The world of motorcycling went dark again on Wednesday 17 January 2024. As sadly predicted, Anthony Gobert, one of the most extraordinary 500cc and World Superbike riders of recent decades, passed away. The Australian's brothers confirmed a few days ago that he had entered palliative care following a short illness, so his death was expected in the short term. Her mother, Suzanne Gobert, announced on social media that her firstborn had died at the age of 48.
“My heart breaks as I write this. My firstborn, beautiful son Anthony, passed away this afternoon. I loved him from the moment he was born and will love him until the day I die. It was hard to say at times, but he always had a good heart and cared about everyone,” she said. “Unfortunately he was the victim of an addiction that is very common in our families. He tried many times to recover, but he couldn't. I am very proud of him and I thank all the good people who entered his life. You know who you are,” he concluded.
After the news, several organizations and people from the world of motorcycling sent their condolences to remember the Sydney rider, known as “The Go Show”, who impressed many of those who knew him, with his talent on the track but also for his controversial and harsh life outside of it. It was in the Superbike World Championship that Gobert achieved the greatest successes, taking eight victories and fourth place overall in 1995 in the series derivative championship, in a period of the Superbike World Championship which was concentrated between the 1994 and 2000 seasons, although he played some rounds in 2002 and 2006.
Meanwhile, in 1997 and at the end of 1999, he also raced in 500cc, with a seventh place in the 1997 Austrian Grand Prix as his best result, with Suzuki. However, after testing positive in a doping test, Hamamtsu decided to fire him. In '99 he was also excluded from MuZ Weber for non-sporting reasons.
Once he retired, the excesses continued to accompany the Australian driver. Gobert had several problems with drugs and alcohol, he was also convicted of theft and in 2019 he ended up in intensive care due to a fight, where he was beaten with a baseball bat. After more than a year without hearing from him, his brothers managed to find Gobert recently, but they soon realized that his situation was very complicated, leading to the brief illness that ended his life.
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