Bill Patterson Racing
|
Doug Chivas
|
Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34 | 3001cc – 6000cc | 154 | 7th | 6th |
Complete Sandown Enduro results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Bob Watson
|
Holden HK Monaro GTS327 | D | 116 | 1st | 1st | |
| 1970 | Ford XW Falcon GTHO Phase II | E | NA | NA | 5th | ||
| 1971 | Dustings of Burwood
|
Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 | D | 124 | 3rd | 2nd |
References
- ^ Greenhalgh, David, "Vale Tony Roberts" in Normoyle, Steve (Ed.) The Great Race 2001 (Chevron Publishing, 2001) p. 52.