Charlie Cox went from a privateer in the British Touring Car Championship to commentating at the height of Super Touring during the late-1990s.
Cox raced locally in the mid-1980s, but was a journalist by trade and led a news radio station in Sydney before being offered a job in England, which he accepted.
The opportunity to go racing again returned as Cox became successful when he first arrived in the Motherland and found a place in the British Production Saloon Car Championship courtesy of sponsorship from Ford.
Another progression came in 1995 when Cox joined the British Touring Car Championship in a privateer Ford Mondeo and he put in some reasonable performances, including a fifth outright at Brands Hatch in changeable condition.
A big crash at Thruxton stymied his season due to Cox’s injuries and the need to build a new Mondeo.
Cox’s Mondeo went out of control at the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit after brake failure approaching the final chicane leading to the Ford rolling seven times leading to the driver being knocked out.
Still suffering the after effects of the incident 30 years on, Cox did finish out the year in the first five-door Mondeo to compete and called it a day at the end of the 1995 season.
The next thing for Cox was commentating alongside Murray Walker after fellow Australian and BTCC supremo Alan Gow took the first steps towards it.
Cox’s BTCC coverage led to a stint commentating MotoGP until 2013 and a stint hosting Top Gear Australia.
During his stint covering the BTCC, Cox did race at Bathurst three times alongside South Australian privateer Chris Smerdon, with a best finish of 17th in his debut appearance in 1997.
Providing memorable moments in both BTCC and MotoGP, Cox continues to enjoy a successful career behind the scenes in radio.