Colin Bond

He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race (now the Bathurst 1000) at Bathurst, New South Wales in a Holden Monaro. Also known as a rally driver he was relatively unknown in circuit racing circles apart from a few forays racing various Isuzu Belletts, when he was chosen to partner Tony Roberts in one of three Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Monaros for the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst.

The race was won by the newly formed Holden Dealer Team with Colin Bond and Tony Roberts with team mates Peter Brock and Des West finishing third in their Holden Monaro GTS350's, with the team's third car finishing sixth.

Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. Also known as a rally driver he was relatively unknown in circuit racing circles apart from a few forays racing various Isuzu Belletts, when he was chosen to partner Tony Roberts in one of three Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Monaros for the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst.

Harry Firth hired six drivers to contest the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 for the Holden Dealer Team including two talented, but relatively untested, drivers in Colin Bond and Peter Brock.

On a day when the Fords crumbled with unsuitable tyres for the race, the HDT stood strong, putting all three Monaros (including one driven by Des West and a young Peter Brock which finished third) into the top six positions with Bond and Roberts winning.

Brock made his debut at Bathurst in the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 in a Holden HT Monaro GTS 350 alongside Des West, with the pair finishing third behind their winning HDT teammates Colin Bond and Tony Roberts.

He secured the Manufacturer's Championship for Holden by winning 3 out of 5 rounds, including the Sandown 250 enduro in his XU-1.

From 1970 the event's distance went from three hours to 250 miles, with Colin Bond driving a Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 to victory in 1971 and John Goss winning the last Series Production 500 in 1972 in a Ford XY Falcon GTHO Phase III.

He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race (now the Bathurst 1000) at Bathurst, New South Wales in a Holden Monaro. Also known as a rally driver he was relatively unknown in circuit racing circles apart from a few forays racing various Isuzu Belletts, when he was chosen to partner Tony Roberts in one of three Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Monaros for the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst.

The HDT entered three Monaros in the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 the lead car driven by Colin Bond and Tony Roberts winning from 1968 winners Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland who had switched to driving a Falcon GTHO.

He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race (now the Bathurst 1000) at Bathurst, New South Wales in a Holden Monaro.

The new GTS 350 Monaro, in the hands of Colin Bond and Tony Roberts, was able to hold out Ford to claim the second victory for Holden.

Bond also won the Catalina Park rallycross series, while on the bitumen he won the Toby Lee Series and Sun-7 Gold Medal.

The series featured a number of leading Sydney-based drivers, such as Holden Dealer Team driver Colin Bond, emerging Ford privateer John Goss, Ford stalwart Fred Gibson and Chrysler drivers Leo Geoghegan and Doug Chivas.

Also known as a rally driver he was relatively unknown in circuit racing circles apart from a few forays racing various Isuzu Belletts, when he was chosen to partner Tony Roberts in one of three Holden Dealer Team entered Holden Monaros for the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst.

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.

In 1974, as well as winning his third national Rally Championship, Bond won his third consecutive Sun-7 Chesterfield Series against a strong challenge by Bob Morris.

In the 1973 and 1974 seasons Morris was very competitive in the Sun-7 Chesterfield Series at Amaroo Park driving against the Holden Dealer Team's Colin Bond and other top Sydney drivers.

He also won the Australian Rally Championship and the Southern Cross Rally, along with the South Pacific Touring Series that year.

Some other notable Southern Cross winners were Colin Bond in a Holden Dealer Team Torana GTR XU-1 in 1971, the 'flying Finn' Rauno Aaltonen in a Datsun Violet 710 in 1977, Talmalmo farmer George Fury in 1978 and 1979 in the Datsun Stanza and Ross Dunkerton who won the 1980 rally driving a Stanza.

Despite this, Bond's co-driver John Harvey believes that he and Bond did indeed win the race (Bond himself has kept a dignified silence), despite the official result still showing Morris and Fitzpatrick as race winners.

Later in the year Harvey was signed up to co-drive with Colin Bond in the Holden Dealer Team Torana L34 which finished a close second in the Bathurst 1000.

Bond was a particularly versatile driver, also finding success in the Australian Rally Championship, winning the title in 1971, 1972 and 1974 driving a Holden Torana.

Bond confirmed that he turned down Moffat's offer, preferring instead to stick to his own car which was co-driven by open wheel driver Alan Hamilton (Bond was to have driven with Gregg Hansford, but the Queenslander had to withdraw through injury suffered in a Motorcycle racing accident).

He had previous ties to the Moffat team and was actually entered to partner Colin Bond in the second Moffat Ford Dealers Ford Falcon in the 1977 Hardie-Ferodo 1000.

But he did register two more Bathurst 1000 placings, finishing 3rd in 1983 with Allan Grice in a Roadways Racing Holden VH Commodore SS, and 1988; the latter occasion with Formula One World Champion Alan Jones as co-driver in a Ford Sierra RS500.

Third was the STP Roadways Racing Holden Commodore driven by 1982 pole sitter Allan Grice and 1969 winner Colin Bond.

At Bathurst Bond claimed pole position from the Ford XB Falcon GT Hardtop of Allan Moffat and led for much of the early part of the race until a broken axle at half distance put him too far back to challenge the similar Torana Peter Brock and Brian Sampson.

He won his second consecutive ATCC title in 1977, backed up brilliantly by new teammate Colin Bond who had switched to Ford after driving the previous eight years for the Holden Dealer Team.

But he did register two more Bathurst 1000 placings, finishing 3rd in 1983 with Allan Grice in a Roadways Racing Holden VH Commodore SS, and 1988; the latter occasion with Formula One World Champion Alan Jones as co-driver in a Ford Sierra RS500.

Firth's lead driver Colin Bond went on to win the 1975 ATCC.

In late 1974, driving the new Holden Torana SL/R 5000, he contributed to Holden's victory in the Australian Manufacturers' Championship, again winning three out of five rounds.

Bond also won the Catalina Park rallycross series, while on the bitumen he won the Toby Lee Series and Sun-7 Gold Medal.

Leading Sydney-based Torana drivers, such as the Holden Dealer Team's Colin Bond, Bob Morris, Don Holland and Allan Grice were prominent in the series.

But he did register two more Bathurst 1000 placings, finishing 3rd in 1983 with Allan Grice in a Roadways Racing Holden VH Commodore SS, and 1988; the latter occasion with Formula One World Champion Alan Jones as co-driver in a Ford Sierra RS500.

Jones was quickly snapped up as teammate to Colin Bond in Bond's newly formed factory supported Network Alfa touring car team for the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship driving an underpowered Alfa Romeo GTV6 in Australia's first full year using the international Group A touring car rules.

Bond also won the 1975 Australian Touring Car Championship in a Holden Torana and was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2002.

From 1977 to 1980 Bond ran the Ford works rally team, with Greg Carr and Bond driving the very competitive BDA Escort.

Then in 1977 Carr’s burgeoning talent was rewarded by Colin Bond, the manager of a new two-car Ford works rally team, when Bond signed up Carr to drive a works Ford Escort RS2000.

But he did register two more Bathurst 1000 placings, finishing 3rd in 1983 with Allan Grice in a Roadways Racing Holden VH Commodore SS, and 1988; the latter occasion with Formula One World Champion Alan Jones as co-driver in a Ford Sierra RS500.

Third was the Caltex-sponsored Sierra of Colin Bond and Formula One World Champion Alan Jones.

Bondy and "Mad Andy" then drove a steady race, staying out of trouble, to record a 6th-place finish at Melbourne's Sandown Park.

Australia's traditional Holden/Ford rivalry really surfaced at the track in the late 1960s and through the 1970s with drivers such as Norm Beechey, Ian Geoghegan, Allan Moffat, Bob Jane, Colin Bond and Peter Brock and continues to the present day.

Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team.

That year (1969) Firth was instrumental in launching the professional careers of two soon to be famous drivers – talented up and coming rally driver Colin Bond and young tearaway Peter Brock whose feats in an Austin A30 had brought him to Firth’s attention.