Pond's introduction to motorsport came through Saturday-night road rallies in the home counties around London in the early 1960s, where he drove a Mini Cooper S. He also competed in auto-testing events with the same car. He subsequently prepared a Lotus Cortina for an attempt on the Lombard RAC Round Britain Rally, running inside the top twenty before an excursion on icy roads ended his run.
When Ford launched the Mexico Rally Championship, Pond secured backing from a local Ford dealer, Norman Reeves of Uxbridge, and finished second overall. That result earned him a works-supported drive in a Ford Escort RS1600 on the Scottish International Rally, where a top-ten finish led Reeves to prepare an ex-factory RS1600 for a full season. Pond became a consistent top-ten competitor in the British Rally Championship, with a third place on the 1973 Welsh International Rally being a highlight. His performance caught the attention of the Dealer Opel Team's competitions manager Tony Fall, and Pond joined DOT to drive the 2 litre Opel Kadett. General Motors' subsequent decision to withdraw the Opel brand from the UK market wound up the team, but Pond's reputation was already established.
In 1975 he won the Avon Tour of Britain, a mixed-format event combining special stages and race circuits, in a privately entered Ford Escort RS2000.
British Leyland recruited Pond to drive the Triumph TR7 from 1976 to 1978, after which he moved to a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus for 1979 before returning to the TR7 in 1980. In parallel, around 1979 to 1982, Pond competed in the South African National Rally Championship as Datsun's (later Nissan SA) number one driver with navigator Richard Leeke, winning the Radio 5 Rally in 1981 outright.
The period from 1981 to 1984 saw him drive a variety of machinery including the Datsun Violet, Vauxhall Chevette HSR, Nissan 240RS, and Rover SD1, with varying results.
For 1985, Pond was recruited by the Austin Rover dealer team to drive the Group B MG Metro 6R4. On the car's international debut at the Lombard RAC Rally, Pond finished third overall — the best result the 6R4 ever achieved on a World Rally event. He stayed with Austin Rover through 1986, when the Group B formula was abolished following a series of fatal accidents.
Alongside his rally career, Pond competed sporadically in British and European touring car events in 1983 and 1984, driving cars from the Austin Rover Group including an MG Metro Turbo and a Rover Vitesse. In the British Saloon Car Championship he recorded a class win at Donington in 1983 and an outright win at Silverstone in 1984, plus three further podiums, before Austin Rover withdrew from the series. In 1987, 1988, and 1989 he made guest appearances in the MG Maestro Challenge and MG Metro 6R4 Trophy race.
After his rally career wound down, Pond took on a development role with Austin Rover, contributing to the design and production of the MG F. In 1988 he attempted to achieve the first 100 mph average lap of the Isle of Man TT motorcycle course in a standard Rover Vitesse, falling short largely because of wet conditions on the mountain section. On 6 June 1990 he completed the feat in a standard production Rover 827 Vitesse, making it the first production car to average over 100 mph around the course. The record stood until 2011 when Mark Higgins bettered the time.
Tony Pond died of pancreatic cancer on 7 February 2002. He was survived by his wife Nikki and son James. His contribution to British rallying, particularly his development work with Austin Rover during the turbulent Group B era, left a lasting mark on the sport.