Roly Levis passed away yesterday afternoon in Tauranga. He had battled the big 'C' in recent months and it had been obvious that the end was near for a few weeks.

Roly was 88. In the eyes of some, he was the best driver NZ ever produced who didn't venture off to Europe. Part of the reason for that was because much of his open wheeler career happened after he'd turned 40. He was the initial king of the National Formula and then finished his last full season with his second Gold Star title with the F2 Brabham BT23C-FVA.

He was an inspiration and mentor to many younger drivers - Bill Stone was one and Laurence Brownlie tells me how much he looked up to Roly, both as a driver and an engineer. I know Graham McRae rated him highly, as did Chris Amon.

Sympathies are extended to his family - Vivien, Judi, Brendan and Ross - and his nephews, one of whom has the RAL - the car that Eoin Young saw one day in Timaru and thought to himself - 'I don't want to work in a Bank, I want to write about those things'

RIP Roly