Career
Robbie Francevic started his motor racing career in 1966 when he and his team designed and built the “Colour Me Gone” Custaxie in which he won twenty races and the 1967 New Zealand Saloon Car Championship. During the 1970's Francevic was also a regular competitor in Formula 5000 racing, racing in the Tasman Series as well as the Rothmans International Series.
Robbie Francevic was the winner of the 1983 Benson & Hedges touring car series in NZ.
Following the 1985 Nissan series, Francevic, while still living in Auckland, contested the 1985 Australian Touring Car Championship driving the Volvo 240T for owner and friend Mark Petch. Despite the speed he had shown in the NZ series, and that the Volvo's were winning races in the European Touring Car Championship, Francevic shocked the established stars Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and Jim Richards by winning the third round of the ATCC at Symmons Plains in Tasmania before going on to dominate the final round at Oran Park in Sydney. Other than Richards, Francevic was the only multiple race winner in the championship (Richards won 7, Francevic 2 and Brock one). On Francevic's insistence the Mark Petch team recruited 1984 and 1985 Australian Drivers' Champion John Bowe to partner Francevic in the 1985 Castrol 500 at Sandown in Melbourne. After a strong showing, he car finished its race with Bowe at the wheel at the entrance to the pits with a seized diff (the car was pushed into pitlane with a jack holding the rear tyres off the ground).
In 1986 Francevic became the first New Zealand resident to win the ATCC, becoming the second New Zealander (after Jim Richards) to win the series and recording the only win for Volvo. Francevic won the first two races of the season at Amaroo Park and Symmons Plains, finished 2nd at Sandown to the Nissan Skyline of George Fury and won again at Adelaide. This was his last win for the series and coincided with new team management. Gone was team owner Petch and in charge was former Holden Dealer Team boss from the late '70s John Shepherd. The Volvo was overtaken in speed by the Nissan turbo's and despite a newly built 240T appearing mid-season, Francevic was often slower than Bowe in qualifying but still scored enough points to win the championship from Fury by just 5 points.
Following the ATCC, Francevic wasn't happy. He was happy to have won the championship but wanted to win from the front and driving for points like he was forced to over the latter part of the championship didn't suit his hard charging his style. Tensions between Francevic and team boss Shepherd came to a head at the 1986 Castrol 500 at Sandown, the traditional lead up race to the Bathurst 1000. With the Volvo he was to drive with fellow Kiwi Graham McRae not having run in practice or qualifying due to the late build time, Francevic refused to race the car believing it (and the teams second car which was in the same situation) would not be competitive. While the John Bowe / Alfredo Costanzo Volvo failed to finish its fastest race lap was identical to the winning Nissan Skyline of George Fury and Glenn Seton. Following his refusal to drive the car, Francevic was fired from the Volvo Dealer Team on 15 September 1986, the day after the Sandown 500.
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