Robin passed away this morning - he's been battling the rust for a fair while now and if you've seen him at a racetrack in recent times, it was probably in a motorised wheelchair.

Others will know exactly when he kicked off Motor Action but perhaps 1972/73ish? He was the classic all-rounder in as far as being a top man with both words and photos, plus he was just as interested in rallying and speedway as he was circuit racing - and even there he never seemed to show any particular leaning towards saloons or open-wheelers or sports cars.

It seemed that if it had wheels, a motor and went quick, he was interested. Robin moved to PN perhaps two years ago and has been well looked after by Joy and Terry Rush. I was present at the 2013 MSNZ Awards where Robin was given something like a lifetime achievement award - totally deserved, given that he'd been covering motor racing in NZ for over 50 years - and instead of simply saying nice things, he gave MSNZ a fair bollocking for their apathy towards history and the sport's heritage.

In 2014 MSNZ made five Heritage Awards and this year there were another three.

RIP Robin.