Robin John "Bob" Holden (born 1 December 1932 in
Notting Hill
Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
[) is an Australian racing driver. Holden raced small-engined touring cars throughout his career, racing ]Peugeot
Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis.
The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and the ...
s in the early 1960s, establishing a reputation for himself which saw him become a regular part of BMC Australia
British Motor Corporation (Australia) was a motor manufacturing company formed in Australia in 1954 by the merger of the Austin Motor Company (Australia) and Nuffield (Australia). This followed the merger in 1952 of the Austin Motor Company and ...
racing program for Mini
The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...
s which culminated with a victory in the 1966 Bathurst 500 co-driving with Rauno Aaltonen
Rauno August Aaltonen (born 7 January 1938), also known as "The Rally Professor", is a Finnish former professional rally driver who competed in the World Rally Championship throughout the 1970s.
Career
Before WRC was established Aaltonen compe ...
. Into the 1970s Holden moved on to race Ford Escorts in various guises, moving into Toyota Corollas in the 1980s, winning the 1.6-litre class at the Bathurst round of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship
The 1987 World Touring Car Championship season was the inaugural World Touring Car Championship season. It commenced on 22 March 1987 and ended on 15 November after eleven races. The championship was open to Touring Cars complying with FIA Group A ...
. In the mid-1990s Holden moved into BMW M3s and later a BMW 318i Super Touring
Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created ...
car in which he raced his final Bathurst in 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
, at the time setting the record for most Bathurst appearances.
Holden has continued his involvement in racing through the historic racing scene, and has restored two of his Group C
Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs.
It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
specification Ford Escorts to race in historic touring car racing, although one was recently badly damaged at Oran Park. He has also restored one of his Group A specification Toyota Corolla FX-GTs which he races himself in the Australian Heritage Touring Car Championship for historic Group C and Group A touring cars. Holden is also involved in charity work, helping disadvantaged youth acquire trade skills to help establish themselves in society.
Career results
Complete World Touring Car Championship results
( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Bob
1932 births
Australian Formula 2 drivers
Australian rally drivers
Australian Touring Car Championship drivers
Bathurst 1000 winners
Living people
Racing drivers from Melbourne
Australian Endurance Championship drivers
People from the City of Monash