Full Tilt: A champion's story of Ford, Holden and the defining era of motor-racing

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Colin Bond John Smailes

Full Tilt

A champion's story of Ford, Holden and the defining era of motor-racing

Colin Bond, John Smailes

$36.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Allen & Unwin
30 September 2025

Sports & outdoor recreation; Car racing

'Bond is a true pioneer of our sport. Growing up in a motorsport family I knew the strong rivalry between Holden and Ford. Not many drivers have managed to cross over and be successful. Colin Bond was one of the first drivers to make the change and show it works.' Craig Lowndes, three-time Australian Touring Car Champion

Bathurst winner, Australian Touring Car Champion, and the only man to have won on both sides of racing's most iconic rivalry - Ford versus Holden - this is the high-octane story of motor-racing legend Colin Bond.

From his rallying crowns to his extraordinary Bathurst victory and his Touring Car Championship triumph, to the hugely controversial 1-2 Bathurst win with Allan Moffat in '77, Bond's career spanned the most thrilling decades of Australian motorsport. At the heart of it all was the fierce tribal battle between Ford and Holden - a rivalry Bond knew better than anyone.

Against the backdrop of the golden age of motorsport, Full Tilt is packed with accounts of racing with and against other superstars like Peter Brock and Allan Moffat. It captures the drama, danger and intense competition of the sixties to the nineties, the incredibly engineered Monaros, Toranas, Falcons and Commodores, the dirty tricks, dodgy deals and maverick team managers.

A celebration of speed, skill and the defining era of motor-racing, Full Tilt is essential reading for any lover of the sport. Written with bestselling motorsport journalist John Smailes, this is the incredible story of a life raced at full tilt.

'Colin Bond is one of the all-time greats of Australia's unique Ford vs. Holden battle. I don't recall ever having as much fun when working, and riding, with him.' Edsel Ford II, Chairman of the Henry Ford Estate

PRAISE FOR JOHN SMAILES' BOOKS

'This book is a delight to read. Perhaps, dare we say it, even more enthralling than the races themselves.' Highlife Magazine on Formula One

'you need to read Speed Kings' The Sunday Telegraph on Speed Kings

'In a highly readable style, backed up by copious research and no fewer than 54 interviews, Smailes gives the go-to-whoa story of the Speedway and Antipodean attempts to conquer it.' Financial Review on Speed Kings

'John Smailes, author of the recent Race Across the World (the rip-roaring story of the original London-Sydney Marathon), has applied his talents to covering the entire story of Australia's best known racetrack - Mount Panorama at Bathurst - in 346 pages . . . There is a good sense of each era, and plenty of fascinating tales.' Australian Financial Review on Mount Panorama

'A rattling good read' Australian Financial Review on Race Across the World

'Smailes recaptures the excitement of the moment, when each day we learnt of fresh disasters besetting the increasingly weary drivers . . . His first-hand account does a fine job in describing the excitement of a race unlikely ever to be repeated.' The Daily Telegraph on Race Across the World

'Climbing the Mountain is a book many of us have been waiting for . . . It's an ideal gift for anyone who has followed motor sport in this country through the years.' Australian Financial Review on Climbing the Mountain

By: Colin Bond
With: John Smailes
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm,
Weight: 472g
ISBN: 9781761472275
ISBN 10: 1761472275
Pages: 376
Publication Date: 30 September 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Colin Bond OAM is an Australian former racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team. He quickly found success, winning the 1969 Hardie-Ferodo 500 mile race, now the Bathurst 1000. He was Peter Brock's team-mate in Holden's 1974 Australian Touring Car Championship-winning team. Bond won the 1975 Australian Touring Car Championship himself, for Holden, before defecting to Ford to support Allan Moffat's championship dominance. Bond was Australia's most versatile driver, winning the Australian Rally Championship in 1971, 1972 and 1974. He was inducted into the V8 Supercars Hall of Fame in 2002. John Smailes is a journalist, motorsport commentator and publicist. His speciality is the automotive industry and motorsport. He has covered and broadcast rounds of the World F1 championship (Australia, Singapore, India, Monaco), the World Rally Championship (Australia, New Zealand, Greece), MotoGP, the Le Mans 24 hour race and Goodwood Festival of Speed. John was part of the commentary team for the first live broadcast of F1 in Australia - along with Sir Jack Brabham. His bestselling books include Climbing the Mountain (with Allan Moffat), Mount Panorama, Race Across the World and Formula One. He is chair of the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame.