Rally legend Tony Fall dies

[Wizzo]

 
Rally legend Tony Fall has died age 67 after suffering a heart attack in his sleep while in Africa for the Classic Safari rally. Fall made ten WRC starts with a best finish of fourth on the 1973 Safari rally and was also the boss of the Opel team which guided Walter Rohrl to the 1982 world title.

The Yorkshireman had been a works driver with BMC, Datsun, Ford, Lancia, Peugeot and VW in a career that included all the world’s classic rallies and long distance marathons.

Tony also drove for the Opel Team and eventually went onto to establish Dealer Opel Team in the UK before moving to Germany to take responsibility for all of Opel’s motorsport activities.

Most of his professional career was in the company of fellow Yorkshireman Mike Wood and later with Mike Broad, from Lichfield in Staffordshire. Tony also co-drove himself, notably for one of the original “Flying Finns” Rauno Aaltonen on the 1972 Safari Rally, in a Datsun 240Z.

[johnbull]

What a shame.

I had met Tony Fall on a couple of occasions at the Targa Florio and I think it was 1973 he had come to Malta with Rauno AAltonon after the Targa and I had taken them both out to dinner.

Nice guy, he was. RIP.