Image via Canadian Racer
Inducted 2005 – Competitor – Motorsport Builder – Road Racing
Brian Robertson first went road racing in 1964 after attending the CASC drivers school at Harewood Acres. In 1967, he won both the Ontario Region and Canadian Formula Vee championships. He went Formula B racing in 1968 and had success both at home and in SCCA events in the United States. In 1972, despite tough competition from Craig Hill, Ric Forest and John Powell, he won the Player’S Challenge Series and the Canadian Driving Championship. Following a serious accident in the Grand Prix of Singapore in 1973, he developed vertigo and was forced to retire at the age of 33. In 1969, he and American importer Fred Opert became partners in Fred Opert Canada. From ’69 to 1977, the company imported, serviced and supported FB Brabhams and Chevrons. That year, 1977, saw Brian start his own company. For the next 20 years, he was the North American importer for Ralt, which dominated North American Atlantic and Super Vee racing, and he also was one of the continent’s biggest suppliers of racing motors. Among his team drivers were Michael Andretti, who won the Atlantic title in 1983, and David Empringham (1994). As a driver, importer and team owner, Canada’s Brian Robertson was one of the most important figures in North American open wheel racing.