New Zealand has lost one of its most decorated racers. Robbie Francevic, the only man to win the Australian Touring Car Championship in a Volvo, has died aged 84 after several weeks in hospital.
Francevic's defining season came in 1986, when he steered the boxy but brutally effective Volvo 240T to the ATCC title. At 44 years and 298 days, he became the oldest driver to win the championship, and the first competitor based outside Australia to take the crown, records that still stand.
His breakthrough had come a year earlier. In 1985 he won the inaugural Wellington 500 street race and scored two ATCC victories, including the first for Volvo, in Tasmania, before returning to complete the job in 1986.
Mark Petch, the car owner who put Francevic in the Volvo, led the tributes. "I am very sad to lose Robbie after all those years together," Petch said. "We shared so many memories, it's just such a shame we didn't get to reminisce over the last few years."
MotorSport New Zealand president Deborah Day said the loss reached well beyond the Tasman. "Robbie Francevic was one of the true legends of New Zealand motorsport. He was an exceptional driver, a fierce competitor, and someone who showed that New Zealanders could take on the very best and win," she said. "His achievements here and across the Tasman inspired generations of Kiwi drivers, and his place in our sport's history is absolutely secure."
Born in Auckland, Francevic built his craft the hard way. He started out in modified Fords during the 1960s, raced American stock cars, and stepped up to Formula 5000 open-wheelers before touring cars made him a household name on both sides of the Tasman.
His resume stretched to the mountain, too. Francevic contested six Bathurst 1000s between 1985 and 1990, with a best finish of sixth in 1987 aboard a BMW.
The Volvo 240T that carried him to the 1986 title remains one of the most distinctive cars of Australian touring car racing's golden era, a big Swedish sedan that turbo-charged its way past the Fords and Holdens of the day. That it was driven to a championship by a Kiwi in his mid-40s only added to the legend.
For a category that would grow into today's Supercars, Francevic's title stands as a reminder of an era when a privateer effort and an unfashionable car could still beat the establishment.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/robbie-francevic-volvo-atcc-champion-dies-84). Visit for full coverage.*