Tony Pond
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Born | 23 November 1945 |
| Died | 7 February 2002 (aged 56) |
| World Rally Championship record | |
| Active years | 1974–1986 |
| Co-driver | Rob Arthur Fred Gallagher Mike Nicholson Johnstone Syer Terry Harryman |
| Teams | Triumph, Talbot, Nissan, MG Rover |
| Rallies | 27 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Stage wins | 37 |
| Total points | 68 |
Tony Pond (23 November 1945 – 7 February 2002) was a British rally driver.
His first outings in a rally car were on the then regular (in the early '60s) Saturday night road rallies in the home counties around London, driving a Mini Cooper S. Using the same car he also became successful at auto-testing – the practice of manoeuvering the car against the clock around a series of cones.
He then prepared a Lotus Cortina for an attempt on the Lombard RAC Round Britain Rally, and was running in the top twenty when a visit to a ditch in icy conditions put an end to the outing.
At this time Ford had launched the Mexico Rally Championship, and Pond persuaded the local Ford dealer in his home town, Norman Reeves of Uxbridge, to prepare and supply a car for the Championship. He finished second overall, the reward for which was a drive in a works supported Escort RS1600 on the Scottish International Rally. He finished in the top ten, which was enough incentive for Norman Reeves to prepare and supply him with an ex-factory Escort RS1600 for a season.
Using this car he was a regular top ten finisher in the British Rally Championship, competing against and beating the likes of Jimmy McRae (Colin's father) and Russell Brookes, culminating in a third place on the Welsh International Rally in 1973, beating Tony Fall into fourth place. At this time Fall was competitions manager for the Dealer Opel Team (DOT), and the offer of a works supported drive was not long in coming.
Unfortunately, although DOT and Pond were successful with the 2 litre Opel Kadett, General Motors had taken the decision to stop selling Opels in the UK and concentrate on the Vauxhall brand, and so DOT was disbanded. However he was almost immediately approached by British Leyland to take on the venerable Triumph TR7. 1976 until 1978, saw him in the Triumph then in 1979 he championed a Talbot Sunbeam Lotus before returning to the TR7 in 1980, completing a number of outings for the British Leyland factory team.
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