Anthony “Tony” Lionel Shelly (2 February 1937 – 4 October 1998) was a racing driver from New Zealand.
He competed in Formula One in 1962, participating in 3 World Championship Grands Prix, and several non-Championship races. He scored no World Championship points. He also owned a BMW dealership called Shelly Motors in Honolulu. The business had previously belonged to Shelly’s father and had been sold on his death. Shelly subsequently re-acquired the business and became an American citizen in 1975. He divided his time between a home in Honolulu and one in New Zealand, where he died. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
New Zealander Tony Shelly competed in Formula One in 1962, participating in 3 World Championship Grands Prix and a number of non-Championship races.
His father owned a Jaguar dealership in Wellington and had another car dealership in Honolulu during the 1950s. After he passed away it was sold and Tony re-acquired the business, becoming an American citizen in 1975, and he divided his time between homes in Honolulu and New Zealand.
His motor racing debut came in 1955, when he entered a Morgan in the Sports Car class for the New Zealand GP, but although he qualified he did not start the race
In 1958, driving a Cooper, he won a race at Teretonga, then became a leading driver in Australia and New Zealand, and from this moved to race in Europe in 1962.
He raced a Lotus Climax for John Dalton, usually in non-championship events, and finished fifth in the Lombank Trophy and third in the Lavant Cup. During the year, Colin Chapman entered him to race a Lotus 23 at Le Mans (co-driving with Les Leston), but the race organisers denied the entry. There were three F1 World championship races, at Aintree, where he retired due to engine failure, but he did not qualify at the Nürburgring and Monza (in Wolfgang Seidel’s Lotus 24-BRM V8).
At the end of the season he returned to New Zealand where he continued to race in 1963 and 1964, winning the 1963 Pukehohe Six Hours (New Zealand’s first endurance race) with Ray Archibald and a Jaguar 3.8.
Tony retired from racing a year later to build up the family business. In 1975 he took United States citizenship and divided his time between New Zealand and Hawaii where he successfully developed the family’s car dealerships.
Tony passed away in New Zealand in 1998 and in a tribute, the Hawaiian Star Bulletin described him as “a class act, always a gentleman.”
Info by Hans Hulsebos
Racing in Australasia he forged a healthy reputation. He travelled to England in 1962 for his only international season when driving an old Lotus 18-Climax in F1 races.
Fifth on his debut in the Lombank Trophy at Snetterton, third in the Lavant Cup and sixth in the Glover Trophy. Shelly made his world championship debut in the British GP but retired after just five laps.
He also entered the German and Italian GPs although he failed to qualify for either race. He returned home and won the 1963 Pukehohe Six Hours (New Zealand’s first endurance race) with Ray Archibald and a Jaguar 3.8. Shelly retired from racing a year later to build up the family business. Tony Shelly lost his fight against cancer in 1998.
