Colin Bond

Bond initially built a reputation as a hillclimber, winning three NSW Hillclimb titles between 1965 and 1967 driving a Lynx-Peugeot S/C. Though known also as a rally driver, he was relatively unknown in circuit racing circles when Harry Firth selected him to partner Tony Roberts in a Holden Dealer Team Monaro for the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst. On a day when Ford's tyre choices proved unsuitable, the HDT placed all three of its Monaros in the top six, with Bond and Roberts winning.

The 1971 season marked the beginning of Bond's most prolific period. Driving the Torana GTR XU-1, he secured the Manufacturer's Championship for Holden by winning three of five rounds including the Sandown 250 enduro, and also claimed the Australian Rally Championship, the Southern Cross Rally, and the South Pacific Touring Series. He retained the Australian Rally Championship in 1972 and won it again in 1974.

Peter Brock's departure from the Holden Dealer Team at the end of 1974 elevated Bond to the team's lead driver role for 1975. That year he won the Australian Touring Car Championship in the L34 version of the Torana SL/R 5000 and also claimed his second South Pacific Touring Car Series title. At the 1975 Bathurst 1000 he started from pole position but a broken axle at half-distance ended his challenge.

The 1976 Bathurst 1000 produced one of the race's most debated finishes. Running in the Torana L34, Bond appeared set for victory when a fanbelt failure forced a pit stop, allowing Bob Morris to take the lead. Morris and co-driver John Fitzpatrick finished about forty seconds ahead. In 1987, author Bill Tuckey claimed in print that a lap-scoring error had given the result to Morris and that Bond's car had actually completed the distance first. The official result has never been changed, and Morris denies any error.

After seven years with the Holden Dealer Team, Bond joined Allan Moffat's Ford Dealers Team for 1977. At that year's Bathurst 1000, Bond drove the second of Moffat's Ford XC Falcon GS500 Hardtops. Although Bond had the opportunity to pass Moffat — whose car had run out of brakes after co-driver Jacky Ickx's heavy use — he obeyed team orders and allowed Moffat to cross the line first in the now-famous 1-2 formation finish. Bond later stated in interviews that he regretted not taking the victory. From 1977 to 1980 he also ran the Ford works rally team, during which Greg Carr won the 1978 Australian Rally Championship driving a BDA Escort.

During the 1980s Bond fronted a range of smaller operations, including Steve Masterton's Capri team, Alfa Romeo's three-year factory effort, and Toyota's Supertouring programme in the 1990s. He registered further Bathurst 1000 placings, including third in 1983 with Allan Grice in a Holden VH Commodore SS and third in 1988 with 1980 Formula One World Champion Alan Jones in a Ford Sierra RS500. In 1985, Bond and Gregg Hansford won their class and finished seventh outright at Bathurst in an Alfa Romeo GTV.

Bond also co-drove a John Fitzpatrick Racing Porsche 962 with Andrew Miedecke in the 1984 Sandown 1000, the first FIA World Endurance Championship race held in Australia. Qualifying eleventh, the pair finished sixth against a field including Stefan Bellof, Jacky Ickx, Derek Bell, and Alan Jones.

In 1990, Bond made an impact on the Touring Car Championship by winning two consecutive rounds at Lakeside and Mallala in a Caltex-sponsored Ford Sierra, coming from behind to pass rivals one by one on both occasions. His final Bathurst appearance came in 1994 driving a Holden VP Commodore with Anders Olofsson, finishing sixth.

Bond retired as a driver in 1994 but continued as a driving standards observer for V8 Supercars until after the 2006 season. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to motorsport.