Ex-WSBK and 500cc star Anthony Gobert dies aged 48

The news of his death was confirmed by his mother Suzanne Gobert in a heartwarming post on Facebook, where she talked about his life outside of motorsport and his struggles with addiction.

"My heart is breaking as I write this as my first born beautiful son Anthony has passed late this afternoon," she wrote.

"I loved him from the moment he was born until the day I die. At times he was challenging, to say the least, but he always had a kind heart and cared for everyone.

"Sadly he was a victim of addiction which runs deeply in our families. He tried many times to get better but he couldn't quite make it.

"I am so proud of him and thank all those good people who added to his life. You know who you are."

Having started his career in motocross before switching disciplines, Gobert first entered into the limelight when he scored a pole, podium and victory in a single weekend in a wildcard WSBK appearance at Phillip Island in 1994.

The results earned him a full-time ride with Kawasaki for the following two seasons during which he added two more victories to his tally and secured a best finish of fourth in the championship.

After receiving instant success in WSBK, the Australian joined Suzuki in the 500cc category (now MotoGP) in 1997 and secured a best finish of seventh in just his second race.

However, before his maiden season in premier class was even over, he was fired by the team for failing a drug test.

A comeback in 1999 with MuZ Weber was also cut short for non-sporting reasons.

With his MotoGP career seemingly over, Gobert would return to the WSBK in 2000 with Bimota to score what would turn out to be his eighth and final victory in the series.

Gobert continued to race late in the noughties, comPeting in both his homeland in Australia as well as America, apart from the occasional outing in other championships.

Outside the track, he continued to face issues with drug and alcohol addiction and was even convicted of robbery in 2008.

He ended up in intensive care after an altercation at a restaurant in 2019 in which he was badly beaten by a baseball bat.

More recently, Gobert had been suffering from a serious illness and was put in palliative care prior to his death this week, according to his brother Aaron.

During the peak of his career, he had earned the nickname 'The Go Show' for his flamboyant persona.