Volvo Dealer Team
| Manufacturer | Volvo |
|---|---|
| Team Manager | John Sheppard |
| Race Drivers | Robbie Francevic John Bowe Alfredo Costanzo Graham McRae Neville Crichton |
| Chassis | 240T |
| Debut | 1986 |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 |
| 1st (Francevic) 8th Bowe | |
The Volvo Dealer Team was an Australian motor racing team that competed in Australian touring car racing in 1986 winning the Australian Touring Car Championship.
History
Robbie Francevic won the opening round of the opening two rounds of the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship, driving a Mark Petch Motorsport Volvo 240T. The team was then sold to Volvo Australia and rebranded as the Volvo Dealer Team with former Holden Dealer Team manager John Sheppard appointed to lead the team.[1][2] A second car was added for John Bowe from round four.[3][4][5]
Francevic would go on to win the championship but simmering tensions between Francevic and Sheppard would boil over at the Sandown 500 with Francevic sacked.[6][7][8] At the end of 1986, Volvo withdrew from global motorsport resulting in the team being disbanded and the cars sent to Sweden.[9][10][11]
References
- ↑ Big program announced for Volvo Dealer Team Auto Action issue 393 21 March 1986 page 3
- ↑ Steering clearly to safe driving Canberra Times 23 March 1986 page 9
- ↑ Twin Peaks Volvo Adventures
- ↑ Australia's most iconic Volvo racecar Speedcafe 10 June 2013
- ↑ Normoyle, Steve (1987). The Great Race 6. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.
- ↑ Volvo man gets the honours Canberra Times 14 July 1986 page 18
- ↑ Francevic furore at Volvo Auto Action issue 406 19 September 1986 page 1
- ↑ Volvo faces controversies in lead up to race Canberra Times 3 October 1986 page 6
- ↑ Volvo pulls out of al motor sport Auto Action issue 410 14 November 1986 page 3
- ↑ Saturday Sleuthing: Francevic's Volvo title winner V8 Supercars 9 August 2014
- ↑ Normoyle, Steve (1988). The Great Race 7. Hornsby: Chevron Publishing. ISSN 1031-6124.